Meet Yolanda Bordallo
Yolanda Bordallo is one of Fervor’s Marketing and Communications Coordinators, and we are so, so glad she’s keeping us in line.
“I love being organized and providing structure for the whole team,” Yolanda says. “I really like it when I see we’re on time and the project is going smoothly—it’s so satisfying!”
At Fervor
Yolanda puts her serious project management skills to work for our clients. She’s got an unstoppable drive to get things done right. That tenacity started early for her.
Getting After It From the Beginning
Yolanda moved to Kansas City from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, at age 12, speaking only Spanish. She fearlessly dove into language learning, toting an earmarked English-Spanish dictionary everywhere she went. Her father encouraged her with challenges, like sending her into the bank alone to change $5 into quarters.
“It took me a good 20 minutes of translating,” Yolanda remembers, “But I was like, I’m not coming out of there without those quarters.”
Before Fervor
Yolanda has her bachelor’s in marketing from Park University and a graphic design certificate from the Kansas City Art Institute. It will surprise no one who knows her that she sought out practical work and interning experience to supplement her classes. Yolanda came out of school with a degree and valuable agency experience at REACTOR Design Studio and MAKE Digital Group. She added nonprofit expertise to her résumé as a bilingual client enrollment specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters and MOCSA’s communications and marketing coordinator.
Why Fervor?
Yolanda’s work brought her into the same marketing circles as our CEO, Mike, and our operations manager, Traci. When she heard there was an opening at Fervor, Yolanda was excited about the opportunity to do good in an agency setting. “I wanted to find somewhere that aligned with my values and was a good fit,” she said. Fervor was it.
Yolanda was impressed how Fervor lives out its values and manifesto. “It actually is how the company is run.” Now, two months into her time at Fervor, she also loves the agency’s collaborative culture and laid-back atmosphere. “Everybody is so supportive of each other,” she says. “It really is all hands on deck if somebody needs help.”
And the good music playing in the office? That’s a big work perk for Yolanda.
What she loves
Her number one past-time is going to shows. Yolanda has diverse tastes: She’s a huge electronic and trance fan, but she also loves artists from the ‘70s—music from her parents’ generation. She’s excited about going to see Elton John soon. Just don’t make her listen to Taylor Swift. “I cringe. I can’t,” Yolanda apologizes. “But she’s a good person! So I hear.”
Her favorite people? Her fiancé Andrew (the wedding is next October and they know, they know, they need to get planning), their families (they meet up with both at least once a week), and their rescue dogs Obi Wan and Jango Fett.
Yolanda takes the stereotype of an uptight task-master coordinator and turns it on its head: She’s going to keep it organized, yes, but she’s also here to have a really, really good time. “Fun over everything!” she laughs.
Also: “Cheese is life,” Yolanda quips. “If there’s cheese, a good martini and music playing, that’s all that matters.”
What she wants to do next
Yolanda wants to continue supporting the arts. It’s personal for her. Andrew is an illustrator and her sister is an artist as well. Yolanda is a vocal cheerleader for Kansas City’s local arts community, including volunteering with Front/Space, a unique downtown exhibition space her sister co-directs.
Top of the list for next year, Yolanda and Andrew will fully launch a small apparel company they have been working on. “It’s been a long process, but a fun one,” Yolanda says. “I love that I can use my marketing skills outside of the office to support Andrew in something he is so passionate about.”
She’s also working on her patience. She got her persistence from her dad and her attention to perfection from her mom. “I continue to learn there are other ways to do things,” Yolanda says. “Patience is a virtue, and it’s one that I’m growing.”