John Aravosis is a Washington, DC-based writer and political strategist, and the editor of AMERICAblog.com. Since 1995, he has been one of the nation’s top political Internet experts. Aravosis has a law degree and master’s in foreign service from Georgetown. He’s worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children’s Defense Fund, and as a stringer for the Economist. Aravosis stopped Dr. Laura, bought Wesley Clark’s cell phone records online, and is the reason you know Mary Cheney is a lesbian. To his utter embarrassment, he is best known for outing conservative White House “reporter” Jeff Gannon as a male hooker.
Adam Bonin is a member of the law firm of Cozen O’Connor in Philadelphia. His practice includes representing clients in election law and campaign finance matters, including leading progressive bloggers, and Bonin been extensively involved in efforts on behalf of the rights of online speakers. He also represents international commercial clients in a multibillion-dollar recovery lawsuit against the individuals, entities, and nations involved in financing al Qaida prior to the September 11 tragedy. Bonin is a featured writer on the Daily Kos front page, where he focuses on legal and regulatory matters, and blogs about pop culture and miscellany at throwingthings.blogspot.com.
Raven Brooks is the executive director for Netroots Nation. Brooks got his start in politics by co-founding and leading BuyBlue.org, a revolutionary website that encouraged consumers to “vote with their wallets.” Brooks has a strong background in software development and design, management, business consulting, and project management. Fortune 100 companies and small start-ups have sought out his expertise. Brooks has been featured in countless media outlets as a visionary entrepreneur. Brooks is a member of the San Francisco New Leaders Council advisory board and was named one of their top 40 under 40 emerging leaders in 2008. He lives in San Francisco, CA, with his wife and two cats and is an avid cyclist, hiker and outdoor enthusiast.
Cheryl Contee specializes in helping Fortune 500 companies, major non-profit organizations, and leading trade associations manage their brands and their campaigns online with a focus on social media and blogger relations. She is also a blogger and co-founder writing as Jill Tubman on one of the top 10 black blogs online, Jack and Jill Politics. She has over 13 years of award-winning interactive expertise and previously served as lead digital strategist for Fleishman-Hillard for the West Coast in San Francisco.
Gina Cooper is the founder and chair emeritus of Netroots Nation. Often cited as a spokeswoman for online activists, Cooper has appeared on several national radio and television programs, including NPR's Morning Edition and CSpan's Washington Journal, and has been quoted in The New York Times and other major newspapers. Before her work with Netroots Nation, she was an early netroots activist and high school teacher in Memphis, TN. Cooper blogs her personal thoughts as a citizen-turned-political organizer at ginacooper.com.
Arshad Hasan joined Democracy for America in early 2005 to develop and direct the DFA Training Academy. In late 2007, he was named DFA’s Executive Director. Before joining DFA, Hasan had worked with a variety of PACs, 501(c)3’s and 501(c)4’s on legislative issue campaigns, corporate accountability campaigns, grassroots fundraising, and electoral campaigns. His favorite campaign so far was Jerry McNerney’s 2006 campaign, where he look a leave from DFA and took over as the campaign’s GOTV director. Hasan was born and raised in Grand Forks, ND, and went to college at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mary Rickles is director of communications and media for Netroots Nation. She previously worked in marketing and branding at the award-winning San Francisco magazine. Since her first job as a reporter, she has worked with agencies, non-profits and corporate companies on projects ranging from brand development to marketing strategy to event production. She grew up in Birmingham, AL, and now lives in San Francisco.
Nolan Treadway is logistics director for Netroots Nation. Treadway went from Daily Kos lurker to convention organizer in March 2005 when the call went out for people with experience in planning conventions. Having spent four years in the Bay Area working in convention sales, he had the right mix of experience and naïvety to help plan the first two conventions as a volunteer. Treadway received his bachelor’s degree in business from Michigan State University and earned a master’s in public policy from the American University School of Public Affairs in Washington, DC.
Markos Moulitsas Zúniga is the founder of the Daily Kos political blog, which reaches more than a million unique visitors each month. One of People en Espanol’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics” in the world and a fixture in the online world, he is also a regular columnist for Newsweek and a weekly columnist for The Hill newspaper.
