Drawing on her experience of being the first ever Afro-Latina and woman of color to host a major NFL show and working in a male-dominated field, MJ Acosta-Ruiz knows what it takes to overcome obstacles and rise to the top. Her success did not come easily and took a decade to make, refine and shine. Before her entrance onto the national scene, Acosta-Ruiz strategized her steps as if they were a military plan and then defeated rejection, insecurity, loneliness and even gender bias to reach her goal. Her inspirational story is one of hard work, endless preparation, and embracing what makes her different.
As an Afro-Latina with a career in media, MJ Acosta-Ruiz opens up about her journey from being told how to look and present herself to the audience, to being an unapologetic curly hair advocate. For some it may seem trivial: “It's just hair. Who cares?” But for MJ it was about owning and loving what made her special and presenting her true and authentic self to the world. When she started her television career over 10 years ago, there was no scenario where she would be allowed to wear her curly, textured hair as it grew out of her head — none. A chemical hair relaxer was like a rite of passage for most of the women in her family, who were taught for generations to hide their pelo malo, or bad hair. It took MJ over 30 years, a lot of internal work, and self-love to get to a place where she felt confident in her own skin and in her own beautiful curly crown. In this talk, Acosta-Ruiz encourages and inspires everyone to present their true selves at work, and move past traditional beauty standards of professionalism.
MJ Acosta-Ruiz is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Break Barriers and Blaze Trails and Embracing Your Authentic, Professional, Beautiful Self. The estimated speaking fee range to book MJ Acosta-Ruiz for your event is $20,000 - $30,000. MJ Acosta-Ruiz generally travels from Los Angeles, CA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Bomani Jones, Tamron Hall, Stephen A. Smith, Greg Gumbel and Malika Andrews. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling MJ Acosta-Ruiz for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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