Get to Know Leilani
Leilani Bruce is an accomplished Senior Director of Client Strategy and SEO Project Manager with over seven years of experience in digital marketing, client management, and content strategy. She specializes in developing comprehensive SEO strategies that drive significant traffic growth, optimize content for visibility, and build brand authority. Leilani's data-driven approach has enabled her clients to establish competitive advantages and achieve impressive results, including exponential growth in organic keyword reach and website traffic.
Beyond her professional expertise, Leilani is passionate about fostering conversations around cultural identity, race, and community equity. Featured in the Miami Herald, Leilani has spoken about her Afro-Caribbean roots and her commitment to amplifying Black and Afro-Cuban voices. Her dedication led to the co-founding of the Candela Book Club (Cuban-American Narratives and Dialogues for Equity, Liberation, and Allyship), a community initiative aimed at unpacking racial issues within the Cuban and broader Latinx communities.
Leilani has been invited to speak at esteemed events, such as Florida Memorial University's Social Justice Week panel, "U.N.I.T.Y.: Dismantling Anti-Blackness in Latinx Communities," where she explored Anti-Blackness within Latinx communities and ways to foster emancipatory change.
Her commitment to cultural education extends into her role as a Student Group Guide and Coordinator with Learn from Travel. In this capacity, Leilani has led immersive educational experiences focused on race and culture in Cuba and Jamaica, connecting students with authentic, historically-rich narratives. She effectively bridges cultural understanding, serving as a guide, translator, and educator, while managing program logistics and creating impactful experiences that promote awareness and transformation.
Whether she's driving strategic growth for a brand, facilitating conversations on equity, or guiding educational trips, Leilani's work is rooted in creating meaningful, lasting change.
Personal Projects
The CANDELA book club was an initiative that was born within the community of Cuban Americans for Racial Justice in partnership with CubaOne and Miami Freedom Project.
Co-founded by Leilani Bruce and Daniela Roger, this space was created to continue to dive deeper into the issues of racism and discrimination within the Cuban American community while amplifying the voices and sharing the stories of Black and Afro-Cuban communities both here in the states and on the island.
Featured in the Miami Herald, Leilani shared her journey, including a transformative trip to Cuba focused on Afro-Cuban history with the CubaOne Foundation.
Witnessing the local reactions to the Black Lives Matter protests in Miami inspired her to create the Candela Book Club—a space that centers Black voices and explores Afro-Cuban stories.
I was invited to participate in a panel as part of Florida Memorial University's Social Justice Week to address historical and contemporary Black and Latinx relations under the rubric of "emancipatory internationalism.”
Exploring, among other issues, Anti-Blackness in the Latinx community, contemporary Black-Cuban American relations in the Miami context, and the ways these communities can work to dismantle Anti-Blackness and "Re-Imagine the Future."
I contributed a series of articles for Startup Cuba focused on book reviews that explore and amplify the themes highlighted in the Candela Book Club.
Each review centered on works that delve into Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean narratives, bringing awareness to historical and contemporary issues of race, identity, and culture within Cuban and broader Latinx communities.
By analyzing these books, I aimed to foster critical conversations on anti-Blackness, cultural heritage, and equity. This work aligned with my mission to elevate Black voices and encourage meaningful dialogue within and beyond the Cuban-American community.