Strategy grounded in science. Growth driven by intention.

At The McKnight Element, I believe business growth isn’t a mystery; it’s a personalized formula. Built on facts, driven by data, and refined by experimentation. Just like science, strategy should be repeatable, measurable, and exact.

You don’t need a full in-house team to get there. You need the right partner.

The Story behind The McKnight Element

Logo with the text "Em" inside a square and "The McKnight Element" to the right on a dark background.

The McKnight Element is the product of three truths:

  1. That smart marketing strategy is rooted in data—not guesswork.

  2. That businesses deserve sharp, high-impact support tailored to their reality, not someone else’s playbook.

  3. That authentic marketing honors culture and language, ensuring Hispanic and Latino audiences are engaged with, not just spoken to.

After more than a decade leading growth marketing and strategy, I founded The McKnight Element to bring that same level of thinking to organizations like yours that are ready to evolve without overextending their teams or budgets.

Whether you’re a nonprofit, a startup, or a values-based company, this is where intention meets execution.

Dominican Republic flag hanging from a balcony with pink flowers and string lights, on a building with white architectural details.
Colorful street scene with green and yellow buildings, cobblestone sidewalk, parked cars, overcast sky, and utility wires overhead.

The McKnight Element is not a content studio. It’s not a bloated agency. No upselling happening under my watch.

It is:

  • A Fractional CMO partner

  • A sounding board for big decisions

  • A builder of systems, reports, and repeatable wins

  • A translator between your brand and your data

  • A strategist who actually shows the work

These services span strategic planning, performance marketing, campaign audits, and growth reporting. Every solution is tailored and designed to outlive our engagement.

a period table-like of elements: "Ds" Data-Driven Decisions, "Xp" Experimentation and Iteration, "Au" Audience Insight, "Cr" Creative Messaging, "Ch" Channel Optimization, "Px" Performance Metrics, "Te" Test & Learn, "Cl" Collab Across Teams "Im"

The science of strategy is best seen in action.

Cultural Perspective

A two-story white and orange building on a street, featuring large glass windows with bars, a blue trim, and signs indicating it is a bar, restaurant, discotheque, and pottery shop in the Dominican Republic town of La Laguna. 
The hardware store owned by my parents in Santo Tomas, Chontales, Nicaragua

Born and raised in Miami, Florida (with a few of my early teen years spent in Nicaragua) I’ve lived at the crossroads of cultures my entire life. My parents were entrepreneurs in both Miami and Nicaragua for over two decades, so I grew up immersed in the rhythms of business and the nuances of connecting with different communities. Fully bilingual in Spanish and English, I understand firsthand how culture shapes the way people hear, trust, and respond to messages. This perspective fuels my work with brands—whether it’s guiding a bilingual campaign, entering new markets, or embedding inclusivity into a broader marketing strategy. My multicultural approach ensures your brand speaks to people, not just demographics.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Think of it like the difference between a ship’s captain, a first mate, and hiring a captain full-time.

    • Fractional CMO: A highly experienced marketing leader who works with your business part-time, on a set retainer. They set the marketing vision, build the strategy, align it with business goals, and ensure all efforts are tied to measurable outcomes. They don’t just “run campaigns”—they decide which campaigns should exist in the first place, what they need to achieve, and how success will be measured. You get executive-level expertise without the cost and commitment of a full-time hire.

    • Marketing Manager: An excellent tactical executor. Marketing managers typically oversee day-to-day operations, manage timelines, coordinate with vendors, and ensure campaigns get delivered. They’re essential for keeping the engine running, but they’re usually following a strategy that’s been set by someone else, like a CMO or marketing director.

    • Full-Time CMO: The in-house captain of your marketing ship. They’re embedded in your business daily, leading strategy, managing large teams, and collaborating with other executives. A great option for larger companies with the budget and the need for constant executive oversight. However, they come with a full-time salary, benefits, bonuses, and a long-term commitment.

    In short: A full-time CMO is ideal if you have a large, complex marketing operation that needs a dedicated leader every day. A marketing manager is your go-to for executing the plan. A fractional CMO gives you strategic leadership at the highest level without the full-time overhead so you can scale smarter, and with less risk.

  • No, and that’s by design. The McKnight Element focuses on strategy, systems, and results. Think of it as the “why” and “how,” not the “who’s holding the camera.”

  • I work with all kinds of businesses, but I especially love partnering with mid-size, locally rooted companies in the South Puget Sound. You might not have a full in-house marketing team (maybe someone posts on social occasionally), but you’re ready to take things to the next level. That’s where I come in.

  • It depends on where you’re starting and where you want to go. My work is tailored to your business’s goals, pace, and resources, not a pre-set package. Once we’ve discussed your objectives and mapped a plan, I’ll provide a proposal that reflects the value and outcomes you can expect.

  • Think of me like a driving instructor: I’ll guide, support, and help you build the systems for long-term growth, but I’m not meant to stay in the car forever. You’ll need me at key phases, not always and not always at the same capacity. And yes, I’m a real person who delivers real results, even straight through your physical doors in Tacoma, Puyallup, Olympia and other cities in South Puget Sound.

    That said, my services extend across the country. So whether you’re in Tacoma or Tampa, we can still work together seamlessly.

    Some clients bring me in as a fractional CMO. Others ask for audits, growth plans, or reporting frameworks. It all starts with a conversation.

  • I think AI, especially tools like ChatGPT, is a powerful asset for business owners. When used well, it can save time, spark ideas, and streamline decision-making. The key is in the input: the more thoughtful and detailed your prompt, the better the output you’ll get.

    It’s important to remember that AI is learning from us, which can feel big and complex, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. I believe we all benefit from understanding its capabilities and getting comfortable with how it can support our work, not replace it.

    If you’re curious or unsure about how to integrate AI into your business, I’m always happy to talk through smart, responsible ways to use it as part of your strategy.

  • Perfect. Let’s figure it out together.