About Me
WHAT’S UP! I’m Smiley.
I grew up in Cambridge/Massachusetts, and since have lived in Middletown/Connecticut, Havana/Cuba, Brooklyn/New York, Buenos Aires/Argentina, Anderson/Indiana, and Mt. Pleasant/Washington DC. I just moved to San Francisco/California and it’s a dream come true.
I care about:
- Promoting happiness and humor
- Encouraging people to live out their full potential in life
- Ending injustice and inequality
- Increasing opportunities for young leaders and young social entrepreneurs
- Quoting Seinfeld episodes like it’s my job. (What do you have in the briefcase? Crackers.)
- Dance parties
Bio:
I am a writer, and lover of life and people, especially people who are making the world a better place. I am a StartingBloc Social Innovation Fellow, and I try to inspire social change through the power of writing and communications.
I have written speeches that have been delivered before audiences at the White House, Congress, United Nations, State Department, USAID, and Peace Corps. My writing has been published in The Hairpin, the , Frontlines, , Popstart Magazine, the Wesleyan Journal of Undergraduate History, and the Cambridge Chronicle.
I am the editor of the and a mentor for The Bold Academy, a real-life school for superheroes (seriously).
While working at the Peace Corps, I represented the agency on President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Prior, I worked at KIPP DC, the , Obama for America, R/GA Advertising, the , the Provincetown Film Festival, and the .
I have also worked on over 15 independent and studio films, including producing and directing this . I have a BA in film studies from Wesleyan University and I studied at the University of Havana in Cuba. The best job I’ve ever had was ice-cream scooper at Herrell’s Ice Cream in Harvard Square, which sadly closed in 2010.
I don’t pretend to have the right answers. But I’m starting to ask the right questions. (So we’ve got that going for us. Which is nice.)
*Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are solely my own.*
Hey Smiley,
I’ve noticed you post a lot of great content about your life in the Bay Area. I’m working for a new start-up called HeyLets and we’re trying to get people excited about doing what you do. We want our users to rediscover their city through mini-recommendations from people with similar interests and hopefully pay it forward. I was wondering, would you be interested in sharing some of your positive experiences in your community with us? We’d love to hear what you have to say and help you promote your blog.
Drop me a line if you’re interested in more info:
Thanks for your time and keep up the good work!
-Adam