"Being recognized by the National Diversity Council as a DEI Champion awardee for the 2021 National Diversity & Leadership Conference makes my heart feel full of stardust and pride," Maycheco said in a statement. "I am incredibly honored and grateful to be uplifted in this way."

Authentic marketing goes beyond vanity metrics and embraces the consequential nature of our actions. By grounding ourselves in our shared humanity, challenging oppressive structures, and advocating for social justice, we can make a meaningful impact and contribute to a more authentic and inclusive marketing landscape.

Beyond being an award-winning rockstar nonprofit communications professional, Maureen Maycheco created Reach Out and Read Colorado’s New Parent Empowerment Initiative (NPEI), an innovative project focused on empowering expecting moms and disrupting the collective understanding of early literacy behavior change and messaging.

As marketers, we hold a tremendous amount of power to shape narratives, define values, and connect with people. With this power comes great responsibility—to ensure our actions are authentic, thoughtful, and respectful. Authenticity is key in building trust with our audience and fostering genuine connections. By staying true to our values and aligning our actions with them, we can create meaningful experiences that resonate with people.

“For the child, it’s an opportunity to read aloud and learn,” explained Maureen Maycheco, Communications Director at Reach Out and Read Colorado. “For the healthcare provider, it’s a tool to be able to assess the child.”

Maycheco and her colleagues realised that reaching parents during pregnancy, a stage of information gathering, could be a more powerful way of improving early literacy. In April 2018, they launched a pilot: the New Parent Empowerment Initiative (NPEI).