Work Experience:
In 2009, Vivian opened a full service bilingual State Farm office in Hoover, AL, dedicated to providing State Farm insurance products (Auto Insurance, Renters Insurance, Homeowner Insurance, Business Insurance, Life Insurance, Health Insurance) and financial services and becoming a pioneer in the Hispanic Insurance Market in Central Alabama. Its success in the Hispanic marketplace is being built upon its active role in the community, through the local Hispanic media, community events and the support to non-profit organizations. In April of 2020, she started her second State Farm office in Irondale as the first agent in the state with a second location.
Vivian worked for over two years as Assistant Public Information Officer and Hispanic Liaison for the City of Birmingham's Mayor’s Office. In that position, she advised Mayor Bernard Kincaid on Hispanic issues, represented the Mayor and the City in meeting and events, coordinated public and media relations for the Mayor and staff.
Vivian also worked for three years as the Vice-President for KPI Latino, the first Hispanic Marketing Agency and Spanish Media Production Firm in the state. As a bilingual media professional, she supervised the development of Hispanic marketing campaigns for corporate customers and the creation of content for Spanish radio and TV programming. Some of local customers include Mc Donald’s CLP, Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling CO, BBVA Compass and State Farm.
Boards and Committees:
- Board Member for the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA)
- Birmingham Business Alliance's Hispanic Business Council (HBC).
- Bilingual public information liaison for the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency (EMA)
- Program Coordinator for the Alabama Latin American Society (ALAS)
- Birmingham Pledge Foundation, bilingual program coordinator and conference mediator
- UAB and Samford Universities' Spanish instructor Language Departments.
- Co-host of "Hola Alabama" and "Hola Amigos," First bilingual (Spanish/English) educational radio and TV programs in Alabama (2003-2009).
Education and Training:
Born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with Spanish father and Danish-Yugoslavian mother, Vivian moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 2000. Vivian holds a BA in Social Communications, Public Relations, from Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo, Brazil (1997) and a Master's degree in Culture and Communication in Science and Technology from the Universidad de Salamanca, Spain (2000). In 2011 she became a UAB graduate with a Master's degree in Communication Management.
She is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and has over 2 years of translation and language teaching experience in Brazil, Spain, and the U.S.. As a communication professional and interpreter, she has developed several long-term projects and provided services for national and international companies, such as General Motors, AT&T, Ford, Volkswagen, Wal-Mart Mexico, Cingular and Alabama Power.
Awards and Honors
- Has been on “The List” of Birmingham's largest minority-owned businesses by the Birmingham Business Journal since 2010.
- Profiled on the One-on-One of BMetro Magazine
- Her insurance agency has been elected of Hoover in the Hoover Magazine 2020 and 2021
- Her office has achieved President’s Club , Health and Life as the Top 50 out of 19,000 State Farm Agents in the country
- She is married to Hernan Prado, and is the proud mom of two a 10 and 6 year old boys, Alex and Alan.
