Welcome

“I’m a SHINE COACH, author, artist, actress, model, public speaker, storyteller,

content creator, and a proud Latina living in Texas.

I have spent the past three decades helping my community shine brighter by encouraging them to discover

the power of print”-Marie Elena Cortes

Who is Marie Elena Cortes?

International Award-Winning Author, Marie Elena Cortés, is an experienced and passionate motivational speaker with over twenty-five years of experience. Marie Elena is from Torrance, California, but grew up undocumented in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, after her father abandoned her. She came back to the USA at age 16 to learn to speak English and conquered more than just the language. In 1996, she became a Bilingual and ESL Teacher to served her community with her creative projects for multicultural students in Houston, Texas.

Elena enjoys beautifying minds and spaces with her artistic talent and writing workshops. She has presented to over 350,000 students, parents, educators, and businesses at schools, libraries, churches, festivals, and conferences across the U.S.A. Mexico, Central America, and Europe. Attendees enjoy Corte’s storytelling, poetry, empowering presentations, and creative workshops that invite her audience to discover the power of thinking on paper!

After 25 years in the classroom, Elena discovered that writing- in all artistic forms- helps bring clarity, fosters reflection, inspires transformation, and shapes a better future. She now devotes herself to sharing those experiences and solutions with all who cross her path. Writing is her safe place and her most power inspiration.

Elena made a promise to never stop writing until her soul takes flight and her hand lets go of her pen.

Today, Cortes shines her beautiful light through writing children’s books, presenting motivational parent & teacher workshops, creating flower crowns, painting dresses, modeling and sharing social media content in different platforms…including her two podcasts on You Tube: