Through the Noise

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#40 Open Water - Tim Spell & Tim Herchenroeder Aug 03, 2014

Show notes

Getting an award is great recognition for hard work, but how often do we think about how contests are managed? Here's a hint, if you have more than fifty submissions on a spreadsheet, there's a better way. We brought in Tim Spell and Tim Herchenroeder of OpenWater to talk about online awards management.

Timothy Spell, CEO of OpenWater, possesses an innate ability to translate and break down complex technical information to non-technical people. While focused on the marketing and sales side of the business, Tim is also an avid rower and competes across the country with Potomac Boat Club.

Tim Herchenroeder, Director of Business Development. Colleagues call him as "Tim H" to avoid confusion with Tim Spell, one of the Co-Founders. Tim H's approach to business development is simple: Nuturing interactions with prospects. The philosophy is, "We'll either find value in working together or we'll decide to 'call it quits'."

OpenWater is a software platform that automates awards, abstracts, conferences, events and more.

#39 turner4D - Alan Rosenblatt Jul 20, 2014

Show notes

What do digital political strategists do? Probably a better question to ask is, what don't they do? From helping political candidates get elected, to helping organizations and their activists engage those politicians who got elected, Alan and his team at turn4D have a busy schedule developing online strategies.

Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D. is partner and Director of Digital Strategy at turner4D. He is a pioneer and thought-leader at the intersection of digital & social media with politics, advocacy & media. A columnist at SocialMediaToday.com and CQ-Roll Call's Connectivity, Alan is the host of the Internet Advocacy Roundatble (@IARoundtable) and a digital political strategy professor at Johns Hopkins and American Universities. He can be found across social media at @DrDigiPol.

turner4D was founded in 2000 as Turner Strategies by refugees from large communications agencies and progressive organizations frustrated by the focus on the bottom line at the sacrifice of true societal change.

#38 Ben and Jerry's - Alison Serota Jul 13, 2014

Show notes

Alison Serota's unique job is to coordinate events and communication efforts around man's greatest invention: ice cream. As a franchise catering warehouse, Alison's job is to make sure there's plenty of ice cream to get around Washington DC area for special events; from employer appreciation days, to Blue Angle flyovers, weddings and school fundraising events.

Alison is the Director of Marketing & Events for Ben & Jerry's in the DC Metropolitan Area. She oversees marketing efforts, catering and event management, and branding efforts for the largest Ben & Jerry's Franchise.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream started in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont.

#37 National Corporate Research - Ron Barrett Jul 06, 2014

Show notes

Ron Barrett sat down with Ernesto Gluecksmann and Blake Althen to give a sobering view of the challenges that nonprofits face when they solicit charitable contributions across state lines (or country borders). That "donate now" button on an organization's website has a lot of regulatory implications that nonprofits must carefully understand to avoid running afoul with the IRS or state regulators. Fortunately, there's help.

Ron Barrett is the Vice President of Nonprofit Services at National Corporate Research, Ltd., where he developed a comprehensive suite of nonprofit services, including corporate filings, charitable solicitation registrations, compliance filings, and sales tax exemption management. He is the co-author of Nonprofit Fundraising Registration: The 50-State Guide (Nolo, 2nd Ed., Nov. 2012), has authored numerous articles, and has presented public and in-house CLE seminars on state charitable registration requirements around the country.

National Corporate Research is a professional registered agent company that provides nationwide corporate, secured transaction, business license, and nonprofit services.

#36 Insomniac Design - Ashwin Jayaram Jun 08, 2014

Show notes

Ashwin Jayaram brings us in on what it's like to be a boutique agency for brands like Google and Adobe as well as agencies of the federal government. It starts with understanding what is the strategy is behind everything they do for their clients and for themselves as a business.

Ashwin is the Chief Strategy Officer at Insomniac Design responsible for driving organization strategy and delivery. In addition to overseeing the firm's growth and expansion in domestic and international markets, Ashwin leads large scale projects including strategy consulting, global campaigns, web and mobile projects, data visualization, and enterprise applications.

Insomniac Design is an award winning full service creative agency with a strong commitment to making a lasting impact on brands, people, and communities.

#35 The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - Lisa Iannarino Jun 01, 2014

Show notes

Lisa Iannarino talks about how her communications team supports fundraising for ongoing research and treatments for those affected by blood cancers. From tracking leads, participants, and conversions, to setting up workshops to train their runners in the fundraising process, LLS's success has helped it grow from a $30,000 annual event to a billion dollar organization over the last 20 years.

Iannarino is the Director of Marketing & Communications for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) National Capital Area Chapter, overseeing communications, marketing and branding for the organization's second largest chapter. A long-time volunteer for LLS, Iannarino joined the LLS staff in 2010, and contributes to major campaigns including Team In Training, Light The Night, the Leukemia Ball and LLS's national branding campaign "Someday is Today".

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the nation's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to finding blood cancer cures and improving the quality of life of blood cancer patients and their families.

#34 Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington - Pandit Wright May 25, 2014

Show notes

Pandit Wright gives us some insights on how she steers her organization to make a difference with afterschool programs for the DMV area kids. We talked about the transition from board member to executive staff, the challenges of funding programs, and measuring community impact.

After almost 30 years in corporate HR and senior leadership positions around the world, in 2009 Wright became President & CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. After having served 10 years on the organization's Board of Directors, Wright was in a unique position to embrace the challenges brought on by a tough economy, organizational mergers and rising demands in the needs of Club members – kids and teens who need us most.

BGCGW is dedicated to providing the 1200 kids and teens it serves daily with the experiences and skills necessary to help them become productive, healthy citizens contributing to their communities and country.

#33 International Food Information Council - David Schmidt May 18, 2014

Show notes

David Schmidt shares his story about working for Oscar Mayer to joining the Bush Administration and his appointment to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Now as the head of International Food Information Council, Schmidt shares with us IFIC's communication successes and strategies for explaining food science to the public.

Schmidt serves as President & CEO of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) and International Food Information Council Foundation. Previously, he held the positions of executive vice president, vice president and director and has been a frequent speaker on a wide range of food safety and nutrition issues.

The International Food Information Council and its Foundation is dedicated to the mission of effectively communicating science-based information on health, nutrition and food safety for the public good.

#32 Grassfed Media - Sacha Cohen May 11, 2014

Show notes

Sacha Cohen guides us into the world of communications for small to mid-sized businesses. Her process begins by defining her clients' key communication challenges and goals for the year, and then looking to meet their goals through a multi-pronged approach. Yes, it includes social media.

Cohen is the founder and President of Grassfed Media, she began her career as a business and lifestyle writer, and transitioned to the online world during the first dotcom boom. She was an early adopter of social media and continues to stay at the forefront of technology, innovation, and communication.

Grassfed Media is a boutique communications firm that works with socially responsible companies on PR, marketing, and social media strategy.

#30 DC SCORES - Jake Lloyd May 04, 2014

Show notes

Jake Lloyd talks about his work with DC SCORES. He shares his tips on how he keeps in touch with their top followers and guide them into supporting their regional and national work.

As Communications Manager, Jake is responsible for all of DC SCORES' marketing efforts, including managing eight social media networks, building relationships with traditional media, and leading online fundraising campaigns. Additionally, Jake — also a freelance sportswriter for the Associated Press — organizes the DC SCORES Cup, the Washington, DC, area's largest charity soccer tournament.

DC SCORES builds teams through after-school programs for 1,500 low-income DC youth at 47 schools by instilling self-expression through poetry, physical fitness through soccer, and sense of community through service-learning.

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