Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Maria Budet is Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Miami-Dade Beacon Council. She is responsible for shaping all organizational communications and marketing efforts, successfully raising Miami-Dade County’s profile as world-class global business destination in an integrated, consistent, impactful way.
In this role, Maria leads the development and implementation of The Beacon Council’s global marketing and communications strategy, including creative development and agency management, marketing effectiveness, digital and social marketing, paid media, sponsorships, events, partnerships and corporate communications.
A seasoned professional with more than 20 years of experience delivering creative, brand-building solutions for Fortune 500 companies including Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, The J. M. Smucker Company, and Johnson & Johnson, Maria was most recently a Group Director at Zubi Advertising (a WPP agency). In addition to leading account strategy and management for Dunkin’ Donuts, Walgreens, and SC Johnson, Maria also managed new business development, successfully landing 80% of the pitches she championed during her tenure.
Prior to her work in marketing and communications at Zubi, CSA Marketing and other partners, Maria wrote for a variety of print and online publications including Latina, The Miami Herald, The New Times, MSN.com, CitySearch.com, LiveNation.com and HispanicAd.com. She also served as Executive Producer on “Generation ñ”, a p.m. magazine show for USA Broadcasting’s Miami-based network based on an eponymous magazine where she was also Managing Editor.
Maria graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.
Communications Manager
Highly motivated integrated marketing professional with public relations agency experience, social media acuity, strong media/blogger relationships and account management skills, which span multiple industries and markets for over 6+ years. Creative thinker possessing the ability to identify key messages for companies and develop 360-degree strategies that tell their stories.
Proven success in regional communications resulting in direct story placements for premier hospitality & tourism/travel brands, global fashion lines, technology and consumer goods. The bulk of my past and present clientele include Palace Resorts, JetBlue Airways, Marriott International, Cricket Wireless (AT&T Wireless), Safilo Group, Armani Casa, Casa de Campo Resort, Olympus, Bâoli Miami, Ferretti Group, among others.
Sponsorship and Events Manager
Darling Jarquin is a senior marketing and events professional with over fifteen years of experience in the marketing and public relations. She is responsible for the multitude of events, large and small, for the Miami-Dade Beacon Council in their efforts to engage the community in support of the Council’s mission to increase jobs and investment in Miami-Dade County. As such, she coordinates with member-investors and other sponsors to ensure their engagement is meaningful. Some of Darling’s projects include managing the annual Beacon Awards, a 500+ person gala recognizing excellence in the One Community One Goal key categories and the Annual Meeting & Key Ceremony celebrating Beacon Council volunteer leaders and showcasing Miami’s successful business development efforts in the previous year.
Prior to her current role, Darling served as Multicultural Marketing Manager for the Miami Marlins. Her responsibilities at the Marlins included managing the bookings of entertainment for all home games, as well as pre-and post-game entertainment, including major concerts from start to finish for artists like Boyz II Men, B.o.B., The Sugarhill Gang, Gente de Zona, Jerry Rivera, Willy Chirino, Chino y Nacho to name a few which allowed for a strong artist and music relationship. She was Marlins’ representative in South Florida’s diverse Hispanic community and maintained strong partnerships with Spanish language media.
Darling also worked as Special Projects Administrator for the City of Miami and as Public Information Specialist and spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Transportation.
Volunteer
ActivityDedicated to her Miami-Dade Community, Jarquin previously served on the Board of Directors for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Board of Directors for the Association of Women in Communications (AWC) and was member of the Women in Transportation (WTS).
Education
Darling has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Florida International University and an Associates is Arts degree from Miami-Dade College.
