THE EARLY DAYS

I was born and raised in the shores of San Juan, Puerto Rico. From a young age I had the opportunity to take on several jobs and internships in advertising, modeling, talent casting, and film. When I turned 18, I moved from Puerto Rico to Syracuse, New York; where I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communications Design from Syracuse University. After graduating, I moved to Brooklyn, and started working in a world renowned branding agency in Manhattan called CBX. After several years of gaining experience from my agency job in New York City, I decided I needed a change.

DIGITAL NOMAD ERA

In 2015, I left the corporate world, started freelancing remotely full-time, and went backpacking for seven months through 14 different countries in Europe and Asia. At that time, what had started as freelance work turned into a fully operating nomadic design studio with designers working together from all over the world, called HIYO DESIGN. With HIYO DESIGN, I had the opportunity to lead branding, strategy, and web design projects to help our clients find their voice, reach their audience, and showcase a professional and consistent brand, website and social media. Our clients included brands such as Goya Foods, Heineken, Temple Turmeric, Wanderlust Yoga Festival, CIVANA Wellness Resort, Klick Health, 1 Giant Mind, and many others. In 2017 I moved to Miami, and expanded our HIYO Design team, offering dynamic and strategic social media & influencer marketing solutions as well as photo and video content art direction. In 2020 I moved to San Diego, and left the day-to-day operations of HIYO Design to my trusted business partner and talented twin sister. 

AIRBNBS & SKOOLIES

Once in California, I helped convert a short bus school bus into a tiny home with my partner, and it was featured in the TV show "Staycation" on CBS. My partner and I started investing in properties and over the years I became very knowledgeable in real estate investing, property management, and short-term rental optimization. I was hired by Airbnb as an Airbnb Ambassador as part of their pilot program which then expanded nation-wide. In 2022 I launched the brand Optimize My Rental to help guide rental property owners to build and expand their short term rental businesses. In 2023 I was invited to be showcased on Airbnb's website as an Experienced Co-Host as part of their newest pilot program offering. In 2024, I was selected to be the first Airbnb Superhost to offer hour-long educational webinars in Spanish.

LUXURY WELLNESS MARKETING

In 2023, I became the Marketing Director for Rancho El Dorado, a luxury wellness retreat vacation home near Joshua Tree and Palm Springs. I managed multiple successful influencer campaigns, managed direct social media outreach efforts, public relations communication, and managed both video and photo content for all brand social media platforms, which resulted in greater visibility from the brand's target audience and increased bookings. 

BALANCE

Today, I continue to happily balance creative design work, brand strategy consulting, modeling work, and short-term rental consulting with time spent hiking, traveling, practicing yoga, and lounging on the beach. I now live half-time in San Diego and half in Mexico City.

Like my story? Let's get to know one another!