María Carla Chicuén is a writer, author, and cultural leader based in Miami, Florida. She is the author of Achieve the College Dream (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016)—a part-memoir, part-guide drawing on her journey from Cuba to Harvard University. She is currently completing her first full-length memoir, Persevere, which chronicles her family´s multigenerational migration story.

A graduate of the Miami Book Fair Memoir Workshop, María Carla’s writing journey began early, earning national recognition from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for her high school prose and poetry. Her scholarly and personal writing has since appeared in outlets such as the Miami Herald, the Harvard Economic Review, and La Prensa. At Harvard University, her history thesis won the Washburn Prize for the Best Senior Thesis in the Department of History, the Hammond Prize for Best Undergraduate Thesis Related to Spanish-Speaking America, and the Hoopes Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Work.

In addition to her writing, María Carla serves as Associate Executive Director and Chief Strategy & Collaboration Officer at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. She previously served as Executive Director of Cultural Affairs at Miami Dade College, where she led major civic landmarks and cultural institutions including the Miami Book Fair, Miami Film Festival, and the Freedom Tower. Previously, she was the Founding Executive Director of FIU CasaCuba and worked as a consultant for the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

She holds a Master of Science in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts cum laude with High Honors in History from Harvard University. 

A frequent speaker and media contributor, she has presented at national conferences, including SXSW EDU 2025, and has been featured in The New York Times, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Miami Herald, Telemundo, and Univisión. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Celia Cruz Foundation and the Arts & Business Council. She is an alumna of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Senior Executive Orientation and Leadership Miami, as well as the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers. She is a 2025 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow and a former Term Member of the Council of Foreign Relations.