Posted on February 23, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

#28DaysofDiversity: People of color impacting the social web. Day 23 April Davis @AroundHarlem

As we all know, February is Black History Month. It’s a month where we honor those who have made an impact on American culture for equal rights, those who have invented, those who have a helped others and those who have inspired everyone to be the best they can be, not only as a person of color but as a human.

As someone in the technology/web/social space, I often travel and attend various events in the industry and notice a huge lack of diversity, and when it comes to getting attention from mainstream media/tech blogs it’s almost impossible. That’s why I’m starting 28 Days of Diversity on SocialWayne.com. The goal of 28 Days of Diversity is to feature someone new everyday for the month of February for just being awesome in their own right. The list will include some of leaders in the social web space, startups, bloggers, conference organizers, IT professionals and friends not ranked in any particular order. Each post will include a picture, bio, two links from the selected person and this paragraph. So for the next 28 days, come back to visit SocialWayne.com to see who’s on the list. For day 23, I would like to introduce to some and present to others: April Davis

Website: http://blog-aroundharlem.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/aroundharlem

April Davis is a tech savvy individual with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. A Jill-of-Some-Trades, her areas of expertise include Creative Project Management, Online Marketing, Writing/Editing and Web/Social Media Consulting. She has dabbled with self-employed since the age of 22. The desire to work for herself began as a freelance graphic designer where she realized the opportunities and experienced the benefits of working independently.

She is currently Publisher of AroundHarlem.com, and has other online properties currently in development. April also works with local businesses and arts organizations on social media initiatives.

AroundHarlem.com is an online magazine currently in the beta stage. The current blog (Blog-AroundHarlem.com) has local event listings and in depth articles focusing on and highlighting Harlem, African Americans, Latinos and other People of Color. The beta stage has been a phenomenal success with unique visitors reaching almost 30,000 people during it’s busiest month.

The final website will focus on Business and Finance, Health, Children and Parenting Concerns, Arts & Culture, Food and Style, Politics, and People. The latest digital technology including social media incorporation, podcasting and video interviews will be incorporated into the website. The site’s ultimate goal is to bring it’s readers information typically missing from contemporary urban/local media.

Prior to entering the publishing industry, April worked as Creative Director for Exceed Communications, the full service graphic design firm that she started in 1998. Concurrently, she worked as a consultant in the National Marketing Department of Ernst & Young, a global professional services firm.

A lifelong Harlem resident, April has always worked in the Harlem community on a personal and professional level. During the last 10+ years, she has worked with the New York Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., a community service based organization that focuses on Health, Education, Employment and Economic Development. In addition to her active membership, she held positions as Membership Coordinator, PR Chairperson and eventually became President of the Young Adults Club. In the past, she was also a member of the New York Urban League Young Professionals.

Professionally, she has been a member of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and has also received training from two local entrepreneurial organizations, Project Enterprise and Workshops in Business Opportunities.

April has received several awards for her community service participation and entrepreneurial endeavors. They include an Appreciation Award presented by the New York Young Adult Club of NANBPWC, the Young Adult Community Service Award and Business Woman’s Award presented by the New York Club of NANBPWC, Best Business Plan Award presented by the Harlem Venture Group and she was also a Professional Women of Color Dream Grant Recipient.

Come back tomorrow to see who’s next on the list.

Also check out past entires on http://28daysofdiversity.com

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