Amanda Spann

Amanda Spann is a formally trained publicist and an avid innovation enthusiast who currently serves as the Communications and Content Manager for IBM Cloud Computing Category. Prior to arriving at IBM, she co-foundeded and served as CMO of Blerdology, a tech social enterprise to support and engage the black tech community and  the first organization to host hackathons targeting African Americans. The company helped to spark black interest in technology, assists aspiring minority entrepreneurs get their apps or projects off the ground for little to no cost and bridges policy and innovation to combat social issues in communities.

The Florida State University and Georgetown grad has been honored as one of Business Insider’s 30 Most Important Women In Tech Under 30, as one of BET’s Blacks on the Brink of Greatness, and as one of 5 future leaders in technology by Black Enterprise Magazine. Amanda is slated to be the 2014 National Director of Communications for BDPA, the largest and oldest non-profit for minority IT professionals and frequently speaks on the topics of media, entertainment and technology. Visit her blog at BreakingtheBrand.com.

AmandaSpann.com / BreakingtheBrand.com

Crystal Duncan

Crystal Duncan is the Director of Client Strategy and Operations at IZEA, located in Orlando, FL. She joined the IZEA family soon after finishing college and has held been instrumental to the advertiser and brand networks, strategic execution of client campaigns and Influencer relations. In her current role, Crystal leads the Sales, Account Management, Campaign Fulfillment and Influencer Ecosystem team at IZEA.

She has executed campaigns for some of the world’s largest corporations including Walmart, Wagreens, SeaWorld, Kia, British Airways, Sears and Sony to name a few.  Her perspective of the Influencer Marketing space is extremely unique as she is involved in both the brand and Influencer side of the business on a daily basis and through this has learned what both sides want and need to deliver a successful campaign.

Crystal is a graduate of Youngstown State University in Ohio, where she received a Bachelors Degree in Telecommunication and minored in Marketing and Advertising/PR.  She was also a 4-year letter winner on YSU’s Division 1 Volleyball team.

Twitter – @crystalduncan  www.corp.IZEA.com

Derrick Jaxn

Derrick Jaxn is a lifestyle blogger and award-winning author of the novel A Cheating Man’s Heart. The Rocky Mount, NC blogger has elevated his personal blog http://www.derrickjaxn.com from being a diary of thought and perspective, to a lifestyle platform that has garnered him over 100,000 social media followers and readers with 80,000 Facebook “LIKES” alone. Popular articles such as “12 Things She Wishes You Understood” and “The Wake Up Call, Sincerely Trayvon Martin” have been shared among social network users over 150,000 times collectively.

Lifestyle brands such as Mommynoire, Vibe Vixen, Single Black Male, Hip-Hop Inquirer, Sirius XM Urban View and New York’s Hot 97 Street Soliders with Lisa Evers have already obtained Jaxn’s unique perspective for their audience. He consistently does radio interviews covering a variety of topics from dating and relationship to the state of black men in America and more.  In March 2014 he was awarded ‘Breakout Author of the Year’ by African Americans on the Move Book Club (AAMBC). His boundless potential to be one of the most influential male voices among millennials makes Derrick Jaxn ‘one to watch’. He is represented by Dream Relations Agency. Twitter: @DerrickJaxn

Kimberly Wright

Kimberly Wright of Keystrokes By Kimberly is a natural leader, a pioneering renaissance lady, prolific speaker, ardent philanthropist, passionate entrepreneur, community advocate, avid blogger and writer who auspiciously pursues success, happiness and peace for herself and others. Kimberly pens Keystrokes By Kimberly which is a synergy lifestyle blog which focuses on how to live a positive lifestyle through every aspect of living a positive life from health, events, wealth, family, happiness, entertainment and travel.

Blog name ~ Keystrokes By Kimberly Twitter: @KeystrokesByKim

Turkesha McIvy

Turkesha McIvy is a Social Media & Brand Manager for one of the major leaders in the natural hair care industry by day and moonlights as one of Atlanta’s up & coming Socialites by night. She is the owner of Snazzy Cakes, LLC a custom cupcake home-based bakery and the founder of Naturalbabydol an International Lifestyle Blog.  She is often referred to as “The Social Media Queen” who can rarely be seen without her social media gadgets at hand. Turkesha is the mother of three boys and spends her spare time as a Social Media Consultant, traveling the world while encouraging and empowering women to follow their dreams. She has worked with Be Radical, Dare 2 Aspire, 3 D Concepts, Inc.  & Professional Products Unlimited, Inc. For more information www.naturalbabydol.com. Tweet her @Naturalbabydol.

Kumi Rauf is a social media strategist, travel enthusiast, & computer scientist. His aim is to serve the global Black community by connecting and uplifting Black people worldwide. I Love Being Black (ILBB) has quickly become one of the largest Black portals on the Internet. They now have over 6 million fans on Facebook with millions of them viewing their content and engaging with it daily. https://www.facebook.com/lovebeingblack

Marc Polite

Marc Polite Contact: marc.w.polite@gmail.com

Blog- www.politeonsociety.com Twitter handle: @marcpolite

Marc W. Polite is an award winning writer from New York City. He writes on issues concerning history, labor, and technology. Mr. Polite is the founder and Editor in Chief of Polite On Society, a blog of social commentary, political analysis and literary reviews. His commentary has been featured on The Grio, Time Magazine, Black Star News, BMORENEWS, The New England Informer, and The Atlanta Post.

Jonna Scott-Blakes

Jonna Scott-Blakes is a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger, freelance writer, event coordinator, and wife. She writes Naturally Glam to share her passion for natural hair, health, fashion, beauty and events. From healthy eating to product reviews, hair style tutorials to makeup looks, budget-friendly fashion to event recaps – Jonna covers that and then some.

Jonna unearthed her passion for hair, beauty, and fashion when she started on a healthy lifestyle journey in 2008. In doing so, she peeked the interest of many around her, and started to share what she was finding with others. What started as an email ‘newsletter’ of sorts for a few family and friends turned into a list of over 100 email contacts in just over a month. A friend suggested starting a blog to share this information with not just those she knew, but to many more. She started Naturally-Glam.com in January 2012, where she shows that being glam does come naturally!

Naturally-Glam.com has become a reliable and credible resource online for beauty, fashion, health and lifestyle. Jonna uses her website, along with her YouTube channel NaturallyGlamTV and social media outlets to educate and entertain her audience. Her participation in blogger associations like Virginia Bloggers, Bloggers Like Me, Blogher and Black Bloggers Connect has fostered her growth as a content creator that engages and influencers her audience. She has been featured on CurlyNikki.com, Cocotique.com,KinkyCurlyCoilyMe.com, GorgeousInGrey.com, 4cHairChick.com, and BlackGirlLongHair.com, just to name a few. Jonna is a BlogHer.com Social Media Influencer, and in Fall 2013 she received a Social Media Impact award from Black Bloggers Connect.  She has also been a special guest speaker for Fro Fashion Week, Leadhership Web Series, Beauty Couture Bridal Convention, and more.  Her brand partnerships include Beauty Box 5, EDEN BodyWorks, and Alikay Naturals. Blog Name: Naturally Glam Twitter Handle: @NaturallyGlamTV

Ni’Cola Mitchell

Ni’Cola Mitchell Contact: nicolacmitchell@gmail.com

Blog- www.FromThePenofNicola.com Twitter.com/MsNicola

Ni’Cola Mitchell is a Jamaican-born Award-Winning, Best-Selling author, blogger, and public speaker. She has written eight novels, each being on a national bestselling list. Ni’cola Mitchell enter the literary scene with one main objective: To Stimulate Your Mind, One Word at a Time.
Through her independent publishing company NCM Publishing, Ni’cola published numerous titles which have been featured on various best-selling lists throughout the country. Much of her work revolves around complex relationship issues and Mitchell’s compulsive desire to see women overcome challenges.

With her outstanding representation of Las Vegas’ African American community, Ni’cola Mitchell was featured in the second edition of Who’s Who in Black Las Vegas. As well as being an author, Nicola is also a motivational speaker and literary consultant, which allowed her to become the recipient of the 2013 Queen that Rocks Award, from the Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation Conference.

Ni’cola is also Co-Founder of the Baltimore Urban Book Festival. She sits on the board of the Miss Black Collegiate USA Scholarship Pageant, managing the pageants Author Pavilion. She is a contributing writer for Urbania Magazine, Urb Society Magazine, and FeedLynks, the Urban News Network.

Christine K. St.Vil

As a busy mother of three and rising entrepreneur and author, this passionate professional is determined to help moms everywhere learn how to F.L.Y. (First Love Yourself) and take charge of their lives through Moms N’ Charge™. Driven by her personal experience with postpartum depression, frustration, and guilt after becoming a mother, Christine is committed to helping other moms avoid that same road. Today, she is living out her dreams through the work she does -teaching mothers everywhere how to create healthier lifestyles for themselves and their families, while still pursuing their own dreams and goals.

A sought-after social media expert and speaker with her own rapidly-growing blog, Christine has interviewed celebrities and written popular features for the award-winning website, BlackAndMarriedWithKds.com and HappyWivesClub.com. She has also partnered with organizations such as the Arthritis Foundation, The Psoriasis Foundation, The Better Family  and the Get RADICAL Women’s Conference, to create successful digital media strategies to promote her clients’ events and extend their brands. Christine has also been a guest on the Dr. Oz show as well as The Daily Drum with Harold Fisher on WHUR 96.3 (Howard University Radio). Her new book, “Whose Shoes Are You Wearing? 12 Steps to Uncovering the Woman You Really Want to Be” will be out May 13, 2014.

Alaia Williams

Alaia Williams Contact: alaia@alaiawilliams.com
Blog – AtTheHelm.com

Alaia Williams owns One Organized Business where she helps clients create sound business systems, identify new revenue and growth opportunities, and create and execute their social media strategies.

She is also the creator of The Entrepreneur Connection, a 900 member strong networking group in Los Angeles, which has garnered support from Delivering Happiness, HP, GE, Amex OPEN, and The Microsoft Store.

Alaia is also the Founder of the At the Helm: Women in Biz Conference. Her passion to serve women business owners has led her to create 10 At the Helm communities throughout the U.S. and launch the At the Helm Podcast in 2013.

Jason Francis

Jason Francis Contact: lonelynitesunlimited@gmail.com
Blog – www.thesocialmediasamurai.com

Jason Francis is a creative thinker, writer & blogger based out of New Rochelle, NY with a busi-ness and executive background in Management & Human Resources. He also specializes in Marketing and Promotions within the entertainment field.

Jason has over 10 yrs of blogging and online promotional experience. His work covers a num-ber of lifestyle genres including social media, music, travel, entertainment and more from a entrepreneurial man’s perspective. He has worked with brands like Duane Reade, Walgreens, Walmart, AXE, Bump Patrol, Hotels.com and YRB magazine to name a few. Jason is a social me-dia specialist that excels at on-the-scene live content syndication. He recently worked Super Bowl for Collective Bias and P & G. He also manages the social media activity for The Omega Nexus in the US & Barbados, along with The Nomadness Travel Tribe. This includes the Tribe’s national college tour in spring 2013. Jason is the definition of social media adaptability.

Operating from his corner of the Internets www.thesocialmediasamurai.com Jason is always on the look out to create new business partnerships and work on new progressive projects

Karen Curtis

Karen Curtis yourstylistkaren.com

Karen Curtis is the blogger behind Your Stylist, Karen, a personal style and personal development blog. With a background as a licensed therapist, Karen focuses on styling her readers from the inside out. Karen is also the Style Contributor to the popular online publication, The Cubicle Chick. Karen can be reached at info@yourstylistkaren.com.

Name of Blog: Your Stylist, Karen Twitter Handle: @yourstylistkar

Ginger Dean is a licensed psychotherapist and founder of the personal finance website Girls Just Wanna Have Funds. The site has been highlighted in USNews, MSNBC,LifeHacker, Consumerist and Wall Street Journal for finance content that explores the intersection of women and personal finance exploring money management basics, debt reduction, budgeting and other personal finance issues, specific to women.

A native of Baltimore MD, Whitney James is a 3rd generation entrepreneur. This happy newly-wed is the the author & creator of her self entitled lifestyle blog. Delivering a refreshing perspective on all things entertaining, fashionable & uplifting, Whitney encourages her readers to live a fashionable, budget friendly and inspiring life!

Yolanda Renee is the creator of www.etcblogmag.com and her very popular YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/etcblogmag with over 77,000 subscribers and 4 million views. Instagram is also a very important focus of her brand, @etcblogmag with over 27,000 followers! Her main focus is beauty and natural hair. She’s also a graphic designer with her biggest client being Necole Bitchie of www.necolebitchie.com. She is a former fashion/beauty blogger of www.necolebitchie.com as well. Her main focus now is her own brand Et Cetera which includes her blog, YouTube, Natural hair inspired t-shirt line, www.etcboutique.spreadshirt.com; She handles everything from blogging, filming and editing her own professional videos, designing, graphic design, and order placements. She’s a YouTube partner, and has huge partnerships with companies such as Carol’s Daughter, Entwine Couture, Thred Up, Dark & Lovely, OASAP, Romwe, and many many more!

Ella Rucker is a blogger for pay!  She has worked for and with Good Enough Mother, JaiStone.com, Momentumnation, 2BlueMedia, Willie B. Mum and Natural World Essentials.  She also wrote an eguide for BeBlogalicious entitled Tick Tock Goes The Blog Clock: The What, Why and How Of Creating 365 Days Of Content TODAY.

Currently Ella is the producer for #MentorMonday with Paul C. Brunson.  Yes, Oprah-hired, international matchmaker, Paul C. Brunson.  Together they are building a blueprint for entrepreneurs to grow and enrich their businesses and their lives.

Ella has made her living for the past three years working with some of the most successful brands as they have monetized their blogs or launched blogs that have monetized their brands.  She has successfully run and acquired sponsorship campaigns through her networking, social media skills and quality content.

In her “spare” time, Ella is the mother of a 4-year-old spitfire of a little girl, has been a writer for two of Marion Licchiello’s books on visualizing your dreams, and self-published The Poetry Of Prose.  You can find her blogging at They Met Online, tweeting her at @ellalaverne or join her talking about blogging at BestBlogContent.com.

Once upon a time in a land called Washington, DC a twice-divorced single mom created an online dating profile… Michelle Y. Talbert, a corporate attorney by training, is a native New Yorker living and loving in DC. She has an Ivy League education, a wicked sense of humor and timing, and a heart for fixing what ails our interpersonal relationships. She started her blog, “BlackLoveRules,” on Christmas Day 2010 and then in 2011, after their break-up, she coauthored, “Don’t Do What We Did!,” a guide to online dating, with Ricardo Kingsbury, who she met online.

Now, the best of friends, the pair has toured the country giving talks and helping people become smarter and happier daters and host the popular podcast, “They Met Online…” She has been featured in USA Today, EBONY.com and various other international publications and talk shows. She also blogs about sex, love and releationships for Singles Warehouse and Mike Fiore’s Digital Romance, and her own soon to launch TheyMetOnline.com. She has hosted live events around DC for women, including for Shecky’s Girls Night Out, ranging on topics from Sex Confidence to online dating success.

Paulo Rogério Nunes is the executive director of the Instituto Midia Etnica, the leading Black Media NGO in Brazil. He is also editor of Correio Nagô, a news blog focused in diversity and human rights that have young correspondents from several favelas in Brazil.  From 2011-2012 he has lived in the United States as a Fulbright H.Humphrey Fellow.  Prior, he was the civil society co-chair for the U.S.-Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Ethnic and Racial Discrimination (JAPER). Paulo is the lead in Brazil for VOJO technology, a tool developed by MIT Center for Civic Media’s researchers that allow anyone update a blog without the need of a computer or Internet access. He is also an Ashoka Fellow and writes for the Americas Quarterly magazine about social inclusion.and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, as well as at schools, churches and public housing communities across the country. Additionally, Caroline has worked with the US Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health and the American Psychological Association on initiatives related to diversity and combating obesity. You can connect with Caroline via Instagram @CarolineJhingory Twitter @JHINGORY or Facebook/CarolineJhingory; she also operates an active website and blog at www.CarolineJhingory.com.