C. M. Samala (known simply as Samala) is widely-recognized community builder and entrepreneur with expertise in using culture, technology and new media as organizing tools. As founding director of 18MR, Samala and her team established America’s first national civil rights organization for Asian Pacific Americans in the digital era — launching groundbreaking online vehicles for civic engagement, producing ways to leverage new media for social change, and building voice and power for the country’s fastest growing demographic. Her work building 18MR has been featured at the White House and in major media outlets like Forbes, The New Yorker, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian. Samala also co-founded one of the first global distribution networks for mobile art in 2008. The platform helped over 500 artists (including Shepard Fairey, Justin Bua, David Choe, and Apex) reach mobile devices in the United States, India, China, Russia, Eastern Europe, South & Central America, and the Middle East. Samala is an alumna of the Wharton, Annenberg and Design Schools of the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in Economics and Communications, and concentrations in Marketing, Management and Design. She was a member of The Story of Stuff Project’s founding team as Director of Online Strategy & Media, proudly served as Wiser.org’s Board Chair, and is a DJ holding down an 9-year strong residency in San Francisco. Samala is a creative and a technologist that believes in the powers of fun, socialized technologies, and Hyphenated Americans.