KEYNOTES | TEAM TRAINING | LEADERSHIP EDUCATION

Make Google and AI easier to understand and more useful to your people.

Practical speaking, interactive workshops, and leadership education for businesses, associations, and organizations.

Planning a conference? You want a speaker who connects with your audience, makes complicated topics easier to understand, and gives people something useful to take back to work.

Leading a team? Maybe some people are already using AI every day, while others aren't sure where to begin. You want everyone to have a better understanding of what's possible and where these tools actually fit.

I'm Maria Elena Duron, Your Google Gal. I've spent more than 20 years building businesses and leading teams, so I understand what it means to make decisions that affect people, budgets, and customers.

Today, I help organizations understand how Google Search, Maps, and AI-powered search are changing the way customers discover businesses. I also show teams how to put Gemini, Google Workspace, and practical AI to work through live demonstrations, real business examples, and plenty of opportunities to ask questions.

And because technology is only part of the picture, we also talk about where human experience, good judgment, and responsibility still matter.

Whether you're looking for a keynote, an interactive workshop, leadership education, or a series of training sessions, we'll focus on your audience, what they need to understand, and what they can put to work afterward.

Let's Talk About Your Event or Training

Download the Speaker One-Sheet

Grow with google

U.S. Southwest coach

18,000+ business owners trained and advised

5.0 ★★★★★

370+

Google verified reviews

certified chief ai officer + ai consultant

PRACTICAL ENOUGH TO USE.

MEMORABLE ENOUGH TO SHARE.

MARIA ELENA IN ACTION

Maria Elena combines clear explanations, real business experience, audience interaction, and practical frameworks. Attendees leave understanding what changed, what deserves their attention, and what to do next.

Signature SPEAKING & TRAINING programs

Three ways to help your people navigate Google, AI, and the changes affecting their work.

Every audience comes with different questions.

Some are wondering how AI changes the value of their experience. Others want to understand how customers are finding businesses today. And some are already using AI tools but need help making those tools more useful in everyday work.

These three programs address those needs through practical examples, live demonstrations, and conversations that connect the technology to real business decisions.

Each can be adapted for a keynote, interactive workshop, leadership session, or customized training series.

For organizations that want learning to continue beyond a single event, Educate. Equip. Embed.™ provides an additional option for guided learning and follow-through.

EXPERIENCED LEADERSHIP & AI

AI IS ACCELERATING. EXPERIENCE MUST LEAD.

A Smart at 55+ Program

AI is moving faster and reaching deeper into business than previous waves of technology. Experienced owners and leaders may feel pressure to step back simply because someone else speaks the newest technical language.

This program helps leaders combine artificial intelligence with the judgment, pattern recognition, relationships, and accountability they have built over decades.

Participants learn how to remain confident, visible, and influential while keeping experienced intelligence in charge.

Audience MEMBERS WILL leave knowing:

Why experienced judgment becomes more valuable as AI becomes easier for everyone to access
How to use AI without quietly surrendering decision-making authority
Where artificial intelligence can support leadership and where experienced intelligence must remain in charge
How to remain confident, visible, and influential during rapid technological change
How to move from fatigue and contraction into renewed contribution, relevance, and growth

Best for: Owner groups, executive teams, leadership organizations, Vistage groups, founder communities, experienced professionals, and multigenerational teams.

Available as: Keynote, interactive workshop, executive session, or customized learning series.

GOOGLE & AI SEARCH VISIBILITY

People are no longer finding businesses through a single list of links. Google, AI-generated answers, maps, reviews, videos, and trusted third-party sources now influence which businesses are seen, summarized, recommended, and chosen.

Maria Elena shows audiences how websites, Google Business Profiles, reviews, content, authority signals, and outside sources work together.

Participants leave knowing which visibility signals deserve attention and what to strengthen first so their organization is not only seen, but understood, trusted, and chosen.

Audience MEMBERS WILL leave knowing:

How customers now discover, evaluate, and compare businesses across Google and AI search
Which visibility signals help search engines and AI platforms understand, trust, and recommend a business
Why strong businesses can still be overlooked, misunderstood, or left out of answers
How websites, Google Business Profiles, reviews, content, and third-party authority work together
What to strengthen first so visibility leads to trust, preference, and being chosen

GET FOUND, UNDERSTOOD & CHOSEN IN GOOGLE AND AI SEARCH

Best for: Corporate marketing teams, business conferences, associations, sales organizations, service businesses, chambers, universities, and economic-development groups.

Available as: Keynote, breakout session, interactive workshop, leadership briefing, or customized team training.

PRACTICAL AI WORKFLOWS

Teams are experimenting with prompts and tools, but isolated experiments rarely create dependable business value.

This program helps organizations identify where AI can support real work, turn recurring tasks into repeatable workflows, and establish the human review, ownership, and boundaries needed to use those workflows responsibly.

The goal is not to add more tools. It is to help teams create practical ways of working that save time, improve consistency, and keep people accountable for the final decision.

Audience MEMBERS WILL leave knowing:

How to identify recurring work that is appropriate for AI support
How to turn scattered prompts and isolated experiments into repeatable workflows
Where human review, ownership, and approval need to remain part of the process
How to reduce duplicated effort, tool overload, and inconsistent results
How to build practical workflows that save time while protecting quality, judgment, and accountability

FROM AI EXPERIMENTS TO WORKFLOWS THAT WORK

Best for: Corporate teams, leadership groups, marketing departments, professional-service organizations, universities, associations, and teams already experimenting with AI.

Available as: Keynote, interactive workshop, executive session, customized virtual series, or team-training program.

EDUCATE. EQUIP. EMBED.™

Help your people take what they learn back to work.

A keynote can open people's eyes to what's possible. A workshop gives them a chance to explore it. And sometimes, a little guidance afterward is what helps them put what they've learned into practice.

That's the thinking behind Educate. Equip. Embed.™

It's a flexible learning approach for organizations that want to go beyond a single presentation.

We begin by understanding your audience, what they already know, and what you want them to be able to do. Then we determine the right combination of education, practical exercises, coaching, and follow-up.

EDUCATE

Build understanding and get everyone talking about the same things.

We can begin with a keynote, leadership session, or organization-wide training that explains what's changing and why it matters.

Through live demonstrations and business examples, participants see how Google and AI affect their work, where the opportunities are, and why their own experience and judgment still matter.

EQUIP

Give people the knowledge and practice to use what they're learning.

Through focused workshops, virtual training, guided exercises, and practical resources, participants explore how the ideas apply to their own responsibilities.

We can work through everyday examples, discuss appropriate ways to use AI, and identify tasks or decisions where the new knowledge may help.

People have opportunities to ask questions, try what they've learned, and build confidence before bringing it into their work.

EMBED

Help the learning become part of everyday work.

When an organization wants additional support, we can include scheduled follow-up sessions, coaching conversations, and progress check-ins.

These give participants opportunities to discuss what they've tried, work through questions, and make adjustments as they gain experience.

Leadership can also use these conversations to understand how learning is progressing and where people may need additional support.

The organization remains responsible for its internal processes, technology decisions, and implementation.

What an Educate. Equip. Embed.™ engagement may include

A keynote, leadership session, or company-wide presentation
Interactive team workshops or virtual learning sessions
Practical exercises and supporting resources
Leadership and team coaching conversations
Scheduled follow-up sessions and progress reviews
Agreed accountability and learning-support activities

The format, schedule, and level of support are determined with each organization before the engagement begins.

Best for: Companies, associations, leadership groups, universities, nonprofit organizations, and teams that want to continue learning after an initial presentation.

Available as: A customized speaking and learning engagement built around your audience, goals, and agreed level of support.

WANT A MORE STRUCTURED AI LEARNING PROGRAM FOR YOUR TEAM?

Give people training that fits the work they actually do.

The person managing operations doesn't have the same AI questions as someone working in marketing, HR, finance, or customer service.

And while everyone can benefit from a basic understanding of AI, different roles often need different kinds of learning.

For organizations that want a more structured approach, SmarterX's AI Academy offers AI education with learning resources designed for different roles, departments, and experience levels.

Smart Brand System™ can complement that learning with live Google and AI training, coaching conversations, progress reviews, and accountability support.

SmarterX provides the course content and learning platform. I provide the live education and guidance we agree on for your organization.

Your people can learn through structured courses, then have opportunities to discuss what they're learning, ask questions, and consider how to apply it to their work.

We'll determine together whether this option makes sense for your team and what level of additional support would be useful.

NOT SURE WHICH KIND OF TRAINING YOUR PEOPLE NEED?

You may know your organization needs help with Google or AI, but you're still figuring out what that help looks like.

Would one workshop answer the questions people are asking? Would a leadership session be a better place to begin? Or would your team benefit from a more structured learning program?

You don't need to have all of that figured out before reaching out.

Tell me who you're trying to help, what's happening in your organization, and what you'd like people to be able to do.

We can talk through the learning options and see which approach makes sense for your team.

WHAT EVENT HOSTS AND ORGANIZATIONS SAY

“Thank you! The knowledge and experience you shared brought so much value to the community, and the feedback we’ve heard has been nothing but positive. Your ability to break things down and create engaging discussions really elevated the learning experience for everyone involved. Thanks again for the time, effort, and expertise you put into making this series such a success!”

KATIE TURNER

Small Business and Fractional Community Manager, IACAIO

Small Business Growth Marketing

“So SMART and remarkably eloquent. We are excited and appreciative of what Maria Elena has done for our major event in keynoting in the morning, in the afternoon, at lunch, and with breakout sessions. She’s been a key part of our MarkeTech event for the last five years and we highly recommend her. Thank you for rocking the house!”

CEO, Grow and Buy Nebraska

MarkeTech Conference

JANELL EHRKE

“Maria Elena is such a power house and super passionate and engaging! Everyone at the conference had high marks and praise. They learned so much and walked away with practical actions that were very memorable and successful in their business growth. Thank you Maria for bringing the excitement, experience, and expertise!”

Chairperson

Texas Conference for Women

MICHELLE SNEED

why book maria elena

SHE KNOWS WHAT IT TAKES TO BUILD A BUSINESS, NOT JUST TALK ABOUT ONE.

Maria Elena brings more than 20 years of experience building brands, leading teams, managing operations, and helping grow a business from approximately $300,000 to $8.1 million. Her programs connect current technology with real business judgment, clear priorities, and the human trust that still drives decisions.