Bloggers
Meet our official Social Media Week Bloggers! Throughout the week, be sure to check in to the Social Media Week DC blog to keep up to date with all of our awesome events!
Faye Anderson
@AndersonAtLarge
Faye Anderson is a new media practitioner who focuses on the intersection of social media and social change. She’s chief evangelist for the Cost of Freedom Project, a citizen-led initiative that is developing a location-based web app to provide voters with information on how to apply for a voter ID. The project is powered by we the people and social media.
Brandon Andrews
@teambmichael
Brandon believes social media should be leveraged for social good. #SM4SG
In addition to working on Capitol Hill, Brandon is the chairman of the committee on political action for @DCNAACP. In 2012 he is leading the organization’s #ThisIsMyVote voter registration/empowerment campaign in Washington, D.C.
Brandon also serves the D.C. area’s largest volunteer organization – @GreaterDCCares, as a Project Manager and member of the Strategic Outreach Committee . Brandon’s philanthropic efforts were recognized by the EnVest Foundation when he was tapped for inclusion in their 2009 40 under 40 in Washington, D.C. list.
He is a 2011 graduate of the @neworganizing #blackroots online organizing boot camp.
Trish Anderton
@TrishAnderton
Trish Anderton is a veteran writer and multimedian with a shiny new master’s degree in Mass Communications. A former public radio reporter and newspaper web editor, she is now looking for work in the nonprofit sector. She has a possibly-unhealthy passion for Twitter, Photoshop and the Boston Red Sox.
Christine Archer
@Chr1st1neArcher
Christine Archer works for global technology public relations firm LEWIS PR and has a keen curiosity for the latest in innovative tech and social strategy. Having grown up in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, she has followed the D.C. tech scene for quite some time. When she’s not busy designing (and redesigning) her Columbia Heights apartment, she can be found treasure hunting at her favorite local vintage and thrift shops.
Blake Bowyer
@BlakeBowyer
Blake is a Senior Digital Strategist for Social@Ogilvy’s Washington, D.C. office. A District transplant born in Idaho (for real!) and most recently from Colorado, Blake can regularly be found at coffeeshops, baseball games, frisbee fields, D.C.’s finest brunch spots, Blackbyrd Warehouse, and on peaks of the Shenandoahs. For Social@Ogilvy, he specializes in measurement, brand reputation management, and strategy (obvi). You can enjoy his unusual syntax and peerless grammar at @BlakeBowyer or give him a shout at blake.bowyer@ogilvy.com.
Kaitlin Carpenter
@SuchTheKaitlin
Kaitlin is a marketing associate at Carousel30, a full-service digital agency with national clients based in Washington, D.C. and Chicago. She helps operate digital marketing campaigns for a variety of clients, including social media tactics, digital public relations and online media buying.
Caroline Duncan
@ninasdoor
Caroline began her career in Web 2.0 by joining a public diplomacy team, connects international audiences with high-ranking government officials and subject matter experts. The productions were live-streamed over the web with an interactive chat component. As a New Media Producer; her focus was promoting the events as well as assisting to run them. She created and curated content for their Facebook and Twitter accounts maximizing engagement and increasing the fan base. She also found herself strangely obsessed with metrics collection and analyzing the data to build strategy and new opportunities.
Ayan Islam
With over six years of experience as a creative marketing and communications professional, Ayan currently serves as the Social Media Specialist for the DC Executive Office of the Mayor, Office of Communications and Public Affairs Specialist for the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). She enjoys utilizing her business acumen to advance an organization’s mission and online presence utilizing popular digital communication tools and web usability principles.
Ayan holds a Master of Arts degree in Communications and Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University, a Bachelor of Science Business Administration degree with a concentration in Marketing from American University, and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification from Purdue University. In her spare time, Ayan loves to travel, attend cultural events, teach business communications courses, and engage in small business/community-building oriented activities.
Hemi Kim
@hemikim
Hemi is a writer focused on helping immigrant communities through education and media. She’s working for a world where young people of color are encouraged to write, to read, and to lead in settings where their parents feel welcome. Her website is http://hemikim.wordpress.com.
Gulnara Mirzakarimova
@GulnaraDC
Gulnara is the founder of twosidebrain.com, where she is working on increasing the awareness of startups in the region and connecting talent, investors and mentors. Her second initiative, is to make Washington D.C. a 24/7 Tech City. She is an Event Organizer for Weekly DC Nightowls Co-Working Sessions, which is part of DC ACM Meetup Group. Recently, Gulnara became a guest blogger for TechCocktail. Follow her @GulnaraDC, @twosidebrain and @NightowlsDC.
Gina Rullo
@GinaMarieRu
Gina Rullo, is originally from Albany, NY. She moved to Washington, DC in October 2010 where she landed a job with the nonprofit organization, First Book, as a Recipient Group Coordinator. In her spare time, she manages a blog entitled, Mad For Music in DC where she focuses on concerts in the area, new music and album reviews.
Erica Schlaikjer
Erica Schlaikjer is the Media Relations and Online Engagement Coordinator for EMBARQ, the sustainable transport program of the World Resources Institute, a global environmental think tank.
In her spare time, she manages Benevolent Media, a multi-platform enterprise that produces editorial content and community events, including an annual festival, dedicated to celebrating storytelling and design for good.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and international studies from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Anna Steely
@ALSteely
Anna is a marketing associate at Carousel30, a full-service digital agency in Washington, DC. In her role, she executes digital marketing tactics for clients on a daily basis, such as social media marketing, digital public relations and online media buying. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Mississippi Meek School of Journalism and New Media. To learn more, visit www.Carousel30.com.
Kanika Tolver
@CareerDropout
Kanika Renee Tolver was born in Washington, D.C. and raised and educated in Fort Washington, Maryland. With the use of technology, social media, music and art, Kanika believes she can help people improve their lives and pursue their dreams.
Currently, Kanika Tolver acts as an Information Technology Project Manager in the Federal Government; overseeing various web applications, social media marketing and enterprise level systems. She specializes in branding, SEO, web development, social media marketing and community engagement.
Maggie Tunning
@MaggieTunning
Maggie specializes in the use of social technology in the workplace. As the community manager of the World Bank’s enterprise social network, she is facilitating connections among a global workforce, improving the digital literacy of staff, increasing transparency of internal change initiatives and creating a culture of open, virtual collaboration.
Before teaching her colleagues how to use hashtags, Maggie taught English to secondary school students in France for two years. And although she loves new ideas, she refuses to give up paper magazines, Moleskine notebooks and trips to the post office.
Monique Volz
@MonigueVolz
Monique’s love for all things social began in college while working for a magazine where she assisted in managing social media strategies and online community management. After college, she worked as a freelance social media and public relations consultant. Monique has worked with many clients including General Mills, BreathableBaby, and AnxietyInTeens, LLC. She specializes in community management and social strategy development for brands.
When Monique isn’t tweeting, she’s most likely developing creative recipes for her food blog www.ambitiouskitchen.com.
Elanor Wainscott
@Wainscotte
Elanor has more than one year of social media experience. She worked for a year for a non-profit where she led innovative marketing strategies. Her duties included creating and managing a Facebook Fan Page and YouTube Channel, developing and maintaining website content, photography, and videography. Currently, she is handling the social media content for Sound Empire Entertainment, LLC., a record label in Baltimore.
Linda Walters
@lindasauce
Linda Walters is a Korean-American third culture kid, i.e., a modern-day global nomad. With an interest and academic background in multimedia journalism, she engages in social media (e.g. Twitter and Facebook) to connect with other creative global endeavorists. Currently, she works as a Proofreader/Copyeditor at DynCorp International in Falls Church, VA. She also writes for Transparent Language’s Korean blog: transparent.com/korean.
Aniesia Williams
@FabulousAniesia
Aniesia’s exceptional and professional experience managing projects, extends from the corporate world into the entertainment and media community. She holds expertise in managing, negotiating, and drafting multi-million-dollar contracts for major projects to include engineering and IT fields. This has lead her to be sought out by a diverse group of clientele.
Aniesia turned the knowledge of managing, planning, organizing and leading projects, into a boutique consulting firm, The Beleza Group, with many partners that have been instrumental in her success. Aniesia takes great pride in being the face of the company by keeping a hand in non-profit events, providing media coverage through on-camera interviews, television, and print. She continues to give those in her community and across the world a voice and will not stop at her quest to be a blessing to others. Aniesia has gained a solid reputation among her colleagues and clients. She is an excellent executive, with a rare balance of true leadership skills.
