Jim Estrada

Jim Estrada is a nationally recognized consultant in marketing communications, public relations, and cultural competence. He founded Estrada Communications Group, Inc. in San Antonio, TX (1992) and relocated to Austin, TX (1994) when the agency was contracted to launch the Texas Lottery simultaneously in 15 markets across the state.

ECG has since provided strategic counsel to many of the most respected corporations and nonprofit clients in the USA, among them: Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, California State University System, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, LatinoUSA (NPR), Lopez Foods, McDonald’s Corporation, National Council of La Raza, Pizza Hut, StoryCorps-Historias, Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, University of Texas-Austin, U.S. Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, Walmart, and Wells Fargo.

As a corporate executive he directed national Hispanic Consumer Marketing for Anheuser- Busch, Inc., beer brands in St. Louis, MO; he established corporate relations programs and philanthropic giving in the Southwest for Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. from Houston, TX; and supervised regional marketing, promotions, and public relations for McDonald’s Corporation in CA, AZ, and NV from San Diego, CA.

In the public sector he oversaw public relations and citizen involvement programs for the San Diego County Council of Governments. He also designed and implemented community relations and marketing campaigns for support of construction of the initial phase of the San Diego Trolley—one of the most successful ridership, fare box revenue generating, light-rail transit systems in the U.S.

The former TV news reporter (San Diego, CA), award-winning documentary film producer (La Raza Series, 1972), and broadcast executive (McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Company, NYC) attended San Diego State University, Boston College, and Harvard Business School. He is a guest lecturer at colleges and universities and his book, The ABCs and Ñ of America’s Cultural Evolution: A Primer on the Growing Influence of Hispanics, Latinos, and mestizos in the USA is now on sale across the nation (Tate Publishing).

He currently serves on the Board of directors of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE), the Advisory Council of the University of Texas Libraries, and cc-chairs the VOCES Oral History Project Advisory Council (Journalism Department, UT Austin).