Online Congressional Engagement Beyond Twitter
New House and Senate rules have given lawmakers more freedom on the Internet, and many lawmakers are taking their first steps into an expanded online world. This panel will explore how different members reach distinct constituencies—including those who are offline and overseas—while balancing the need to stay true to each member’s identity. How are video, podcasts, APIs and other tools changing the way lawmakers reach out to constituents, and is there a genuine dialog taking place? What can the public, non-profits and government officials do to help foster communication online now that new tools are available?
Rob is the Director of New Media for the House Democratic Caucus (@HouseDemocrats). Prior to taking a position in Leadership, Rob worked as the Online Communications Director for @RepMikeHonda.
Sam Drzymala manages the web presence of Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, assisting with social media networks, outreach, and open government initiatives. Prior to his work with Senator McCaskill, Sam wrote emails on the Obama new media team, and worked as an online organizer at several nonprofit organizations.
John Wonderlich is the Policy Director for the Sunlight Foundation and one of the nation's foremost advocates for open government. John spearheads Sunlight's goal of changing the culture of the federal government by opening up key data sources and expanding the use of new media tools by elected officials in order to make them more accountable to their constituents. He is one of the foremost authorities on lobbying reform, franking and social media use in Congress as well as efforts to shed light on the congressional legislative process.
In 2007, Avelino joined the Sunlight Foundation as assistant editor for Congresspedia. When that project was merged with OpenCongress, he took on a new role assisting users and developing new features. Prior to his work at Sunlight, he reported on news and politics in southwestern New Mexico. Avelino spent four years covering local news in Silver City, New Mexico, most recently as a staff writer for the Silver City Daily Press, one of the last independent newspaper operations in New Mexico.
As Director of Online Communications for America’s Voice, Jackie incubates online strategy to rally support for real immigration reform in the blogosphere and beyond. Jackie works with bloggers and advocates to build support for immigration reform as a key progressive priority. Prior to joining America’s Voice, Jackie was the Online Manager for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). During her time at ICIRR, Jackie overhauled the organization’s Web presence, managed online campaigns, and forged partnerships with both local and national bloggers to bring a humane, pro-immigrant voice to the immigration debate. Jackie received her BA from Brown University.
