Category Archives: Press

Presenting at the Queer Hustle Visibility Summit (June 6th, 2020)

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The Queer Hustle Visibility Summit is a 2 day virtual event for queer womxn entrepreneurs, creatives, freelancers and side hustlers on June 6-7, 2020.

I am organizing and moderating a panel discussion at the summit titled “Audience Building and Crowdfunding for your Podcast“. In this panel discussion you will hear from queer podcasters who have built communities around their podcasts and how they sustain their podcasts financially through crowdfunding.

Joining the panel are the hosts/creators of popular queer podcasts: Jessie Blount & Lark Malakia Grey of The Gayly Prophet, Molly Woodstock of Gender Reveal and Ellie Brigida of Lez Hang Out. You can read their bios below!

Registration to attend the summit is FREE.

Jessie Blount and Lark Malakia Grey (from the Gayly Prophet)
The Gayly Prophet is an intersectional, queer Harry Potter analysis podcast hosted by Jessie Blount (she/her), a queer woman of color, and Lark Malakai Grey (he/him), a disabled trans person. Together they discuss the books chapter by chapter through a “humorous, yet ruthless” lens. As a reviewer said, “if you want to queer the way you engage with the witchy world of HP, challenge the systemic problems in that world as well as our own, have your heart torn in two by seeing the beauty in the what-ifs, and laugh so hard it hurts, I urge you to give this podcast a listen!”

Molly Woodstock (from Gender Reveal)
Molly Woodstock is a queer, biracial journalist, audio producer, and equity educator. Molly produces and hosts an award-winning weekly podcast called Gender Reveal, and has been featured as a gender educator in the New York Times, NPR, Washington Post, SF Chronicle, and Autostraddle.

Ellie Brigida (from Lez Hang Out)
Ellie Brigida is a musician, producer and podcaster from Boston, MA. She is the co-host of Lez Hang Out which is on the TAGG podcast network, featured on LOGO’s list of best queer podcasts, HER’s The Best LGBTQ+ Podcasts You Should Be Listening To and named #1 lesbian podcast to listen to on FeedSpot.

Lynn Casper (from Homoground)
Lynn Casper is a queer filipina-american who has been producing the Homoground podcast since 2011. Homoground elevates LGBTQIA musicians from around the world. Lynn is also a project consultant and productivity coach who helps creative-minds overcome internal & external blocks that hinder progress on creative projects and life goals.

“This is How We Mobilize” – My talk at WNYC Studio’s Werk It Podcast Festival

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photo by gina clyne

In October 2019, Podcastivist founder Lynn Casper presented a strategy session for those looking to use their podcasts to do greater good at WNYC Studio’s Werk It Festival for women podcasters.

As individual podcasters, we all have unique audiences who tune in each episode because they relate to us and our content. Often our shows and audiences get stuck in a vacuum, which can be great for building and engaging small communities, but how do we then create a framework that networks our individual efforts on a larger scale?

Attendees of the session came with issues they’re working on that need a signal boost.

This talk was the launch of building a coalition of womxn and non-binary podcast producers. Join the coalition.

You can view the slides and photos from the presentation here.

You can listen to the talk below (transcript available here):

Gonna Be An Engineer: Breaking Barriers In Music Production & Technology (Published in She Shreds Magazine)

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I wrote about an event called “GONNA BE AN ENGINEER: Breaking Barriers in Music Production & Technology” that I attended in NYC in April 2018.  You can read it online on She Shreds.

The event was hosted by She Shreds Magazine curated by SADIE DUPUIS of Sad13 & Speedy Ortiz who moderated a panel discussion with mega badass babes EMILY LAZAR, DANIELLE DEPALMA, NATALIE HERNANDEZ & SUZI ANALOGUE

The night was super inspiring & I’m grateful for the opportunity to have attended and write about it for She Shreds Magazine Issue #15 (July 2018). I hope the stories & words of these amazing women also inspire many others!


 

Growing a Healthy Community: gardens educate, unite residents

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What originally started as an internship for Lynn Casper’s public sociology class has launched a community initiative to make Northside Resource Center the location of Wilmington’s latest community garden.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington senior already had an interest in gardening, and after reading up on progressive cities launching successful community gardens and the social benefits, she jumped at the idea of starting some in the Wilmington area.

Casper’s job as the Community Gardens Coordinator was to reach out to local organizations and build relationships to form a collaborative project.

“Our goal in doing this is to create awareness that community gardens and green space in general are beneficial for communities. So when other communities are being developed, space will be included for more garden space,” she said.

The project began in the fall of 2006 when the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation helped the Wilmington Housing Authority fund the garden and nutrition program through the Obesity Prevention Initiative. The goal is to provide residents in public housing access to healthy lifestyles. The community garden came up as an idea because past research has shown that such gardens bring residents together. In addition, it gives them access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

The first public housing community garden was started last year at Sunset South. That garden had proved successful so the initiative wanted to continue in different neighborhoods.

Resident Ernestine Walker, who participated in cultivating the Sunset South garden, said the project has helped not only as a social gathering but also in keeping the residents physically active.

Randolph Keaton of the Wilmington Housing Authority, who oversees Casper’s internship, said projects like these are an excellent way to bring the young and the elderly working together.

“It gives the kids a sense of ownership and pride and teaches them to care for the earth and their community,” he said.

Eight-year-old Nicolas Baldwin and younger brother Jalen planted anxiously and said they would be back as often as possible to check on the progress of the garden.

Community Garden Initiative partners include The Wilmington Housing Authority, University of North Carolina Wilmington public sociology students and faculty, Healthy Carolinians Obesity Prevention Initiative, New Hanover County Cooperative Extension, Northside Resource Center, Food Bank, Kids Making It, Tidal Creek Cooperative Market. 

Source: Star-News, 2007

WERK IT: How to be a Grown Ass Podcaster

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WNYC held it’s very first women’s podcast festival called “Werk It: How to be a Grown Ass Podcaster” on June 4-5, 2015. I spoke on a panel on how independent podcasters got their start. You can watch the full conversation in the video below:

 

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Media & Technology: The Future of Emergent, Established & Social Media [Panel Discussion]

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On Monday, April 287th I was on an Out in Tech panel. Out in Tech is a community of LGBT tech industry professionals in New York City. Also on the panel: Caitlin Thompson (WNYC), Elisa Kreisinger (Upworthy), Kate Lee (Medium) and Jamilah King (TakePart).

Here’s a great, comprehensive recap of the event by Will Pally. Some highlights below:

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[MUSIC REVIEW] No Cities to Love by Sleater-Kinney

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SLEATER-KINNEY
No Cities to Love
Sub Pop Records
January 2015

After a ten-year hiatus, this month Sleater-Kinney is releasing their eighth album, No Cities to Love, on Sub Pop Records. When news of the new album broke last fall, Sleater-Kinney fans across the world rejoiced. Over the past two decades, the band has amassed a dedicated following. Fans’ love of Sleater-Kinney is fervent and contagious.

When Sleater-Kinney started playing the early 1990s, for many of us the band’s sound was something we’ve never heard before. Corin Tucker’s powerful wailing voice, Carrie Brownstein’s intricate wailing guitar riffs, Janet Weiss’s precisely wailing drum beats—the way they all wailed together was the sound of a genre we couldn’t quite define, the sound of a generation that didn’t want to be defined. We didn’t quite fit in completely with one thing or another, and neither did Sleater-Kinney. They carved their own sound and to the punks, the geeks, the loners, the creative kids, the feminists, the queers, and the confused, it shaped who we became. Just as Brownstein sings in “A New Wave” on No Cities to Love, Sleater-Kinney created “a new kind of obscurity.”

During their hiatus, each member of Sleater-Kinney continued to experiment creatively and work on the things they love. We got to watch Carrie, Corin and Janet grow with us. Carrie became an actor, Corin helmed a new band and raised two children, Janet drummed all over the place in various bands. All of these new experiences gave Sleater-Kinney a new story to tell. There’s something about this Corin-Carrie-Janet trifecta that creates a powerful energy. It awakens something inside us, reminding listeners that we can do the things we want to do.

The new album opens explosively with “Price Tag,” which sets the tone for the rest of the album. The 10 songs on No Cities to Love are jam-packed with a more mature version of Sleater-Kinney’s signature sound: they’re fun and catchy with a cleaner, more organized kind of chaos. Their voices sound stronger than ever. The guitars seamlessly dance and chase each melody. Brownstein’s guitar riffs sound almost like St. Vincent. The drums bang out a solid and steady stride of confidence. Sleater-Kinney took something that worked for them a decade ago and refined it to still sound relevant.

In the title track “No Cities to Love,” Brownstein laments “I’ve grown afraid of everything that I love,” reminding us that the things we love aren’t always the easiest to face. In the past, Brownstein has been open in interviews about her struggles with anxiety, stating that the band’s final tour promoting The Woods was more of a tour of hospital emergency rooms. The fact that Brownstein is ready to take another tour head on speaks volumes of their growth together. Is that anxiety still present or has all the experience Carrie has under her belt given her a renewed sense of confidence? Either way, it is humbling and inspiring to know that even our heroes have fears.

Before you know it, the album is over. The whole 10-song album is just over 30 minutes long and closes with “Fade,” a slower moving song that picks up midway with elements of voice distortions and ends with a trailing guitar.

So what does this new album mean? In one way, No Cities to Love is an album to bridge the gap between generations. Its a chance for today’s young punks to know what its like to be excited about a Sleater-Kinney release and be able to apply the songs and the lyrics to life as it’s happening. Also, the album is a continuation of all the things we knew all along. Its a reminder to those of us who have been long time Sleater-Kinney fans that our creative lives don’t end, they transition into various projects with many different collaborators along the way. You can always go back to the projects you started in the past. You can take breaks from things to seek out other pursuits to develop your skills, find other influences, and refine your voice.

This review was originally published in Bitch Magazine (January 2015)

Interview with Persephone Magazine

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I was interviewed by Persephone Magazine.

“Persephone Magazine is a daily blog focused on topics of interest for modern, intelligent, clever women. We strive to give a voice to more women from a variety of backgrounds and with diverse interests. We feature articles not only from our talented staff of writers but from our incredible readership, as well; readers who give voice to their opinions and viewpoints out of a desire to educate, entertain, or engage with our community. We encourage thoughtful discussion and respectful debate. We are an environment that welcomes all perspectives that come from a place of respect and consideration for fellow community members.”

Read the interview