Experiential in Color Mentorship Q&A: Sofia Figueroa and Felicia Kelly

Experiential in Color, B-to-C Events, B-to-B Events

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Juanita Chavarro Arias

In 2025, EM expanded the scope of its Experiential in Color recognition program to include a new mentorship initiative led by a steering committee of industry professionals. We spoke with three mentor/mentee pairs about what the experience has meant to them. Meet mentor Sofia Figueroa and mentee Felicia Kelly.

Even though mentor Sofia Figueroa is based in Miami and mentee Felicia Kelly is based in Durham, NC, the distance didn’t stop this pair from forming a strong relationship rooted in curiosity, determination and an openness to learn from one another, particularly because both come from different sides of the event industry. Figueroa is the senior director of experiential marketing at Square, focused on brand marketing events, while Kelly is experienced in exhibits and trade shows.

Kelly was ready for her second act but needed a mentor to get her there. Thanks to guidance from Figueroa, who introduced her mentee to new paths and players within experiential, Kelly was able to land a new position at Pinnacle as senior account manager, and according to her mentor, she’s thriving.

Event Marketer: How did you hear about the mentorship program, and what drew you to participate?

Sofia Figueroa: My good friend Gaby Neves of Factory360 invited me to join, and I’ve seen the impact that she’s had in the experiential marketing industry, so I knew that if she had a hand in something like this, it was going to be a great investment of time and energy. And then, personally, I’ve never had an official mentor. I’ve had unofficial ones throughout my career, and they’ve given me the opportunity to sharpen my skills, be a sounding board and look for new inspirations. So, this was my chance to help someone navigate those challenges in their career and hopefully grow, as well.

Felicia Kelly: Luckily, I’m on the email list for Event Marketer, so I decided to click and read more about the program. At first, I was thinking maybe I could be a mentor, but then I realized, no, I wanted to be a mentee because there are things that I still want to do and explore in experiential, and it worked out really well. I joined to see what I can learn and whom I can connect with, especially in the space of being a person of color, just kind of understanding the land-scape of what others are experiencing and how they’re navigating it.

I was also contemplating my next move, and I was very clear on what I wanted to do next but felt like I could definitely use a mentor. I often find myself in a mentor role, pouring into others, but this time I wanted to see what I stood to benefit from being a mentee. Growth isn’t about age or career stage. We’re always learning, and this felt like the right opportunity to stretch, grow and pour back into myself.

EM: Going into the program, what were you hoping to take away from the experience?

FK: I was hoping to get a mentor to take a second look at my resume and help me develop a pathway that I could target to get deeper into the experiential world. And I feel like I got the takeaways I was after.

SF: Although I’m in the mentor capacity, I’ve definitely been learning, as well. And it’s always so refreshing to connect with other like-minded industry professionals to learn about their trade because what Felicia does within events is actually very different from what I do. I got to take a peek into her world, where she produces these massive trade activations that I’ve never produced before, so I got to learn something from her. Then, as someone who is also trying to grow as a leader, sharpening my leadership skills and learning to adapt to what Felicia’s needs were at the time, wanting to grow her career, this is a really beneficial opportunity for me.

FK: And Sofia was great at that, too. She’s awesome.

“Sofia was very encouraging when I was a little doubtful, and sometimes you just need to hear that and have that push to make the jump.”

–Felicia Kelly, Senior Account Manager, Pinnacle

EM: What was your initial meeting like as a mentor/mentee pair?

SF: Unfortunately, Felicia and I live in two different states. We’ve actually tried to coordinate overlap before, but our schedules are hectic. I would say it was casual and light. The joy of a mentorship program is that you don’t have to bring that same façade that you do to work, and so you get to know each other, first, as regular people and then, industry professionals.

Working in events is not a nine-to-five job; it bleeds into your personal life. You’re away for weekends, you might celebrate your birthday at an event, you bring your whole self. So, it was nice for both of us to be able to get a complete picture of each other and understand a bit more about what we’re looking to do, holistically. We email, we text. It’s nice to be able to update each other on both professional and personal things and share resources.

FK: I was really, really pleasantly surprised with my match. I instantly thought that they did a good job with the matchmaking, because the things that I was asking for in my questionnaire were exactly who Sofia is. She really made me feel comfortable. We decided how we want to work together and what we want to get out of it. I appreciated Sofia taking the lead on organizing how we were going to interact. That was refreshing because as a planner, you never know how other people plan, so it was like, OK, great, she’s organized like me.

And then the other thing I got out of the first meeting was I learned a lot about what Sofia does, which really intrigued me and made me excited for the next meetup. She gave me some homework, too. She started sending me articles on the industry. I expressed my interest in experiential, and then she opened a whole new garage door to a bunch of different agencies and different activations that I’ve always admired from afar but was not close to anyone who actually does them. So that first meeting, we accomplished a lot, and then we kept it going after that.

“The joy of a mentorship program is that you don’t have to bring that same façade that you do to work, and so you get to know each other, first as regular people, and then industry professionals.”

–Sofia Figueroa, Senior Director-Experiential Marketing, Square

EM: What do your meetings look like, and what have you learned from this partnership so far?

FK: We met once a month or every three weeks, and then very quickly, it shifted into a situation where I was ready to make the next step to another workplace. Sofia was trying to get me to think about what I want to do, where I want to be, and what that looks and feels like, as well as the different avenues and work titles that I should be thinking of when it comes to making a pivot. Sofia was definitely pivotal in helping me navigate that process and get a new job at Pinnacle, which I started a few months ago… She was very encouraging when I was a little doubtful, and sometimes you just need to hear that and have that push to make the jump.

SF: We went from one conversation of, “I’m thinking about maybe switching my job” to “Hey, I landed a new job.” It’s been really nice to work with Felicia, too, because I give her some ideas and things to do, and she just runs with it. We really focused on her next opportunity, and she used me as a resource to figure out how to best shape her narrative, build out a portfolio and refresh her resume. I’ve never coached somebody through that specific situation, so that was the first time I got to lean into that skill set. It’s been a joy to see her continue growing her career because she’s amazing at what she does and her ambition is setting her apart. I know she’s going to be successful and continue growing.

FK: It was nice to be able to have that access to her, like we’re sending each other pictures of things that we did on the road and stuff like that. Sofia just became this person I don’t have to explain things to because she knows what I do. My family doesn’t even know what I do. I appreciate having that companionship outside of a work colleague and the relationship we are building. And believe me, Sofia and I will definitely keep in contact.