Andrea De La Cerda: Helping People Rebuild Their Lives Through Work and Stories

Andrea De La Cerda has spent over two decades helping others tell their stories. With a background that includes advertising, communications, marketing, and organizational design, she could have remained in the corporate sphere working with high-profile clients like Honda, Nestlé, and Princess Cruises. But somewhere along the way, she chose a different path, one that centers on human connection, social equity, and transformational work.  

Her journey into communications began in college when she discovered the creativity of advertising and the challenge of communicating big ideas in small moments. She remembers her mother crying when she changed her major, fearful that Andrea was choosing a path of dishonesty. Andrea saw something else: a way to create emotional connection, to engage attention, to influence hearts and minds.

After earning her B.A. in Advertising and Business Administration and M.A. in Education from Pepperdine University, Andrea built a successful career at respected agencies in Los Angeles, working on major campaigns. But after becoming a mother, the high-pressure expectations no longer aligned with her priorities. Long hours, late nights, and weekends at the office were not sustainable for the life she wanted to build with her family.

This tension between professional ambition and personal values led Andrea to explore entrepreneurship. Around the same time, social media was opening new possibilities. Digital platforms were creating space where storytelling could thrive without million-dollar ad budgets. Andrea experimented through a personal blog and discovered that people responded to authentic stories, even simple ones about taking her kids to Taekwondo practice. That moment helped her see the power of genuine connection and planted the seeds for what would become her life's work.

As the founder and CEO of both The Clover Agency and Kandula Communications, Andrea has created two companies that reflect her values and journey. The Clover Agency focuses on workforce development for underserved communities, helping individuals who have often been overlooked or dismissed find meaningful employment and rebuild their lives. Kandula Communications exists as a strategic partner, offering a platform to tell those stories, shift public perception, and support change across systems.  

Before these ventures took shape, Andrea tried many ideas. Her entrepreneurial instincts surfaced early, launching businesses from the age of 22. "I think I'm just a natural visionary," she reflects. She would develop concepts, pour energy into them, but when challenges mounted, she would walk away. This pattern of starting and stopping continued for years until she started The Clover Agency thirteen years ago on St. Patrick's Day. That's when she began to understand what had been holding her back. The difference wasn't in her skills or knowledge; she had accumulated plenty of both through her extensive experience in advertising and communications. The missing piece was her relationship with her own limiting beliefs.

Working with a coach opened Andrea's eyes to something she hadn't recognized before. Her beliefs about money, particularly those formed in childhood, were quietly shaping every business decision she made. Like many women, Andrea had internalized messages that linked financial success with guilt or fear. Phrases like "money is the root of all evil" or "more money, more problems" lingered in her subconscious, influencing how she approached growth and risk. “Everyone's relationship with money is a little different. A lot of that goes back to our childhood. What did we see? What did we witness? What was modeled for us?” she explains. When she finally addressed these limiting beliefs, everything changed.  

This internal breakthrough marked a turning point. The Clover Agency became profitable. With that foundation, Andrea gained the freedom to reinvest in her mission, innovate her approach, and expand her impact. The launch of Kandula Communications followed naturally, an effort to separate the storytelling and communication work from the direct services of The Clover Agency while maintaining a close partnership between the two organizations.

The choice to focus on underserved populations wasn't random. After years of marketing automobiles, dog food, and storage units, Andrea reached a place in her career where she craved a different kind of challenge. "I think having done all of that and got into a place in my career where I thought, I'm ready for a new challenge. And that challenge is not necessarily how to be a marketer, because I know how to do that after many years. But the challenge is more of how do you solve big problems?" The answer led her to populations who needed skilled work but faced systemic barriers: people leaving incarceration, rural farmworkers, and English language learners.  

The Clover Agency meets people where they are, often in moments of extreme transition. These include individuals coming out of prison, rural farmworkers trying to improve their job prospects, and English language learners navigating systems that often feel unfamiliar or closed off. Andrea’s team provides case management, resume writing support, mock interviews, and access to basic resources like housing and transportation. But the work does not stop there.

Just as important is helping employers rethink their approach. Many are hesitant to hire someone with a criminal record or an applicant who does not speak fluent English. Andrea’s team steps in to build bridges, offering context, education, and an invitation to see people not as risks, but as assets. Kandula Communications supports this work through storytelling and strategic outreach, helping to reshape narratives and open doors that have long remained closed.  

This approach reflects Andrea's deep understanding that communication means more than selling products. Her years in advertising taught her how to shift perceptions and create emotional connections. Now she applies those same skills to change how society views second chances and human potential. Every campaign she ran for major corporations prepared her for this more meaningful work of changing minds about who deserves opportunity.  

The work isn't easy. Andrea's team operates primarily through grants from sources like the Department of Labor and various corporations and state agencies. Each project requires building coalitions with other community-based organizations, parole departments, and local institutions. "It takes a village," she notes. "We cannot do this work alone."

The rewards are profound. When participants send videos expressing gratitude for life-changing support, Andrea and her team experience the deep satisfaction that comes from purpose-driven work. These testimonials come from individuals who often experience hope for the first time in years, including people who served decades-long sentences and never expected to be released. "When you hear these testimonials right from them, it feels good. It feels like doing good work," Andrea reflects. The impact extends far beyond individual success stories, though those moments continue to reinforce her purpose.

For women considering entrepreneurship or careers in communications, Andrea offers practical wisdom rooted in her own experience. She sees artificial intelligence not as a threat but as a tool that can enhance human connection rather than replace it. "Communication is that connection between people. At the end of the day, we're just human. We're human beings who want to make those genuine connections."

Her advice is direct: if you have an idea that keeps surfacing, if you find yourself thinking "it would be so cool if someone would do this," do it yourself. But pay attention to the "buts" that follow your enthusiasm. Those moments of hesitation often point to mindset work that needs to happen. Andrea has explored various therapeutic modalities to support this internal work and believes strongly in seeking support when needed, recognizing that transforming limiting beliefs often requires guidance from trained professionals.

Now accredited by PRSA, Andrea keeps expanding her impact. She's launching coaching programs to support other entrepreneurs in their early phases, helping them navigate the gap between having an idea and building sustainable success. When she's not changing lives through her organizations, she can be found in the gym, spending time with her three dogs, or taking weekend trips with her husband and children.

Looking ahead, Andrea sees opportunities to scale her model beyond California, bringing workforce development programs to underserved communities nationwide. The logic model is proven, the outcomes are measurable, and the need is universal. What started as one woman's journey to overcome limiting beliefs has become a framework for helping entire communities overcome systemic barriers to economic opportunity. Through The Clover Agency and Kandula Communications, Andrea has proven that the most powerful stories aren't found in corporate campaigns, but in the transformation of human lives.