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Mara Zepeda

Serial Social Entrepreneur & Co-Founder of Zebras Unite

Mara Zepeda
Travels From Travels From:
South Carolina, USA
Speaking Fee Speaking Fee:
Live Event: $10,000 - $20,000
Virtual Event: $5,000 - $10,000
More Fee Info
Categories Categories:
Categories Categories:
Business, Business Leadership, Economy, Entrepreneurship, Female Leadership, Leadership, Strategic Leadership
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Mara Zepeda Biography

Mara Zepeda is a systempreneur and serial social entrepreneur. She is a co-founder of Cola Love, a catalytic community and economic development design studio in Columbia, South Carolina. She’s also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Faber Center for Entrepreneurship within the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. In 2022, Zepeda was named an Omidyar Network Luminary.

Most recently, Zepeda co-founded and was the Founding Managing Director of Zebras Unite, an international and intersectional hybrid cooperative and non-profit creating a more ethical, inclusive, collaborative, and sustainable approach to building businesses. With her leadership and in cooperation with ZU’s 300+ members, Founding Members, boards, extraordinary worker owners and leadership, she helped grow the organization to a combined $3M in revenue and grant funding. She is now a Strategic Advisor.

Prior, Zepeda was the founder of Switchboard, a venture-backed software company that merged in 2019 with its sister company, Hearken. It was through her experience as an entrepreneur of a different stripe that led her to co-found Zebras Unite, along with Jennfier Brandel, Dr. Astrid Scholz, and Aniyia Williams. Their manifesto, “Zebras Fix What Unicorns Break,” launched this timely, necessary, culture-shifting movement that has garnered broad recognition, from The New York Times to Nikkei. It now boasts an online community of 10K+ strong, hundreds of member-owners, and over 25 chapters around the world.

During her six years in Portland, Oregon, Zepeda was a co-founder and the founding board chair of Business for a Better Portland, a 350+ member next-generation business organization that forges public-private collaborations to advance systemic change, shared prosperity, and social justice and equity. She also co-founded and was the founding board chair of Xcelerate, a transformative community providing business support, education, peer mentorship, and funding to 200+ Oregon women entrepreneurs.

Zepeda is a renowned calligrapher with her studio Neither Snow, and was one of the early innovators in contemporary calligraphy. She was also an award-winning economic reporter for NPR, Marketplace, Planet Money, The Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer and ran a weekly column for The Philadelphia Weekly for three years.

Zepeda has spent her career at the intersection of community building, economic development, and systems change. Drawing on her experience as an artist, entrepreneur, and child of bohemian and spiritually curious artists, she regularly speaks about and leads workshops on education, trust, time management, social networks, the future of international business, and more esoteric topics like the sacred gift and lifelong journey of working in partnership and collaboration.

Zepeda holds a BA in Russian from Reed College and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University, where she graduated with honors. She grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, raised by a Honduran artist father and a cellist mother. Now based in Columbia, South Carolina, she and her husband, Dr. Andrew Berns, are part of a growing movement in the South dedicated to building beloved community.

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Mara Zepeda Speaking Topics

  • Zebras vs Unicorns

  • Become a doula for the new economy

  • Call and Response: How listening leads to social change

  • Entrepreneurship & the Creative Process

  • From Moscow to Jung: An entrepreneur’s journey

Mara Zepeda Videos

  • Explorer TalkX: Mara Zepeda, Co-Founder of Zebras Unite
    Explorer TalkX: Mara Zepeda, Co-Founder of Zebras Unite
See All Videos »

FAQs on booking Mara Zepeda

  • How do I book Mara Zepeda to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Mara Zepeda for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Mara Zepeda, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Mara Zepeda or any other speaker of your choice.

  • What are the speaker fees for Mara Zepeda

    Speaking fees for Mara Zepeda, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Mara Zepeda are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Mara Zepeda, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

  • What topics does Mara Zepeda speak about?

    Mara Zepeda is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Business, Business Leadership, Economy, Entrepreneurship, Female Leadership, Leadership, Strategic Leadership.

  • Where does Mara Zepeda travel from?

    Mara Zepeda generally travels from South Carolina, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.

  • Who is Mara Zepeda’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Mara Zepeda for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Mara Zepeda for your next private or corporate function.

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Mara Zepeda is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Zebras vs Unicorns, Become a doula for the new economy, Call and Response: How listening leads to social change, Entrepreneurship & the Creative Process and From Moscow to Jung: An entrepreneur’s journey. The estimated speaking fee range to book Mara Zepeda for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. Mara Zepeda generally travels from SC, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Joan Barnes, Christine Simmons, Orlena Nwokah Blanchard, Sharon Gai and Sampriti Ganguli. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Mara Zepeda for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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