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Currently
Freelance Editorial and Digital Strategist & Content Manager
March 20 – present
Through a private practice, I work with a range of value-oriented clients—including non-profit organizations, artists, and activists—to develop and execute digital and editorial strategies, create and manage content for social media, and lead digital campaigns.
The Meteor
Contract Social Lead, March 21 – June 21, September 21 – present
I pitch, develop and manage social media content for Instagram and Twitter for the Meteor—working closely with design to create standalone visual assets and writing and refining copy for captions and threads that offer information, resources, and insight to a feminist audience. I’ve also developed promotional strategies for Meteor properties like the UNDISTRACTED podcast on social media, including leading the creation of social media kits for speakers and partners, and staffed digital and in-person events to provide live social media coverage and steer on-site engagement.
The Jane Club
Contract Editorial Director and Special Events Producer, March 20 – present
I write and curate daily newsletters for members of The Jane Club’s now digital village and author a weekly longread for investors and supporters. I also support the Club’s cultural and political programming in-house and have produced their two weekend-long digital summits during the pandemic.
An Economy of Our Own
Advisory Board Member and Digital Strategist, Feb 20 – present
AEOO is building a coalition of organizations to promote a women’s economic agenda. I’m working alongside an expert team of feminist economists and movement leaders to design the campaign’s communications strategy and help amplify its work.
Ms. Magazine
Consulting Editor, Feb 20 – present
After leading the transition process for the new Associate Editor at Ms., which included compiling strategic documentation and providing advisory support for some major tech projects to move the magazine forward, I have remained on as a Consulting Editor—providing input, feedback, and suggestions for digital coverage and social media content as needed.
Argot Magazine
Co-Founder and Contributing Editor, Jan 18 – present; Previously: Managing Editor & COO, Oct 16 – Jan 18
I co-founded Argot alongside three other women with the intent to create a new kind of intersectional feminist space online, and to spotlight the types of voices and creative work that are so often erased, disregarded, or overlooked by other community-based publications. Within my role, I was responsible for assembling a roster of writers living at the intersections of oppression, soliciting whip-smart political analysis and personal essays from remarkable women, and designed our core mission and strategy alongside the other founders. Since its inception, Argot has released one issue in print and published (and paid!) hundreds of writers who are queer, trans, of color, living with disabilities, and otherwise marginalized.
Formerly
Vote for Equality & Equality Votes
Digital Strategist + Campaign Lead, June 20 – Dec 20
- Designed and executed two digital-first national voter registration campaigns—one set partisan and the other nonpartisan—targeting students in the 2020 election during the pandemic, with a focus on voting by mail and early voting.
- In addition to developing messaging and content strategies, I worked on a day-to-day basis to train and support a cross-country network of state and campus digital organizers as they distributed content, organized online events, and shared critical information about the election.
- Ultimately, our campaign pages reached tens of millions of people across three major social media platforms: Facebook (43,985 reach), Instagram (~1,300,000 reach) and Twitter (13,697,678 reach). This included 123,776 likes, comments and video views on Instagram posts, nearly 45 hours of video content watched on Facebook, and nearly 4,000 mentions on Twitter.
Bitch Media
Popaganda Podcast Host & Producer, June 19 – March 20
I conceptualized, wrote and produced the final two seasons of Popaganda, Bitch Media’s bi-weekly pop culture podcast—hailed by Mashable as one of “the best podcasts about feminism.”
Ms. Magazine
Managing Digital Editor, Jan 19 – Feb 20
Previously: Digital Editor, May 16 – Jan 19
- Oversaw the design and implementation of an integrated digital strategy for Ms. that increased its brand power online, including the expansion of its staff and increased engagement of print contributors and women’s studies scholars in virtual content creation.
- Led the first Ms. website redesign in its history, which reduced bounce rates and increased time spent on our pages by readers almost overnight—and gave our brand a much-needed boost into the next century.
- Built five to ten stories each day in WordPress, stewarding all digital content from pitch to publish.
- Expanded coverage of critical issues at the intersections, including women of color perspectives and LGBTQ rights, and expanded the stable of digital contributors to include more diversity of experience and perspective.
- Fostered editorial and social media partnerships with value-aligned organizations like Global Justice Center, Center for American Women in Politics, VoteRunLead, EMERGE America, the International Center for Research on Women, WILPF, WAND and helped create a foundational strategy for expanding content across all channels.
- Launched dozens of new digital columns—including a daily women’s history series, a monthly interview series featuring black feminist scholars, a weekly Ms. Q&A with movement leaders, and a Facebook Live interview series featuring authors and thinkers like Sarah M. Broom and Sisonke Msimang.
- Designed and launched the Ms. Sustainer Program, which now raises tens of thousands of dollars from hundreds of Ms. readers each year.
- Coordinated the Editorial Internship program, mentoring young writers who went on to write for outlets like The Cut, The Nation and the New York Times.
- Wrote the How We’re Doing, National News Short Takes, Global News Short Takes and Bookmarks sections in each quarterly print edition and oversaw intern projects related to print editions.
THE BOSSY SHOW
Co-Host & Co-Producer, Nov 16 – Sep 17
After the 2016 election, Jill Gutowitz and I came together to launch THE BOSSY SHOW, a podcast about politics and activism specifically geared toward young women. In an era of unprecedented misogyny, we centered issues impacting women and empowered them with tangible action steps for resisting Donald Trump’s policies. Our show coupled conversations with celebrities like Amber Tamblyn, Alexis G. Zall, and Michael Ian Black with interviews with experts from national organizations and campaigns like UltraViolet, the ACLU, and Shout Your Abortion, as well as segments where Jill and I broke down complex policy issues with humor and snark. The podcast debuted at the top of the iTunes charts; was featured in TIME, DIVA Magazine, and Echo Magazine, among others; and earned us praise and a lot of fan art.
Autostraddle
Feminism Editor, March 14 – Feb 17
Previously: Community Director, March 14 – Nov 16 / Social Media Co-Director, Feb 14 – June 15 / Contributing Editor, Feb 11 – March 14
- Wrote nearly 1,000 articles, including viral pieces on pop culture and popular personal essays related to class, gender and sexuality. Authored the “Idol Worship” column for one year, which featured interviews with public figures and celesbians and devotionals; the “Wild Child West” miniseries during my cross-country move from DC to Los Angeles; and the Sunday Funday, a weekly good news round-up, for six years.
- Increased social-to-site traffic by over 7,000 percent, boosted engagement by as much as 500 percent, and added tens of thousands to our legions of followers across platforms.
- Planned Autostraddle Meet-Up Weeks—ranging from Brunch Days to Babe-B-Q’s to Holigay Parties—as Community Director and coordinated parallel thematic content on-site. Launched a meet-up and events portal equipping community members to form meet-up groups and take Autostraddle’s online community offline. Oversaw the website’s weekly Open Threads and fostered community via incentive programs for commenting and participating in Autostraddle Social.
- Expanded Autostraddle’s coverage of the feminist movement and women’s issues as Feminism Editor. Authored the “Rebel Girls” column for three years, which broke down gender studies concepts and appeared in Ivy League syllabi.
She Wins, We Win
Social Media Coordinator & Blog Editor, Mar 16 – Nov 16
- Contributed to the design and launch of the She Wins campaign blog, which ultimately became a space to track the election, spotlight Hillary Clinton’s accomplishments and vision, and give voice to the diverse communities of women who were proud to support her campaign for the presidency.
- Recruited bloggers, edited blog posts, and oversaw all blog-related business. Coordinated and wrote two weekly columns: interviews with Hillary Clinton supporters and a weekly link round-up recapping each week’s developments in the primary and general election campaigns.
- Managed the campaign’s social media accounts, including creating visual assets and scheduling all posts.
Feminist Majority Foundation
Communications Coordinator, Feb 14 – May 16
Previously: Online Community Organizer and Intern Coordinator, May 13 – Feb 14 / Web and Campus Team Intern Jan 09 – May 09
- Oversaw the day-to-day management of social media feeds, blogs, websites, press outreach, and email campaigns for the Feminist Majority Foundation, Feminist Majority, and the Feminist Campus program.
- Restructured and led the communications team and streamlined content management processes across organizational entities.
- Crafted digital strategies that doubled our audience and engagement across social media platforms and increased our content production across blogs.
- Led the redesign of our popular Feminist Jobs website and contributed to the redesign of the Feminist Campus website.
- Cooked up new design, promotion, and on-site strategies for our National Young Feminist Leadership Conference, including launching and managing a sponsorship program, overhauling and re-envisioning our printed materials and event brand, and setting into motion a more aggressive email and social media recruitment campaign for attendees. As a result, the 2014 NYFLC was our most successful to date—with a nationally trending hashtag, an over 50 percent growth in attendance, and an over 100 percent increase in total revenue—and became the model for all subsequent conferences.
ThreeLOL (Aisha and Danielle Moodie-Mills)
Intern, June 12 – Jan 13
- Oversaw list-building strategies for ThreeLOL Twitter and managed engagement and response.
- Created blog and video content for the Moodie-Mills blog.
- Served as press liason and writer.
THE LINE Campaign
Blog Editor, March 13 – March 14
Previously: Blog Editor June 10 – Jan 11 / Writer and Intern June 09 – June 10
- Oversaw editorial calendar, pitch emails, and blogging team recruitment.
- Maintained our social media presence.
- Assisted in the design and outreach of the campaign launch, including developing social media and website content and booking filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman’s nationwide tour of college campuses.
SPARK Movement
Team Member, Oct 11 – May 13
- Contributed regularly to the SPARK blog.
- Led the successful, viral action to #EducateCoaches in the wake of Steubenville.
- Participated in campaigns related to promoting healthy sexuality and media representation of young girls.
- Spoke on a feminist leadership panel at the founding SPARK summit in New York.
Women’s Initiative
Director, May 11-May 12
- Oversaw the organization’s most successful year of fundraising, recruitment, and retention.
- Lead a volunteer staff of 12 to coordinate a year of programming around various women’s issues.
- Worked closely with administrators to improve campus policy around sexual assault.
- Overhauled our digital strategy and implemented social media and e-newsletter components.
SlutWalk DC
Media Organizer, May 11–Aug 11
- Wrote press materials and compiled a media kit for the first-ever SlutWalk DC.
- Coordinated interviews with event organizers and managed media relationships to strategically promote the event and raise awareness of sexual violence.
- Appeared on NPR WAMU’s Kojo Nmandi Show, in the Washington Post, and at other outlets as a SlutWalk representative.
XOXO SMS
Campaign Consultant, Dec. 10–Feb 11
- Designed a successful Kickstarter campaign for post-production of the film.
- Coordinated media outreach efforts around the film’s digital launch and crowdsourcing efforts.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Communications Assistant, May 10-Oct 10
- Temporarily managed social media outreach and messaging, external and internal communication, and writing proposal and strategy documents.
- Oversaw email newsletters and campaigns.
- Landed press about findings and news topics of interest to the organization’s work.
- Completed design and layout-related tasks for publications.
- Refined and redesigned the organizational social media strategy, which increased following and engagement across networks.
- Ran a series of one-on-one and big-group social media workshops for staff in order to familiarize them with how to self-promote on basic networks and how best to support IWPR’s social media presence.
- Planned a large-scale “DC Feminist Intern Soiree” on Capital Hill.
- Created an outreach strategy to inform campus leaders about our work.
Hollaback!
Social Media Consultant, Jun. 10-Aug 10
- Launched Hollaback!’s central social media profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr and taught other staff how to use the programs.
- Crafted and oversaw the successful Kickstarter campaign to fund Hollaback!’s unique app for mapping and reporting street harassment.
- Assisted in reviewing app design and functionality.
Domestic Violence Resource Project
Outreach Intern, Jan. 10-May 10
- Assisted in building relationships in the local community, including drop-by visits and managing events.
- Updated the organization’s website content and design.
Women & Politics Institute
Publicity/Event Staff, Sep. 09-Dec. 09
- Organized “AU Women To Win” campaign to encourage women to run for student government offices.
- Assisted with event management and oversaw all promotional material design.
- Maintained relationships with supporters and community members.
The Hip Event
PR/Event Planning Intern, Feb. 08-Aug. 08
- Helped to compile media kits and staffed promotional events for a variety of local for-profit and non-profit clients.
- Conducted outreach to media outlets and landed press hits in various community papers and magazines.
- Cold-called media outlets with pitches and event information.
tvstudio.com
Marketing Intern, Oct. 07-Mar. 08
- Designed organizational materials and managed outgoing mailers and client outreach.
- Organized and updated client database.
- Staffed front desk and handled customer service concerns.
- Assisted in editing video and graphics for client projects.
Events Organized & Staffed
This is a list of events I have helped to organize and staff, NOT a list of events I have appeared at or spoken at. For a list of speaking engagements and media appearances, click here.
2019
- Organizer and Moderator: Ms. Book Club (Summer and Fall)
- Staff and On-Air Host: Global Women’s Rights Awards
- Staff and Organizing Team: National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
- Organizer and On-Air Host: Ms. / FMF Women’s March Delegation
2018
- Staff and On-Air Host: Global Women’s Rights Awards
- Staff and Organizing Team: National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
- Organizer: Ms. / FMF Women’s March Delegation
2017
- Staff and Organizing Team: Ms. 45th Anniversary Events
- Support Staff: Street Co-Naming for Ms. Magazine Way in New York City
- Staff: FMF 30th Anniversary Celebration
- Staff and Organizing Team: National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
- Organizer: Ms. / FMF Women’s March Delegation
2016
- Staff: Global Women’s Rights Awards
- Staff: A-Camp
- Staff and Organizing Team: National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
2015
- Host: Autostraddle Babe-B-Q
- Host: Autostraddle Brunch
- Staff: A-Camp
- Staff and Organizing Team: National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
2014
- Host: Autostraddle Brunch
- Staff: A-Camp
- Staff and Organizing Team: National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
2013
- Host: Autostraddle Brunch (July & October)
- Staff: A-Camp (May & October)
- Staff and Organizing Team: Women, Money, Power Summit
2012
- Host: Autostraddle Brunch
- Staff: A-Camp (April & September)
- Organizer: The Right to Party Party
- Co-Organizer: Take Back the Night Rally and Testimonials
- Co-Organizer: Dance Marathon Fundraiser
- Organizer: Eileen Myles Speaking Engagement
- Organizer: Angela Davis Speaking Engagement
- Co-Organizer: Women’s History Month Art Gallery
2011
- Organizer: Breastival Fundraiser
- Organizer: The Right to Party Party
- Media Organizer: Slutwalk DC
- Organizer: The Language of Desire Consent Workshop
2010
- Promoter: DC Now Happy Hour Fundraiser
- Organizer: Institute for Women’s Policy Research Summer Celebration
2009
- Author and Organizer: PRSSA National Conference Bid
- Volunteer: National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
Softwares and Skills
- Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Dreamweaver, InDesign
- Microsoft Office Suite: Word, Excel, Powerpoint
- Web: HTML, WordPress, CMS Management, Google Analytics
- Social Media: Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Vimeo, Flavors, Google+, UStream
- Fundraising: QuickDonate / OneID, Salsa, Kickstarter
- Advertising: WordPress AdRotate, Twitter Ads, Facebook Ads, Google Image Ads, Google AdWords, Print Ad Design
- Email & CRM: Salsa, Constant Contact, MailChimp, Sendy
- Forms & Surveys: Gravity Forms, SurveyMonkey, JotForm, Google Forms
- In General: Good Hair, Weird Laugh, Well-Dressed, Really Smart
Education
American University, August 2008 – May 2012 (cum laude, 3.67 GPA)
- Bachelor of Arts in Public Communication and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies / Minor in Marketing
- Capstone: (con)sensual Campaign Curriculum and Evaluation Research Project
- University Honors Program, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, WGSS Research Award Winner
- Women’s Initiative, Queers and Allies, Public Relations Student Society of America, Students for Choice, Student Senate
Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, September 2004 – June 2008 (Salutatorian, 4.07 GPA)
- Multimedia Concentration with a focus in Advertising, Theatre Arts Minor
- Senior Focus: Advertising Campaign Design
Other Education and Training
- Progressive Women’s Voices
- Eleanor’s List Political Opportunity Program
- Generation Progress Media Training
- Feminist Camp
carmen rios 