How Miami Ad School Punta Cana is Shaping the Future of Caribbean Talent
At the edge of the Dominican Republic’s sunlit coast lies a quiet revolution in creative education. Miami Ad School Punta Cana, the newest branch in the global Miami Ad School network, is not just preparing students for creative careers. It is positioning the Caribbean as a future hub of global creative leadership.
Founded in 2017 by Willie Diaz, a Dominican-American Creative Director with a decorated career across top U.S. markets, and José Guillermo Díaz, an accomplished design and advertising professional with a deep understanding of regional talent development, the school is a bold investment in Caribbean potential.
Together, the co-founders brought a clear vision: to train a new generation of creative leaders directly from the region, without requiring them to leave home.
“Our goal was simple,” Willie said during the CSS x TBR pre-panel session. “To put Latin American creativity on a converging path with where the American and European advertising industries will be in the future.”
In just under a decade, the results are already speaking for themselves. Graduates from the Punta Cana campus have landed roles in world-renowned agencies across Miami, New York, Singapore, Dubai, Tokyo, Madrid, and Amsterdam. For many of these students, this represents not just personal achievement but a generational leap, proof that Caribbean talent can not only compete globally, but lead.
Why Punta Cana? Why Now?
The decision to launch in Punta Cana was both symbolic and strategic. The Dominican Republic has long been a source of vibrant creative energy, yet has historically lacked pathways to connect that energy with global creative markets.
“In the Caribbean, creativity is not a luxury, it's a necessity,” said Amaya De Vleeschauwer, the school’s Director of Experience. “Our students often innovate under constraints. The school helps channel that innate talent with the structure and tools to scale it.”
Classes are taught in both English and Spanish, ensuring accessibility for students across the region while preparing them to work across borders. The school’s curriculum blends advertising, design, and experiential strategy with real-world application, often through client projects and boot camps.
Amaya has pioneered some of the first experiential marketing boot camps in the Caribbean, tailored to equip students with the tools to navigate and lead in industries increasingly shaped by AI and technology.
What Sets the Students Apart?
For Diaz, the answer lies in their upbringing. “There’s a level of ambition that comes from growing up in the Caribbean, where opportunity isn’t guaranteed. It sharpens your thinking. It makes you precise.”
The students’ cultural agility also plays a major role. Raised in environments layered with language, history, and multiple cultural identities, they are naturally positioned to thrive in a global economy that demands storytelling with nuance.
A Vision Bigger Than One School
The founders see the school not as a standalone institution, but as a springboard for regional collaboration. Miami Ad School Punta Cana has begun forming partnerships with other organizations in the Caribbean creative ecosystem, from grassroots art collectives to emerging tech platforms. The aim is to turn isolated talent into a connected force.
This vision aligns with Caribbean Social Studies’ mission: activating networks that accelerate creative growth across the region. “The school proves what’s possible when infrastructure meets talent,” said CSS founder Naadiya Mills. “We see it as a model of what can happen when creative education is both globally informed and locally grounded.”
Conclusion: The Next Generation is Already Here
As more Caribbean students are given the chance to access high-level creative training without leaving the region, the narrative of brain drain begins to shift. With institutions like Miami Ad School Punta Cana, talent doesn’t have to exit to excel. It can grow from home and go global from there.
Willie Diaz and José Guillermo Díaz have turned a belief in Caribbean excellence into an ecosystem that empowers it. And through her role as Director of Experience, Amaya De Vleeschauwer is helping to ensure that the Caribbean’s creative future is not only possible, it is already in motion.
