Mari D. González, M.A.

Trainer and Translator

After completing a B.A. in Education and Social Science at eighteen, Mari journeyed from the state of Jalisco, Mexico, to the San Francisco Bay Area to learn English and continue her studies. While working full-time managing public education campaigns and marketing strategies, she graduated with honors from Holy Names University in Oakland, California, where she majored in Business Management and Communications.

Mari founded IXMATI Communications and enrolled in graduate school to expand her knowledge of her just-found passion—cross-cultural communication. She received a Master of Art degree in Intercultural Relations (MAIR) from the University of the Pacific after completing three research projects including a thesis. Graduate school research focused on the junction between digital marketing and the emerging bilingual, second-generation Latinos/Hispanics’ ethic identity, acculturation, and linguistic preferences. Her thesis titled, “Localizing Websites: A Comparative Study of Cultural and Linguistic Adaptation of Website Content and Design for Companies Entering the Latino/Hispanic and/or Mexican Markets” has been published.

IXMATI has supported branding and marketing strategy companies with market research specific to Latinos/Hispanics, advising on culturally relevant messages and segment-specific translation. Supported companies include the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA), OnCall, an Australian-based translation and localization company, digital and online marketing company, Winning Strategies, and branding and package design company, Maximo Branding. IXMATI has also successfully assisted companies and organizations such as John Muir Medical Center, The Contra Costa Times, and The City of Concord to better understand the Latin/Hispanic consumer.

Mari received the Schiku Weininger Award for designing a highly effective bilingual outreach training curriculum for health educators, was nominated for the City of Concord, Human Relations Commission’s Award and was featured as a consultant with the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) at Georgetown University.  She volunteers with the Art of Living Foundation and facilitates Yoga/Meditation sessions in Spanish at a local community clinic.

Martha Potts

Associate Trainer and Translator

Peruvian born Martha Potts has been living in the United States since 1993. She studied Business Administration at the Universidad San Martin de Porres in Peru and was the Executive Secretary to the Presidents for Marubeni Corporation and Japan Oil Company in Peru and Venezuela.

Martha designed a training curriculum, “Do’s and Don’ts of Living in America,” for foreigners coming to work and live in the US. She has worked for Chevron Corporation as a relocation consultant, Spanish tutor, interpreter and translator. She is a consultant with the City of Concord and coordinates its Welcome Packet program.

Her time is spent managing sustainable community development programs, providing translation, training, supporting immigrants adapting to a new culture, and being with her husband and two children.