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Meiling Macias-Toro
Honoree Profile
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Meiling Macias-Toro passionately advocates for the education, health and human rights of children.
Over the past 10 years, she and her husband, Rafael, have become major supporters of orphanages in the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Mexico, and are foster parents to two exceptional young men.
As current President of 100 Hispanic Women, Westchester County, Ms. Macias-Toro serves to empower and support Latinas with education, counseling, mentorship and scholarships to achieve higher education and career equity. She also serves as a committee member on the Cristian Rivera Foundation, a non-profit that funds research to find a cure for DIPG, a rare fastgrowing brain tumor mostly found in children.
Ms. Macias-Toro is an advertising and media expert with over 30 years of experience producing award-winning commercials and content. As Head of Production for Conill Advertising/Saatchi & Saatchi, Siboney/FCB, Rapp Collins Worldwide and The Vidal Partnership, she led production teams in integrated creative production. Her campaigns have featured countless celebrities, and she has received recognition and awards for excellence in communication to consumers from CLIO, Se Habla Español, FIAP, El SOL, and TELLY.
She is co-founder of Freedom Studios, a minority-women-owned media company that develops thought-provoking, groundbreaking, and uplifting content to create change. She is currently working on a joint venture with Freedom Global Network, a telecommunication company that is building and developing next-generation communications and media technology in Latin America.
Ms. Macias-Toro was born in Colombia and holds a BFA in Communication Arts from the New York Institute of Technology. She has received recognition for her achievements, notably: El Diario La Prensa’s Distinguished Latina; the Professional Excellence from the New York Colombian Civic Center; and the Westchester Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at Growing with Heels, Celebrating the Power of Women. Ms. Macias-Toro is the proud mother of Nicole, and adores Johan and David, the boys she and her family have fostered from the Niño de Cristo orphanage. She lives in Yonkers with her husband and their dog, Chubby.