David Armano, Senior Partner, Dachis Corporation | @armano
David is both an active practitioner and thinker in the worlds of digital marketing, experience design, and the social web. Author of the popular Logic + Emotion blog, he has been invited to speak at events hosted by organizations such as Google, Microsoft, O’Reilly and Ad Age. David is currently a founding member of The Dachis Group, a social business consultancy. David worked in the digital agency space for over 10 years with clients such as P&G, HP, WW Grainger, Allstate, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Fifth Third Bank. He also writes industry perspectives for The Harvard Business Review, BusinessWeek and is best known for his distinct brand of visual thinking, which can be found both on the Web and in presentations all over the world. David graduated cum laude from Pratt Institute and can be found on Twitter as @armano.
Rick Bakas | St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery | @RickBakas
After spending 8 years managing brands at NIKE, Rick decided to turn his wine collecting hobby into a career. He left NIKE and got into the wine business building brands as a wine broker based in Boulder, Colorado. By combining various levels of wine certification with social media and brand management, Rick now has a presence on Facebook and Twitter talking about how wine and food pair together. His popular blog, Back to Bakas (rickbakas.com) features daily wine+food pairings with an explanation of how the flavors interact on your palate.
In 2008, Rick launched a mobile wine+food pairing website at Aspen Food & Wine. You can find Rick in Napa Valley tweeting and Facebooking about St. Supéry wines as well as how the wines pair with food.
At TWTRCON Rick will demonstrate how St. Supéry’s brand is growing using Twitter.
Charles Best, Founder, DonorsChoose.org | @CharlesBest
Charles Best leads DonorsChoose.org, a website where every public school teacher can be a change-maker, and any citizen can be a philanthropist. At DonorsChoose.org, public school teachers post classroom project requests, and donors can pick the projects they want to support. Every donor then gets photographs and thank-you letters from the classroom he or she chose to help. Charles founded DonorsChoose.org at Wings Academy, a public high school in the Bronx where he taught social studies for five years. He came to the idea during a conversation in the teachers’ lunch room, and his students volunteered to help start the organization. To date, 101,000 public school teachers have used DonorsChoose.org to secure over $35 million of books, art supplies, field trips, technology, and other resources that their students need to learn. Through the web site, “citizen philanthropists” have helped more than 2 million students from low-income families. Recognition of DonorsChoose.org includes the Nonprofit Innovation Award given by Stanford Business School and Amazon.com, a Global Technology Laureate from the TECH Museum of Innovation and Microsoft, the Fast Company Social Capitalist Award, selection by Ashoka, and election by the TechCrunch community as the website “most likely to make the world a better place.” National media such as Oprah Winfrey and The New York Times have profiled DonorsChoose as “the future of philanthropy.” Charles graduated from St. Paul’s School with the scholar-athlete award in 1994, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale in 1998. He then spent a year studying wood sculpture at the School of Fine Arts in Guadalajara, Mexico; helping to train Tzotzil Indians as teachers in Chiapas, Mexico and teaching Spanish literacy at a farm/orphanage in the Nicaraguan highlands.
Rohit Bhargava, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Marketing, Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence | @rohitbhargava
Rohit is a founding member of the 360 Digital Influence group at Ogilvy and author of the best selling new book Personality Not Included, an actually useful (gasp!) guide on how to use personality to reinvent your marketing. He writes the Influential Marketing blog, which AdAge ranks among the top marketing blogs in the world, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and other suitably impressive places. He is a fun and “non-obvious” keynote speaker who has presented across the world on authenticity, social media and Twitter. He is also the creator of the “5 Stages Of Twitter Acceptance” as a way of explaining the potential and hype around Twitter and tweets at @rohitbhargava.
Nigel Dessau, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, AMD | @NigelDessau
Nigel Dessau is responsible for AMD’s global marketing, image and campaign strategies. He joined AMD in March 2008, bringing more than 22 years of technology marketing leadership experience. At Sun Microsystems, Dessau was Senior Vice President of Storage Marketing and Senior Vice President of Alliances and Licensing. Prior to that, he was Chief Marketing Officer of StorageTek and spent 19 years at IBM, most recently as Business Unit Executive for IBM Virtualization Solutions. While at IBM, Dessau managed the worldwide launch of IBM eServer zSeries, and headed up marketing programs for the S/390 brand. As part of the Corporate Marketing Team, he led the marketing strategy behind e-business and the transition to On Demand Business. Mr. Dessau was born and educated in Nottingham, England.
Michael DiLorenzo, Director of Social Media Marketing and Strategy, National Hockey League | @umassdilo | @NHL
After 18 months as its Director of Corporate Communications, Michael DiLorenzo (@umassdilo) was recently named director of social media marketing and strategy for the National Hockey League (@NHL), where he is now responsible for activating NHL fans through social media services such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. Prior to joining the NHL, Michael spent 12 years in high-tech media relations, including several years as the managing partner of a boutique firm in the Boston area. Before his career in communications, Michael was a journalist and has worked for The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald. Michael holds a journalism degree from the University of Massachusetts (‘94) and lives in Connecticut with his wife, Caterina, and twin boys, Matthew and Charlie.
Christopher J. Dorobek, Co-anchor, Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris, Strategist, FederalNewsRadio.com, Editor-in-chief, DorobekInsider.com
Christopher J. Dorobek is the co-anchor of Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s afternoon drive program, The Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris. He is also the strategist for FederalNewsRadio.com, and the founder, publisher and editor of the DorobekInsider.com, a leading blog for the Federal IT community.
Dorobek joined Federal News Radio in 2008 with 16 years of experience covering government issues with an emphasis on government information technology. Prior to joining Federal News Radio, Dorobek was editor-in-chief of Federal Computer Week, the leading news magazine for government IT decision-makers and the flagship of the 1105 Government Information Group portfolio of publications. As editor-in-chief, Dorobek served as a member of the senior leadership team at 1105 Government Information Group, providing daily editorial direction and management for FCW magazine, FCW.com, Government Health IT and its other editorial products. Dorobek joined FCW in 2001 as a senior reporter and assumed increasing responsibilities, becoming managing editor and executive editor before being named editor-in-chief in 2006. Prior to joining FCW, Dorobek was a technology reporter at PlanetGov.com, one of the first online community centers for current and former government employees. He also spent five years at Government Computer News, another leading industry publication, covering a variety of federal IT-related issues. Dorobek is a frequent speaker on issues involving the government IT industry, and has appeared as a frequent contributor to NewsChannel 8’s Federal News Today program. He also writes a monthly column for AFCEA’s Signal magazine. He began his career as a reporter at the Foster’s Daily Democrat, a daily newspaper in Dover, N.H. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He lives in Washington, DC.
Brian Dresher, Audience Acquisition Manager, USA Today @bdresher | @usatoday
Brian Dresher is part of USATODAY.com’s Online Marketing team and he’s responsible for customer acquisition initiatives, which include content distribution partnerships, RSS, widgets, podcasts, video, and social networking. As a result of these efforts, Brian has helped to bring new users to USATODAY.com and subsequently increase traffic on the site. Most recently, his efforts have been focused on increasing USATODAY.com’s presence on Twitter and Facebook. By working with USATODAY.com staff to effectively and productively participate in those communities, Brian has helped to increase USATODAY.com’s brand awareness, user engagement, and traffic. You can keep up with Brian’s latest updates on the DC-area, running, traveling, USATODAY.com, and social media by following him on Twitter.
Laura Fitton, www.oneforty.com | @pistachio
Called by some Twitter’s original Cinderella story and the Queen of Twitter, Laura “@Pistachio” Fitton is credited with explaining Twitter’s value to Guy Kawasaki and dozens of other tech leaders. She has been speaking professionally about the business use of Twitter since October 2007, and by popular demand launched Pistachio Consulting, the first Twitter for Business consultancy, in September 2008. She’s lectured on the topic at Harvard Business School, for Cornell’s Entrepreneurs’ Network (she is an alum) and at numerous conferences and other universities. Consulting clients include Ford and Johnson & Johnson and she’s been quoted in more than 50 national publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Newsweek, and BusinessWeek. She is also the founder of Twitter app store startup www.oneforty.com. Even closer to her heart, Laura believes that everyone can benefit – dramatically – from what Twitter has to offer, and shares her own ‘isolated mom to sought-after author’ story as an example of its power to overcome isolation. The people you meet on Twitter can remove obstacles that hold us back in our everyday lives. In December 2008 she showed how Twitter can bring thousands together to achieve big change with very small donations, building five wells in the developing world with her @WellWishes holiday wish campaign for Charity:Water. She wrote Twitter for Dummies and founded oneforty in hopes of bringing this kind of opportunity to mass audiences. On the personal side, Laura stays busy raising her daughters and stealing bits of time here and there for ice hockey, ashtanga yoga, surfing, snowboarding and rockclimbing. She’s also a stroke survivor dedicated to raising awareness. Laura makes her home near Boston, MA with her two daughters and a giant Leonberger dog named Hope. You can follow her adventures and mishaps on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/pistachio or learn more about how to be a part of the next @WellWishes at http://twitter.com/wellwishes.
Frank Gruber, Product Strategist & Evangelist, AOL
Frank Gruber is a product strategist & evangelist for AOL on products such as AIM & ICQ. He is known for his analysis on social media and emerging technologies. Frank also co-founded TECH cocktail an organization that helps build stronger local entrepreneurial communities. Frank also co-founded Shiny Heart Ventures to create community driven products that remind us of the joys of life with Thankfulfor.com an online gratitude journal the first of many products to come. Frank is featured in a number of publications as an industry expert and speaks at conferences nationwide. He consults businesses in social networking/media and was recently named a DC Tech Titan by Washingtonian Magazine.
Scott Harrison, President, charity:water | @scottharrison
Scott Harrison spent 10 years as a New York City party promoter, throwing fashion and music events at top nightclubs for the likes of MTV, VH1, ABC TV, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Universal Records, Island Records, Bacardi and Anheuser-Busch. In the fall of 2004 he returned to his childhood Christian faith and left nightlife to volunteer with a team of humanitarian doctors and surgeons onboard a hospital ship in Liberia, Africa. Armed with a pair of Nikons, Harrison spent 8 months as the ship’s volunteer photojournalist, documenting the incredible need he saw there. Returning home to New York City a year later, he produced a large exhibition in Chelsea of more than 100 photographs and videos from the journey. The show gathered major media attention and brought in more than $96,000 in donations for medical procedures and freshwater well projects in Africa. Following another 6-month journey on the ship to West Africa, he returned to New York City to found the non-profit organization charity: water. Turning his full attention to the global water crisis and the 1.1 billion people without clean water to drink, he and a small team created exhibitions in galleries and outdoor parks, online campaigns, and nationally-aired public service announcements. In less than 3 years, with the help of more than 60,000 donors from 200 countries and 300+ media mentions, charity: water has raised not only massive awareness, but more than $10 million, and funded more than 1,400 water projects in 16 developing nations. Those projects will provide over 700,000 people with clean, safe drinking water.
Clay Johnson, Director, Sunlight Labs | @cjoh
Prior joining Sunlight, Clay was one of the four founders of Blue State Digital, the progressive left’s premier technology and online strategy firm. This firm, which was born out of the Howard Dean campaign, was also responsible for Barack Obama’s Web presence. At Blue State Digital, Clay was responsible for developing the organization’s brand and building its initial client roster. He also had a hand at building some of the company’s early technical tools. Before joining Blue State, Johnson was the lead programmer for Dean for America in 2004, overseeing the development of grassroots tools like GetLocal, DeanLink and Project Commons. Prior to entering politics, Johnson was a technologist at Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com) where he helped to develop the company’s Web syndication product.
Joshua Karpf, Manager, Digital Communications, PepsiCo | @jkarpf | @pepsico
Joshua Karpf is Manager, Digital Communications, at PepsiCo, a $40 billion global beverage and snacks company. In this role, he helps develops strategies using digital media that support company and brand goals. This includes PepsiCo’s digital activation at South by Southwest 2009, the overhaul of the company’s website and the launch of a social media effort using the emerging network FriendFeed. Josh also supports educational efforts around digital and social media inside the company. Prior to joining PepsiCo Josh spent six years at the General Electric Company. He received a B.S. in Communications from Boston University
Darren Koenig, Director of Wireless, LBS and Consumer Markets, Tele Atlas | @TeleAtlas
Darren Koenig manages strategy and marketing for the Americas. Koenig is tasked with positioning Tele Atlas in the dynamic wireless and location-based services spaces. He has more than 16 years of wireless, telecommunications, and technology industry experience and has held key product positions at Sprint-Nextel, Cable and Wireless LLC and MCI Communications. In 2000, Koenig founded PushLoop Technology, which addressed connectivity and integration needs in the supply chain industry. He has also worked in several international consulting roles, most recently as the European CTO for a global manufacturing company, and prior to that at Accenture.
Koenig graduated from the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science and holds a Certificate of Management from the University of Maryland. Koenig regularly presents on a variety of market and technology trends as well as on capitalizing on the rapid pace of innovation at key industry events, including CES, CTIA and Location Intelligence.
Jessica Lee, Senior Employment Manager, APCO Worldwide | @jessica_lee | @APCOjobs
Jessica Lee is a senior employment manager for APCO Worldwide, a privately held, global communications and management consultancy based in Washington, D.C. She serves as an internal strategic human resources business partner, provides consultative advice to all levels of staff and manages APCO’s recruitment activities ranging from university relations to employment branding initiatives. Prior to joining APCO, Jessica held progressively responsible human resources roles in both the public and private sectors. In addition to recruiting, her experience includes benefits administration, harassment investigations, application tracking system implementations and HR policy development making her a true generalist. Jessica is also an active member of the human resources and recruiting social media community as editor of the blog Fistful of Talent where she and her colleagues write on a variety of topics related to talent management. She is a sought after speaker delivering presentations at national and local HR conferences and was recently named one of the top 100 influencers in HR and recruiting by recruitingblogs.com. Jessica is an alumni of the University of Washington where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a concentration in Labor Studies. She has previously been certified as a professional in human resources certification by the Human Resources Certification Institute.
Jonathon Linner, CEO and Co-Founder, Brightkite, Inc. | @Brightkite
Jonathon Linner is a serial entrepreneur who sees the world without strings, borders or limitations. His industry-leading mobile career spans two continents, three successful start-ups and a range of media, marketing and technology businesses. Currently, Jonathon is co-founder and CEO of the innovative, award-winning new venture called Brightkite. Brightkite is defining a new category of mobile social network for consumers, while offering unprecedented brand-building exposure to brand owners and media companies. Prior to launching Brightkite, Jonathon was CEO and a co-founder of Enpocket, which was recently purchased by Nokia.
Jonathon graduated from the University of Miami and has an MBA from Cornell University.
Dan Luxenberg, Web 2.0 / Social Media lead, Office of Web Communications for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration | @FDArecalls
Dan is responsible for spearheading the Agency’s use of social media and he is active in developing guidance, governance, and implementation methodologies for the use of Web 2.0 technologies and social media in FDA’s communication strategies. Prior to FDA, Dan served as the Director of Internet Services for Circle Solutions, Inc. At Circle, he led Internet development and communications efforts for a number of government agency clients including the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases; and the Health Resources and Services Administration. He served as project director for the development of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Diseases and Conditions Index and also led the initial redesign efforts for the United States Sentencing Commission’s web site. From 1994 to 1996, Dan was the Deputy Director of the National Health Information Center contract with the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Dan was responsible for designing and implementing a Web based interactive health communications database, maintaining a knowledge base on interactive communications technology and health, and educating public health professionals about the nature and use of new media technologies. He also compiled and edited the resource guide Selected Public Health Information Resources on the Internet. Prior to 1994, Dan was a Faculty Research Assistant with the University of Maryland’s College of Health and Human Performance. He taught undergraduate level classes and managed the Interdisciplinary Health Research Laboratory after being advanced to candidacy in the College’s doctoral program. Dan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland. He also successfully passed the basic sciences exam from the National Board of Medical Examiners after successful completion of two and a half years of education at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine.
Susan McPherson, Vice President, Global Events, PR Newswire | @LittleMac1
Susan is Vice President, Global Events at PR Newswire, the world’s leading provider of electronic news distribution, media targeting, measurement and multimedia services. In this role, Susan is responsible for developing key strategic relationships and channel sales with trade show and event management firms which in turn deliver profitable revenues for the company. While maintaining these partnerships, Susan and her team, work in tandem with Sales and Marketing to create specific event-related offerings that can be sold to exhibiting companies. In addition to her trade show responsibilities, Susan manages joint revenue-share opportunities between PR Newswire and its sister UBM companies, such as TechWeb, CMP Medica, UBM International and more and regularly speaks at trade show industry events.
Susan has over eighteen years experience in strategic business development, technology sales and sales management, new product offerings and successful team development. Her tenure at PR Newswire has included a variety of roles including playing a key part in the development of the firm’s first bureaus in China (Beijing and Shanghai) and the launch of MediaSense, a very successful media measurement tool. Prior to her career at PR Newswire, she worked in both the editorial and marketing departments of USA Today.
Susan holds a B.A in History from the State University of New York at Albany and conducted graduate studies at Boston University’s College of Communications with a focus on broadcast journalism. Susan serves on the board of Bpeace (http://www.bpeace.org/aboutus_work.php), an organization dedicated to assisting women in regions of conflict and post-conflict start businesses. Her primary board responsibility is running the NGO’s annual largest fundraising event which has raised over $500,000 during the last three years. She also serves on the board of the non-profit New Democratic Majority, volunteers for the New York City Harbor School and currently resides in New York City. Prior to moving to New York in 2003, she lived in Seattle, where she was actively involved in FareStart, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing job and life-skills training to the disadvantaged, and served on the board of the Seattle chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute.
Chelsea Marti, Manager of Social Media for TurboTax and Quicken | @QuickenChels
Chelsea received her Masters in Communication (with a digital strategy concentration) from the Johns Hopkins University in December 2007. Before coming to Intuit in 2008, Chelsea consulted tech companies from start-up to Fortune 500 on social media and public relations. Some specific examples: Networks in Motion, Toshiba and ISC2. Earlier in her career, Chelsea did marketing and communications for a national trade association, digital strategy consulting for the Dept. of Energy.
At Intuit, Chelsea focuses on PR and social media for consumer offerings (Quicken, TurboTax). Some notable social media achievements include:launching the Quicken Blog, creating and executing a social strategy to drive SEO and PR results, and using social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to both help and acquire new Quicken customers. Last week, Chelsea launched Quicken’s first Twitter specific social campaign, the Quicken Free Rent Sweepstakes, aimed at driving awareness of the brand in a younger demographic.
Ambre Morley, Associate Director of Product Communications, Novo Nordisk Inc.
Working for the world’s largest maker of insulin for patients with diabetes, Ambre is responsible for public relations and issues management of the company’s insulin portfolio and its biopharmaceutical division in the U.S. Since her arrival at the company in August 2008, Morley’s achievements include securing a new spokesperson for two of the company’s products: a young racecar driver with type 1 diabetes. This partnership has been successful in raising awareness that diabetes does not “slow you down” in life, and also led to the creation of the industry’s first pharmaceutical-branded Twitter page. With this work, Morley helped push Novo Nordisk to the forefront of the ongoing conversation surrounding the role of pharmaceutical companies and the use of social media. Morley’s communications point of view comes from a deep background in journalism. She started her career as a hard news reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer covering cops, politics and general news. In 2000, she moved to Bloomberg News, where she worked as a general assignment reporter and then worked her way to the health desk, covering large medical device companies at the international news service. In addition to reporting on the companies, Morley provided commentary for Bloomberg Radio and Bloomberg Television for larger, more in-depth stories. Morley eventually shifted focus to large pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson. Her diligence as a reporter led the company to offer her a job in late 2004. She joined Johnson & Johnson in the Global Pharmaceutical Communications group writing for senior pharmaceutical managers and later went on to manage all internal and external communications at the Janssen psychiatry division of Johnson & Johnson. At Janssen, Morley worked on product launches, consumer product promotion, patent expiration and corporate and organizational communications, putting to good use her journalism background in issues and crisis management. She joined Novo Nordisk in August 2008. Morley graduated summa cum laude from Tennessee State University.
Alan Murray, Deputy Managing Editor and Executive Editor, Online, The Wall Street Journal | @alansmurray
Alan Murray has editorial responsibility for the Journal’s web sites, including WSJ.com, as well as its books, conferences and television operations. Prior to his current position, Mr. Murray was assistant managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, and author of the paper’s “Business” column, which runs every Wednesday. Previously, he has served as CNBC’s Washington, D.C., bureau chief and was co-host of “Capital Report with Alan Murray and Gloria Borger.” While working at CNBC, he also wrote the Journal’s weekly “Political Capital” column. Prior to that, he spent a decade as the Washington bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Murray joined The Wall Street Journal in 1983, as a reporter covering economic policy. He was named Washington deputy bureau chief in January 1992 and became bureau chief in September 1993. During his tenure as bureau chief, the Washington bureau won three Pulitzer Prizes, as well as many other awards. Mr. Murray is the author of three best-selling books: Revolt in the Boardroom, The New Rules of Power in Corporate America, published by HarperCollins in 2007, The Wealth of Choices: How the New Economy Puts Power in Your Hands and Money in Your Pocket, published by Random House in 1991, and Showdown at Gucci Gulch: Lawmakers, Lobbyists and the Unlikely Triumph of Tax Reform, co-authored with Jeffrey Birnbaum and published by Random House in 1987. Gucci Gulch received the American Political Science Association’s Carey McWilliams Award in 1988. Mr. Murray joined the Congressional Quarterly in Washington as a reporter in June 1980, and the following year became a reporter at the Japan Economic Journal in Tokyo on a Luce Fellowship. He serves on the Governing Council of the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia and is a member of the Gridiron Club and the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Murray earned a master’s degree in economics at the London School of Economics.
Craig Newmark, Founder, craigslist | @craignewmark
A web-oriented software engineer by training, with 30 years of IT experience at companies such as IBM and Bank of America, Craig now spends his days working as a customer service rep at craigslist. In 1995 while Craig was working at Schwab, he started craigslist as an email list for friends and co-workers about events going on in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1999, Craig retired from IT consulting to work full-time on craigslist. What started as a fun side project in Craig’s living room has since grown into one of the busiest sites on the internet, helping people with basic day-to-day needs such as finding a job, an apartment and a date, all within a culture of trust. Craig continues to embrace his inner nerd though he no longer wears thick black glasses that are held together with tape, and he retired the plastic pocket protector some years ago. Craig is involved with a variety of community efforts and is particularly interested in organizations promoting public diplomacy, mideast peace and new forms of media such as participatory journalism. He’s on the boards of Sunlight Foundation, OneVoice, FactCheckED, and VotoLatino. Craig graduated from Case Western University.
Kerry Noone, Marketing Communications Manager, Sodexo USA, Talent Acquisition Group | @SodexoCareers
Kerry Noone is experienced in developing and strengthening corporate brand identities and has managed brands for a variety of organizations. She specializes in integrating strategic content strategies and next-generation practices into marketing plans for B2B and B2C. In November 2007, Kerry added recruitment marketing and employment branding to her profile when she joined Sodexo’s Talent Acquisition Group as a Marketing Communications Manager. Kerry has the privilege of working with a team of recruiting professionals who are committed to finding the best qualified candidates and who are open to learning new ways to recruit Sodexo’s future employees. Through Social Media Marketing Sodexo’s Talent Acquisition team set out to create positive experiences for their candidates, which in turn strengthened their employment brand. Once Sodexo started using social networking sites to connect with people, it didn’t take long before they started to build relationships with potential candidates and connect with fellow employees around the world. With Kerry’s help, social media marketing and social networking has become a significant part of the recruiting strategy at Sodexo in the US. You can connect with Kerry and Sodexo’s talent acquisition team through their Network with Us page on their careers site. Kerry earned her B.A. in Corporate Communications and her M.A. in Publication Design from the University of Baltimore.
Craig Norris, President, Attensity Government
Craig is a high technology industry veteran with over 20 years of front line experience leading profitable organizations in the areas of strategy, operations and sales. He has served as chairman, CEO or COO of both private and public organizations, including Ion Systems, Workexchange Technologies and Connectinc.com. Craig has successfully navigated start-ups and early stage companies to IPO’s and other significant funding events, and has been continuously engaged with the completion of major sales to Fortune 500 organizations. Craig also brings to Attensity a strong management consulting and systems integration background, having been a regional vice president for leading international consulting firm CAP Gemini America. Craig holds a BA in economics from Macalester College and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He was commissioned through Navy Officer Candidate school, served in the CINCPACFLT command in the Navy data center there, and was honorably discharged as a lieutenant.
Michael O’Connor, President, myallo.com
Michael O’Connor is President of myallo.com and an application developer with thirty years experience. After stints as a mainframe Database Designer, Technical Writer, and Systems Architect, he turned to personal computers and now portable devices. With ten years experience writing Cocoa applications for the Macintosh (including the award-winning CompuServe Navigator), he spent the last two years as founder of myallo.com, writing Cocoa Touch apps for the iPhone. With four applications on the App Store, his latest is Myallo HotList, one of the first to take advantage of Twitter’s new geolocation features.
Rob Pegoraro, Consumer Technology Columnist, Washington Post
Rob Pegoraro writes the Fast Forward column–a weekly look at computers, the Internet, consumer electronics, cell phones and other things that beep–and the Help File Q&A feature for The Washington Post’s Business section. He also writes a blog, Faster Forward, and hosts online chats for the Post’s Washingtonpost.com Web site.
Pegoraro has been with the Post since 1993, in which time he has sorted mail and answered phones, written for many other sections (so far, his byline has shown up in National, Metro, Style, Sports, Health, Food, Home, Weekend, Real Estate, Outlook, Sunday Arts, Sunday Source, Travel, Book World and the Magazine) and made it on the front page exactly once.
David Puner, Communications Manager, Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. | @dunkindonuts
David Puner has been with Dunkin’ Brands — the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins — since July 2007, supporting media and public relations. In Oct. 2008, Dunkin’ Donuts launched on Twitter in a collaborative effort by the company’s Communications and Interactive Marketing departments, with David (aka Dunkin’ Dave) alliterally initialed at the helm. Soon thereafter, from somewhere within the blogosphere, @DunkinDonuts was referred to as “extreme twittering.” For Dunkin’ Donuts, Twitter has become an essential place to be. Prior to DD, David worked as a writer/reporter/blogger for various mediums, which included contributions to The New York Times, Salon, ESPN’s Page 2, ESPN Classic’s “Cheap Seats,” GOOD, and History.com. Before that, he was a TV producer with stints working for David Letterman, Colin Quinn, and A&E/History Channel.
Amy Reed, President, Chick Downtown | @chickdowntown
Founded two years ago by Amy Reed, chickdowntown.com has become a leader in providing the hottest women’s clothing to customers internationally and is credited as being the fastest growing women’s contemporary website in the industry. Carrying over 150 lines of clothing, accessories, shoes, handbags and jewelry, chickdowntown.com has been honored as Lucky Magazine’s “Boutique of the Week” and as one of the “Best New Sites in 2008” according to ELLE.com. Recently Ms. Reed has decided to concentrate less on the traditional advertising outlets and has immersed herself and her company in the social media marketing epidemic. Within the last six months, she has become actively involved in Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and has started a personal blog. All of these media platforms have been extremely well received, but it was her Twitter that caught the eye of The Wall Street Journal. Mentioned for her various giveaways, sneak peeks at new merchandise, and behind the scenes drama, Amy’s tweets have generated a dedicated following. For an up to date account of what it’s like to run an online leading retailer and still have a life outside of her business, follow Amy Reed @chickdowntown.
Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President, Director of Insights, Edelman Digital | @steverubel
Steve is responsible for keeping Edelman and its clients in the vanguard. He studies global technology, media and online trends and shapes them into actionable insights and marketing communications strategies. In his role, Rubel has served as senior strategic advisor to Edelman clients such as Dannon, HP, PepsiCo, Zagat, Unilever, Microsoft and many others. Rubel supports the account planning processes, intellectual property development and the firm’s innovation and business development efforts. He is a member of the Edelman Digital senior leadership committee. His writing on emerging technology has been called must-read by the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNET, PC Magazine and Forrester Research. In addition, he is actively followed by more than 28,000 on Twitter, writes a bi-weekly column for Advertising Age and is often sought by the press and as a keynote speaker. Rubel has been named to several prestigious lists, including: PR Week’s 40 Under 40, The Forbes.com Web Celeb 25, PC Magazine’s 100 Favorite Blogs, Media Magazine’s Media 100, the AlwaysOn/Technorati Open Media 100 and the CNET News.com Blog 100. Prior to joining Edelman in 2006, Rubel worked for 15 years in a variety of marketing communications positions in corporate, non-profit and small/mid-sized PR firms. Most recently, he spent five years at CooperKatz & Company where he pioneered the use of blogs as a marketing vehicle for clients such as the Association of National Advertisers, simplehuman, and Vespa.
John Shea, Public Information Officer for New Media, FEMA External Affairs | @FemainFocus
John Shea joined FEMA External Affairs in 1999. Since then, he has fielded multiple positions within FEMA headquarters, Region 9 and many field operations. John was officially named the Public Information Officer for New Media in June 2008. He developed the strategies and SOPs of FEMA’s social media/new media efforts to integrate existing and future communications needs encountered by the agency for preparedness, response, recover and mitigation messaging. The core principles of community-driven communications and customer service have been instilled in the practices and products FEMA is developing for the social media environment. John graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in print journalism. While at Maryland, John had the opportunity to intern for DigitalInk, an early venture of the Washington Post online.
Chris Sukach, Chief, Emerging Technology, Air Force Public Affairs Agency | @csukach
Chris is an active-duty captain in the U.S. Air Force currently assigned to the Air Force Public Affairs Agency, Arlington, Va., as the chief of the emerging technology division. Chris and her team provide Web content and social media support for Public Affairs offices across the U.S. Air Force. With more than a decade of experience in the defense, government and corporate arenas, Chris has directed campaigns across print, radio, television and multi-media platforms, and in doing so has worked with Esquire Magazine, ESPN, National Geographic and ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
Chris began her career in communications behind a microphone. She hosted morning and mid-day radio shows and led spot production for stations across the Department of Defense as well as Clear Channel Communications Corp. in Minot, N.D. She also worked for a time producing radio spots and imaging for Citadel Communications Corp. in Salt Lake City, Utah.
She worked in the Republic of Korea, Belgium and Bosnia, where she was the radio voice providing vital information to more than 70,000 American military members stationed in those locations. After her stint in radio, she was selected to become an Air Force Public Affairs Officer and was chosen as a spokesperson for Dover Air Force Base, Del., and the DoD’s only stateside mortuary.
Chris was assigned to Porter Novelli in 2008 as the Air Force Public Affairs selectee in the competitive Education With Industry program. While at Porter Novelli, Chris lent her talent to campaigns for the IRS, FDIC, Navy Federal Credit Union, Absolut, Wyeth and more. Sheis a graduate of Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kan., where she earned a degree in theater and philosophy. She also holds professional certificates from the Defense Information School, Ft. Meade, Md. Chris has earned numerous Department of Defense awards for her outstanding work in her career field. The awards include the Army Commendation medal with one device, the Army Achievement medal with one device and the Air Force Achievement medal, among others. In 2006, her public affairs team produced the best newspaper in the U.S. Air Force.
Joe Trippi, Principal, Joe Trippi & Associates | @JoeTrippi
Joe Trippi – heralded on the cover of The New Republic as the man who “reinvented campaigning” – is widely recognized as one of America’s leading and most influential political strategists. Trippi began his political career working on Edward M. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1980. His work in presidential politics continued with the campaigns of Walter Mondale, Gary Hart, Richard Gephardt, Howard Dean and, most recently, John Edwards. In 2004, as the National Campaign Manager for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, Trippi pioneered the use of online technology to organize what became the largest grassroots movement in presidential politics. Through his innovative use of the Internet for small-donor fundraising, “Dean for America” raised more money than any Democratic presidential campaign to that point – all with donations averaging less than $100. In 2008, Trippi signed on with Senator John Edwards’ presidential bid as a senior advisor, focusing on messaging, Internet strategy and online engagement. Trippi also has an extensive international resume. In 1993, he worked for then PASOK leader Andrea Papandreou’s successful campaign of Prime Minister of Greece, as well as for his son, George Papandreou, in 2007. Trippi advised former British Prime Minister Tony Blair during his successful bid for a third term in 2005. In 2006, he worked for Romano Prodi on his winning race for Prime Minister of Italy. In 2007, Trippi consulted on text messaging strategies to the opposition Action Congress (AC) Party in Nigeria. In addition to his political experience, Trippi has also spent time working with top-tier non-profits. In 2008, Trippi advised the Humane Society of the United States during a successful California proposition campaign, working with the HSUS to engage thousands of voters from all over the state to back the initiative. Most recently, Trippi has also worked alongside the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, National Wildlife Federation, and WhyTuesday.org. In addition to his political and non-profit work, Trippi has consulted with a number of leading corporations including MasterCard, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, SES Americom, LabCorp, IBM, Lionsgate Films, BestBuy, MSNBC, Wave Systems, and Progeny Linux Systems. And leading Internet companies, from Yahoo!, to Google, to Bebo invite him to speak to their employees and affiliates. Trippi is the author of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet and the Overthrow of Everything.”
Andrew P. Wilson, Web Content Account Manager, Department of Health and Human Services | @andrewpwilson | @FluGov | @HHSgov
Andrew works in the Web Communications and New Media division of HH, where he has been since September 2008. His primary responsibilities are Flu.gov and the Center for New Media (www.newmedia.hhs.gov). Previously, he was a Web Manager at USDA’s CSREES (www.csreees.usda.gov). Andrew has dual approaches to my Twitter use in HHS. He runs two accounts, @FluGov and @HHSgov, which are primarily push accounts for news, updates etc. He also has a personal account @andrewpwilson where he self identifies as part of the HHS social media team. Andrew is relatively unique in government in this respect as he has been given explicit permission to identify himself in his bio based on his work in reaching out to people tweeting about the Salmonella tainted peanut recalls earlier this year and then subsequently around the H1N1 crises.