Bios
Edelman is internationally known as a pioneer in the realm of social media. The varied and real-world-tested expertise of Edelman — combined with passionate and forward-thinking educators — provides the ideal mix of energy, ideas and know-how to make the first Edelman Digital Bootcamp a valuable experience for all participants.
Edelman Facilitators:
Chris Broomall, Technology Director, Edelman
Chris Broomall joined Edelman in May of 2007 after having served the Digital Public Affairs team as a vendor since 2005. At Edelman, Broomall serves as the Technology Director providing in-house strategic technology counsel, management of the various vendors relationships and on-demand programming and design services. Prior to joining Edelman, Broomall founded BITE, a technology company focused on Web application development and design. Based in Lexington, Kentucky, this company served the local community with a particular emphasis on the horse industry and non-profit sector. Broomall continues his entrepreneur spirit both within and outside of Edelman. He is currently a partner in a new start-up called Mailzee, which provides missions critical e-mail services for businesses. Broomall can be reached at chris.broomall@edelman.com.
Erin Caldwell, Senior Account Executive, Edelman
Erin Caldwell is a senior account executive with Edelman’s Digital Public Affairs group in the Washington, DC office. She works with clients to develop strategic online programs and provides counsel on engagement best practices, as well as optimizing multimedia elements such as podcasts and video. Caldwell worked with New Communications, LLC, and the Society of New Communications Research, both based in Palo Alto, Calif., and helped produce the New Communications Forum in March of 2006. She is the founder and managing editor of Forward (www.forward-moving.com), an online learning community for students and young professionals in public relations. Forward, which launched in March 2006, now has contributors and an audience around the world and features a group blog, a podcast and other education-based initiatives. Caldwell can be reached at erin.caldwell@edelman.com.
Steven Field, Account Supervisor, Edelman
Steven Field joined Edelman in 2006 as a member of the Digital Public Affairs group in Washington, DC. In his position, he provides counsel to clients on various strategies to communicate their messages through new media and connect with online influencers. Field came to Edelman from the Pentagon, where he worked in the Office of the Chief of Army Public Affairs. There, he worked on the Army’s Internet outreach efforts, helping to create an interactive portal for the public to connect with the Army online. He was also responsible for the Army’s national sports marketing and coordinated dozens of soldier recognitions at professional and collegiate sporting events across the nation. He is the founder and author of The D-Ring (http://dring.wordpress.com), a blog about the military and new media. Field can be reached at steven.field@edelman.com.
Phil Gomes, Vice President, Edelman
Phil Gomes serves as a vice president with Edelman Digital, working from the agency’s offices in Chicago. Gomes is responsible for crafting the online engagement policies and standards for the agency and its clients, as well as serving as an in-house educator and counselor with regard to blogs, social media and online communities. Gomes’ successful career in the corporate communications field is characterized by his passionate interest in technology, media and emerging forms of communications. He is considered by most participants in the public relations profession to be the first in the field to start a blog – August 2001. Gomes can be reached at phil.gomes@edelman.com.
Jenna Kozel, Account Executive, Edelman
Jenna Kozel joined the Digital Public Affairs team in Washington, DC in 2007. She writes content appropriate for the Internet and regularly monitors and analyzes online communities and blogs for a number of healthcare clients. Prior to joining Edelman, Kozel spent six months building an online marketing and communications team at Ashoka, an international non-profit. Kozel helped manage Ashoka’s international Web site launch and subsequent German Web launch, and instituted a targeted email strategy that raised $25,000 over five months. Kozel also wrote and edited content appropriate for the Internet including informational and fundraising emails, strategic partner outreach and fellow outreach. Kozel can be reached jenna.kozel@edelman.com.
Monte Lutz, Vice President, Edelman
Monte Lutz is a vice president in Edelman’s Digital Public Affairs practice, where he integrates social media and word of mouth marketing into traditional outreach and public affairs initiatives. He joined Edelman in January 2007. Lutz is a social media pioneer who created his first political blogging community in 1998 – Voter’s Block. He has been developing and implementing targeted marketing and PR campaigns for more than 12 years. Prior to joining Edelman, he was manager of the strategic communications practice at DTI Associates, where he developed traditional, web and word of mouth marketing campaigns. Lutz is a trained facilitator, focus group moderator and distinguished public speaker. Lutz can be reached at monte.lutz@edelman.com.
Stephanie Wasilik, Senior Account Supervisor, Edelman
Stephanie Wasilik joined Edelman’s Digital Public Affairs team in September 2006 as a senior account supervisor. Wasilik provides insight to clients on online reputation management, search engine best practices and online marketing and advertising. Prior to Edelman, Wasilik worked as an Online Marketing Consultant for Kintera/CTSG, where she advised non-profit and philanthropic clients on effective search engine, marketing and online branding strategies. Wasilik is a member of many professional organizations in the creative and interactive realm, including the Washington, DC chapters of the International TV and Video Association, the Art Director’s Club, Women in Technology, and the Information Architecture Institute. In addition, she has been an active member DC Web Women for the past seven years, and is currently part of the organization’s steering and programming committees. Wasilik can be reached at Stephanie.wasilik@edelman.com.
Educators:
Robert French, Instructor, Auburn University
Robert French teaches public relations at Auburn University. He has over 25 years of experience in public relations, broadcasting and university administration and became interested in social media for the benefit of his students. French is a Founding Fellow of SNCR, the Society for New Communication Research and writes at infOpinions.org about public relations, marketing communications, multimedia/social media and how they fit into a traditional liberal arts / business public relations curriculum. French can be reached at robert@auburnmedia.com.
Dr. Karen Miller Russell, Associate Professor of Public Relations, University of Georgia
Karen Miller Russell is associate professor and teaches public relations core courses such as Administration, Communication, and Campaigns, as well as media history, at the University of Georgia. She is the author of The Voice of Business: Hill and Knowlton and Postwar Public Relations and has published articles on public relations and media history in such journals as the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Business History Review, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journalism Monographs, and Journalism History. She is the winner of the 2001 Pathfinder Award for best research program from the Institute of Public Relations and advised the national championship team in the 2007 PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition. Dr. Russell blogs at http://teachingpr.blogspot.com. Dr. Russell can be reached at karenm@uga.edu.
Dr. Kaye Sweetser, Assistant Professor of Public Relations, University of Georgia
Kaye D. Sweetser, Ph.D., APR is an assistant professor of public relations at University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication in Athens, Ga. Dr. Sweetser’s research focuses on social media adoption and use in PR. Most often, she examines these concepts from a political public relations perspective. In addition to a rich life in academia, Dr. Sweetser has more than a decade of PR experience. She currently serves as a commissioned public affairs officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, where she supports U.S. Naval Central Command in the Middle East. Her work with the Navy has led her to working on a campaign which won a PRSA Silver Anvil in the government crisis communication category (2007) & given her the opportunity to experiment with strategic social media integration into public affairs programs. Dr. Sweetser received her PhD from the University of Florida (2004), and taught at Louisiana State University for two years prior to joining Grady in 2006. She is currently a research fellow for the Society of New Communications Research and a teaching fellow in UGA’s Lilly Fellows program. Dr. Sweetser blogs at http://kayesweetser.com. Dr. Sweetser can be reached at sweetser@uga.edu.
Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu, Department of Communication Studies, Clemson University
Mihaela Vorvoreanu (Ph.D., Purdue University) is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Clemson University, South Carolina. Her research and teaching interests include public relations and new communication technologies, specifically the impact of online communication on public relations practice, culture and society. Dr. Vorvoreanu’s research has been published in journals such as Public Relations Review and the Journal of Website Promotion and in an upcoming book about website experience analysis. Her thoughts on social media, public relations practice and education are chronicled on her personal blog at http://www.prconnections.net. Dr. Vorvoreanu is a Research Fellow with the Society for New Communications Research, http://sncr.org/. Dr. Vorvoreanu can be reached at mihaela@clemson.edu.
