Karla Marie (Karlita)

Cochran San Martín

I'm Karla Marie — strategist, creative director, and the founder of Spotlight Strategy Group, LLC.

My work is simple at its core: I help you figure out what you're really saying, who you're saying it to, and how to say it in a way that moves people, for growth, positioning, authority, or transformation.

Before "brand strategy" became a buzzword, I was doing this work the old-fashioned way — by listening closely, asking the right questions, and building communications plans that actually produced results. I've led campaigns for banks, schools, nonprofits, and cultural institutions. I've launched magazines, managed crises, and helped organizations navigate major transitions — including leading a 90-year-old bank through a full rebrand that shifted its average customer age by 15 years in under two years. I’ve led teams in every role I’ve held with success and intention.

As the founder and publisher of N.O.sotros Magazine — a nationally recognized New Orleans cultural publication now preserved in the Tulane and LSU archives — I built an editorial platform from scratch that amplified Latino voices and connected a community. That work shaped everything I do today.

I am not a high-volume agency. I take on clients intentionally and work closely to meet our goals.

My approach is built on three beliefs:

  • Clarity is power.

  • Creativity is movement.

  • Connection creates magic.

If your messaging feels scattered, your online presence feels flat, or you’re navigating growth, rebranding, visibility challenges, or crisis management — let’s talk.

We help businesses clarify their voice, strengthen their positioning, and build strategies that create connection, credibility, and momentum.

“I am a storyteller by necessity and by nature.

Born between worlds—raised in Honduras and Guatemala, at an embassy school where my classroom was a living map of the globe, learning in English whilst the country spoke Spanish… I learned early that meaning lives in the spaces between cultures. That dual residency with New Orleans, that constant code-switching, that hunger to understand people across difference: it became my lens on everything.

I'm a writer, strategist, photographer, artist, and dancer because compartmentalizing felt like betrayal. My work—whether through Studio Shakti, Spotlight Strategy Group, Las Fridas, Shimmy Soul refuses the false choice between art and business, between personal expression and professional impact. I became a mother at nineteen, and that taught me something crucial: I would not be defined by a single narrative. I would be multidimensional, unapologetically.

Everything I do orbits three things: culture, community, and storytelling. I amplify the stories of people and places that deserve to be seen. I create spaces—physical and creative—where community can gather and celebrate who we are. And I believe that how we tell our stories changes everything.”

Awards & Accolades

Nationally and locally recognized trilingual executive with over 27 years of experience in Regional and National Communications/PR, Marketing, and Networking. Public Relations Practitioner and skilled writer specializing in Strategic Planning, Branding, Crisis Communications, Digital Marketing Strategy, Integrated Marketing.

A well-networked and enterprising professional with a proven ability to lead, develop, manage, and execute business programs and models. Multilingual in English, Spanish, and French. Extensive community outreach experience in the Latino and New Orleans communities.

Awards and Recognitions

  • 2022- Public Relations Society of America Fleurish Award (Social Media Campaign)

  • 2021- Public Relations Society of American Fleurish Award (Crisis Communications- COVID)

  • 2018- Excellence in Public Relations Award- Public Relations Society of America

  • 2014- Biz New Orleans People to Watch (http://www.bizneworleans.com/October-2014/Karla-Cochran/)

  • 2008 Katrina Survivor Community Service Award- City of New Orleans Excellence in Recovery Committee

  • 2008 Welcome Speaker for televised Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s State of the City Address

  • 2005 Nominated by Hispanic Business Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year (Los Angeles, CA)

  • 2005 City Business Magazine- Success Guide Award

  • 2005 Hispanic Trends Magazine- Top 3 Most Influential Hispanics in New Orleans (Miami, FL)

  • 2003 Power Generation- Top 40 under 40- Award

  • 2002 Vocero Top 100 Hispanics in New Orleans

Community Involvement

  • 2026 NAMI Board Member

  • 2025-26- Board Member- ByMBO (Bywater Marigny Business Organization)

  • 2025- Volunteer Krewe of Dolly Imagination Library

  • 2022- Volunteer Crescent City Cafe

  • 2018-2021- Partner/Healing- New Orleans Family Justice Center

  • 2007- Member- New Orleans Metropolitan Leadership Forum

  • 2006- 2008- Board Member- Board of Directors Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana

  • 2000 – 2009: Member Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

  • 2000 – 2009: Member New Orleans Chamber of Commerce

  • 2005- Co-Founder HIP (Hispanic Internship Program)

  • 2005- Member- Collaborative Committee Louisiana Youth Health Coalition

  • 2004- 2010: Board Member, Mensaje Ministry (Office of Communications- Arch. of NOLA)

  • 2003-2005- Member- NO AHORA Project- Fight against AIDS

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