Emily Mazreku and Alejandro Garcia Montiel Named 2025 AMA Foundation Nonprofit Marketers of the Year

Emily Mazreku is the Director of Marketing Strategy at Breakthrough T1D, formerly JDRF, where she leads awareness, community, and fundraising communications to accelerate the organization’s mission to cure, prevent, and treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its complications.

At Breakthrough T1D, Emily was part of the core strategic team that helped lead the organization through a rebrand, evolving a 50-year-old brand for the future. She also served as strategic communications lead for the first-ever Barbie with T1D, as Breakthrough T1D partnered with Mattel on a global campaign that has generated more than 8 billion impressions and started meaningful conversations about visibility and representation.

Before joining Breakthrough T1D, Emily spent five years with Major League Baseball and the Pittsburgh Pirates, creating digital campaigns that deepened fan engagement and strengthened brand loyalty and connection.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as an adult, Emily leads with her personal experience and empathy to create campaigns that drive progress and help people feel seen. “When I joined Breakthrough T1D, I joined with a personal ‘why.’ Now, every person I’ve met along the way truly represents my ‘why’ and what it means to work for this mission each day. To have been a core member of transforming a 50-year-old brand into one that reflects the entire T1D community – including myself and the many community members I’ve met along the way – has been one of the most personal and professional honors of my life.”

Emily lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is often at a concert, on a hike, or spending time with her husband, Matt, their daughter, Ellie, and their dog, Cooper.

Alejandro Garcia is the Executive Director of the Tulsa Global District, bringing a strategic and business-focused vision to the organization. Originally from Puebla, Mexico, Alejandro joined the team in October 2023 as the Small Business Specialist, where he worked closely with entrepreneurs and business owners across the district. In that role, he led marketing and business support initiatives and managed all promotional and branding efforts for the organization.

Before transitioning into the nonprofit sector, Alejandro built a distinguished career in marketing and media. He developed and managed national marketing strategies in Mexico, earned international advertising awards in Spain, and led his marketing agency to become one of the Top 100 firms in the country. He also created and hosted media content for magazines, TV, radio, and live entertainment. “After nearly two decades in corporate marketing, I moved to a new country and entered the nonprofit world – an experience that not only reshaped my understanding of marketing but also reinvented me as a person. Working in East Tulsa, within one of the most culturally rich and underserved communities in the city, gave me an entirely new perspective on the power of communication. It taught me that effective marketing in the nonprofit sector is not about selling a product – it’s about earning trust, building belonging, and driving impact that truly changes lives.”

A strong advocate for entrepreneurship, Alejandro has coached dozens of startups and small businesses on branding, strategy, and market growth. He is also a member of the Mexican Society of Music Authors and Composers for his work as a songwriter for both himself and other Mexican artists.

Alejandro holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Tecnológico de Monterrey, a Master’s in Marketing and Management from UPAEP, and an MBA with a Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship from Oklahoma State University.