Experiential in Color Mentorship Q&A: Gerry Rojas and Natalie Azcona

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

Posted on December 23, 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.

Mentor Gerry Rojas and mentee Natalie Azcona know all too well how the events industry is constantly moving forward, but they still make time to catch up when they can, even if it’s for just 15 minutes every few weeks. The pair has built their relationship on real, honest conversations that tackle challenges on both sides of their careers, while also celebrating their cultures and accomplishments.

With 25 years of experience in media, Rojas, svp-product marketing and sales strategy at Sundial Media & Technology Group, was the ideal mentor for Azcona who was growing her career at TelevisaUnivision. But then, she pivoted, and Rojas was there to help her with her next move, translating her experience to explore new avenues in tech events. Azcona landed on the agency side at Cred as an event planner, and she’s enjoying soaking up learnings from her new role, in addition to all the advice and insights she continues to pick up from Rojas.

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

Gerry Rojas: I have always been oriented to try to give back to community. There were a couple of key figures who opened the door for me to get to where I am today, and I wanted to pay that forward.

Natalie Azcona: I saw a post on LinkedIn, and I just felt an immediate draw to it because sometimes I find it really hard to connect with people in corporate who don’t always have the background people of color like me come from. I’m the first one in my family to graduate from college and to join a corporate job, and there aren’t a lot of people I can go to in my personal life to ask, “How would you handle this situation at work,” or “How does your culture cross into work?” And so, it was really important to me, and I always try to find mentors who understand our backgrounds, have similar upbringings and break through some of the expectations that are put on us as people of color.

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

NA: Gerry is so energetic and positive. When I first connected with him, we were both in the middle of a lot of changes and big projects, and I remember we would squeeze in 15 to 20 minutes to talk about how we were doing, how we were staying afloat and what our challenges were that week. Hearing his perspective from an executive level was really important for me because sometimes it’s hard to see past your roles and responsibilities. I think what I would take away most is his ability to see optimistically ahead, stay positive and bring all of this energy to the people he works with. It inspired me to do the same.

GR: For me, what I find special is the energy, the hope, the passion around trying to break into an industry that’s really hard to break into. So, if there’s anything that I can offer up from my lived experience, I would share, and then the greatest joy is seeing them have some type of success. Getting a new job, meeting a new person or whatever it is, those connections slowly add to your progression. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon, so I’m hoping I was there a couple of steps along the way of your career journey.

“I always try to find mentors who understand our backgrounds, have similar upbringings and break through some of the expectations that are put on us as people of color.”

–Natalie Azcona, Event Planner, Cred

EM: How often do you meet, and what do these meetings look like?

NA: We started chatting in the spring, and initially, we thought we would set a cadence of once every month, but it turned out to be maybe once every few weeks or once every two months in the summer. Even if they were short conversations, they were plentiful. We had a lot to chat about, whether it was work or personal or merging both.

A month after we had just connected, I said, “Gerry, I got engaged.” And he was like, “Oh my gosh, congrats. I’ve been married for this long, and these are my lessons, and this is how we manage work and life,” which was really lovely to hear. We try to make it as friendly as possible and not rigid, like you’re my mentor, I’m your mentee.

GR: It’s inspiring to be able to talk to Natalie. Natalie and I had conversations like we were two friends in college. It wasn’t really about you’re really old, Gerry, or anything like that. No, it was natural, down-to-earth and realistic. It’s rewarding to have these conversations.

EM: What have you learned from this partnership so far?

NA: I made a career switch after the time we started. I really wanted to make a move, and Gerry was such a good guide for that. He gave me advice on how to break into a new industry, how to be successful in a space where maybe there aren’t a lot of Latinos or people of color, and how to speak up for your culture. We had real conversations; it’s not like a ticker that we were checking off.

I’m now at Cred, a boutique p.r. agency, and we do incredible work with speaker management and event management across the world. My clients are primarily in tech, so going from media to tech is a huge change, but that’s what I wanted to do and what I set my mind to. Gerry still works in media, but he’s been in the industry for so long that he knows every industry you could think of and has connections everywhere. He was always giving me advice on what to look into, what research to do and how to prepare for my next interview—all while cheering me on.

GR: It’s good for me to be plugged in with this new generation and hear what their struggles are and the new challenges that they’re dealing with, because I can identify with them. When I first started in this business in 2000, that’s when they discovered Latinos as one of the fastest growing demos. I’ve been at it now 25 years, and I’m still doing that education and research, but obviously there are new ways to do it. So, hearing those challenges is a learning experience for me.

“It’s good for me to be plugged in with this new generation and hear what their struggles are and the new challenges that they’re dealing with, because I can identify with them.”

–Gerry Rojas, SVP-Product Marketing and Sales Strategy, Sundial Media & Technology Group

EM: Natalie, how valuable has this mentorship experience been to you?

NA: As I grow in my career, I can’t wait to be a mentor. It’s really inspiring, and it would be very fulfilling to be able to give somebody who’s just entering the workforce the guidance, advice and steps to get started. As silly as it might seem, even how to use a platform like Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Outlook. Those were things that I just didn’t know when I joined the workforce.

You learn as you go, but I would love to be able to help and give that guidance back in, for example, how you build an agenda, write an email or reach out to a new client. I will continue to participate in this program more as a mentee now, but in the future, definitely, as a mentor.

EM: What changes do you hope to see in the industry for the next generation of diverse event professionals? How can the industry lift them up?

NA: Even though Gerry is so busy, he finds 10 to 15 minutes to connect with me. What can you do with your 10- to 15-minute break during the day to empower a young professional just getting started in the industry? I hope that in the future, I see more executives taking the time to connect with young people to make them feel like they can move up the ladder and that one day, they can make it up to an executive position, too.

Lastly, a former colleague of mine who is in an executive position invited me to accompany her to an inspiring, all-women event. It was nice to see so many executives bring junior-level professionals, and I think more events like that are necessary. Always try to invite someone who is in a different level or place than you are because that’s how they can really make connections.