Press

Erica Swallow Fox 5 Interview

I’m incredibly thankful for the recognition I’ve received from a variety of media outlets for my work. A sampling of interviews and coverage is below.

If you’d like to reach out and learn more about what I’m up to lately, contact me at hi[at]ericaswallow[dot]com.

2023

  • The Reminder: The Springfield Preservation Trust’s Annual Meeting was covered by The Reminder, including advocacy, events, and fundraising insights.
  • WAMC Northeast Public Radio: Advocating for the Springfield Preservation Trust’s 2023 Most Endangered Historic Resources List, I was interviewed on broadcast radio by WAMC Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill about the list, specially the the 1930s Art Deco Isolation Hospital located at 1400-1414 State Street.
  • MassLive: The Springfield Preservation Trust’s 2023 Most Endangered Historic Resources List was announced at the organization’s Annual Meeting. As the newly elected President, I spoke with MassLive about the non-profit’s 2023 goals and programming.
  • MassLive: As a board member and the presidential nominee for the Springfield Preservation Trust, I focused on advocacy for Springfield to hire a historic preservation specialist in this interview.
  • MassLive: As chair of Springfield City Councilor Victor Dávila’s Advisory Litter Committee, I engaged the press around our virtual community roundtable, where we invited the public to share concerns on litter in the Forest Park neighborhood.
  • MassLive: Advisory Litter Committee coverage and brief commentary from myself as its chair found its way in mention alongside City Council President Lederman’s proposal for a ‘Green Corp’ litter removal program.

2022

  • The New York Times: My Springfield, Massachusetts listing at 73 Washington Rd was featured in The New York Times Sunday Business section “What You Get” column.
  • MassLive: That same listing was also featured as the “House of the Week” for Massachusett’s statewide MassLive publication.
  • MassLive: Springfield City Council Jesse Lederman appointed 15 members—myself included—onto the new Working Group on Civic Engagement, tasked with bringing forward policy recommendations to make local government more accessible to the people of Springfield.
  • WAMC Northeast Public Radio: Springfield City Councilor Victor Dávila appointed a committee of dedicated Forest Park neighborhood leaders—myself included, as chair of the committee—to identify problems and recommend solutions for cleaning up our neighborhood. We hope our work out of Ward 6 (Forest Park) will become a blueprint for Springfield at large. The Advisory Litter Committee will report on its findings in March 2023.
  • MassLive: Preliminary work regarding the Advisory Litter Committee was covered in MassLive as well.
  • Insider: In light of the overturn of Roe v. Wade, I shared my story of overcoming an ectopic pregnancy in early 2022. It is essential that we destigmatize the sharing of intimate women’s health stories. I share my story in hope for short-term language clarification in the 13 “Trigger Law” states where ectopic pregnancies present a legal gray area in a post-Roe v. Wade era—and long-term policy change to restore women’s reproduction rights.

2021

  • Innovate413: The launch of my antique and vintage jewelry store, Edith & Aster, was covered on Innovate413, the news hub for Western Massachusetts innovation and entrepreneurship.

2020

2017

  • How Will We Live Tomorrow?: On his 48-state cycling tour, architect and Cantabrigian Paul E. Fallon profiled people from across America, asking “How will we live tomorrow?” Over tea at the Capital Hotel, I discussed the important intersection of education, automation, and healthcare and how they’ll define our future.
  • The Arkansas 100: Centered around my late-bloomer’s advice for aspiring Entrepreneurs, this Arkansas 100 piece points readers to resources for starting up. I enjoy this series, because it’s a daily series of 100-word stories and 100-second videos on all things Arkansas.
  • Log Cabin Democrat: Superintendents and principals from 20 schools in Central Arkansas were gifted a set of signed Little Launchers books during a ceremony at the UCA Makerspace Thursday, hosted by The Conductor. As author of the books, I attended and spoke, alongside representatives from the University of Central Arkansas and Conductor.

2016

  • SXSW: Chosen among thousands of SXSW sessions to be highlighted in official SXSW news, my team’s panel — “No CTO, No Problem: Building a Non-Technical MVP” was featured via an interview with me about the content of the panel. Check it out to see who joined me on the panel and what we discussed.
  • MIT Sloan: Twelve MIT Sloan alumni presented sessions at SXSW 2016. Panels included, beyond my own on building non-technical MVPs, range in topics from accelerator trends and mobile deep linking to hacking medicine and object fluidity.
  • CIO: Having written multiple business plans that have garnered millions in funding, I was interviewed by CIO magazine as part of an article on the essential elements of a good business plan. The publication is directed towards chief information officers and the article includes interviews with other entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and executives, as well.
  • Talk Money & Politics: Northeast Arkansas Talk Money & Politics correspondent Michael Wilkey covered my talk at the ASU Women’s Business Leadership Conference. The talk, entitled “Womanhood and Entrepreneurship: My Journey From Paragould to Prosperity,” chronicled how I, a small town girl from Arkansas, dreamed big, made it out of poverty, and am now on a mission to help others do the same.
  • Mediabistro: I was quoted in an article about strategies for finding a job and common reasons why applicants are held back. My thoughts focused around applicants blanketing recruiters with cookie-cutter resumes and cover letters. Customization, friends, is key.
  • ABC KAIT8: I made a brief appearance on ABC Region 8 News regarding my participation as a speaker at the Arkansas State University Women’s Business Leadership Conference.
  • Premiere Magazine: Following my talk at the ASU Women’s Business Leadership Conference, Premiere Magazine — a local lifestyle and news magazine from my hometown of Paragould, Arkansas — featured my story, focusing on my childhood in Northeast Arkansas and my advice for dreaming big.
  • Bitly: Bitly sourced me as a marketing expert to share top advice for growth hacking and product marketing. I shared my insights on content marketing and the power of a strong blogging and SEO powerhouse for increasing marketing outcomes.
  • Commonbond: I was chosen to go on Commonbond’s second-annual trip to Ghana to see CommonBond’s Social Promise in action. My trip goals were covered on the Commonbond blog in advance of the journey.
  • Idealist Careers:
    Following Commonbond’s trip to Ghana to see the organization’s Social Promise in action, I wrote about lessons learned for Idealist Careers, a publication focused on serving social-impact professionals and job seekers. I wrote about empowering community engagement and the importance of measuring impact.

2015

  • BostInno: I was included in a piece about Boston entrepreneurs and technologists speaking at SXSW 2015, per my participation on a panel about the value of an MBA in entrepreneurship.
  • Innovate Arkansas: News of my new role as VP of Product at Noble Impact was first scooped on the blog of Innovate Arkansas, a program partnership between the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Winrock International that aims to encourage technology-based innovations and create jobs in Arkansas.
  • Talk Business & Politics: Leading up to July 4th, I was featured among a list of Arkansas entrepreneurs regarding my thoughts on the relationship between entrepreneurship and Independence Day. I focused my comments around the notion that while America is a diverse nation, we should seek to cultivate leadership that reflects our eclectic, but ultimately shared, values. I was also quoted in September 2015 around my advice for women entrepreneurs.
  • ABC News: KAIT8, the local ABC News channel in my family’s hometown, covered the Indiegogo campaign my mother and I ran which raised funds to donate food to the NEA Humane Society. My mother, Sheri Lyn Stotts, was interviewed for the nightly news’ “GR8 JOB!!” segment. We were happy to spread the word about the shelter and hope it inspires others to give!

2014

  • The Wall Street Journal: I appeared on WSJ Live to discuss the gender gap in the venture capital industry.
  • Bloomberg Businessweek: Bloomberg covered my encounters with sexism in venture capital, focusing on how the venture firm I interned at reacted to my initial blog post.
  • Beta Boston: I was deemed one of “Boston’s badass tech women” by the Boston Globe’s tech site, Beta Boston.
  • Xconomy: After speaking out on sexism in venture capital and commenting on how the community had reacted to my original blog post, Xconomy reported on how discussion of gender bias was progressing as a result of my actions.
  • The Huffington Post: Motivated to move the conversation of female entrepreneurship forward, I spoke with Jillian Berman for her Huffington Post piece about the realities of raising venture capital as a female founder.
  • The Wall Street Journal: After writing about my experience as a female intern at a venture capital firm, my story sparked headlines across the web, including this piece in the WSJ.
  • Entrepreneur: My MIT Sloan blog post about women in venture capital was cited as having “crystallized this discouraging statistic” that 89 percent of investors are men. The article focused on the quiet closing of the largest venture capital fund—$500 million—ever raised my majority-female partners.
  • The Grommet: Jules Pieri, co-founder and CEO of The Grommet, blogged about her reaction to my experiences as a female associate in venture capital.
  • Arkansas Business: I visited my home state of Arkansas to judge the first-ever High School Startup Weekend, alongside Seattle Seahawks defensive end Greg Scruggs and Enstitute co-founder Shaila Ittycheria. More than 80 students participated, building startup plans and demos that could likely turn into real businesses.
  • Paragould Daily Press: My mother and I made the front page of our local newspaper twice during the 2014 holidays for running a successful Indiegogo campaign that raised funds to donate 2 tons of food, along with other goods, to the local Humane Society Shelter. Mars Petcare, makers of Pedigree and Whiskas, got involved along with 28 generous funders. We were incredibly thankful! Plus, my mother ended up adopting a pup she fell in love with during the donation delivery!
  • Cafeglobe: I crafted a makeshift standing desk during my summer internship at General Catalyst, and with one tweet, it made it onto the Japanese news site, Cafeglobe. Oh, the powers of the Internetz.
  • 15Five: Featured alongside visionaries Larry Page, Bill Gates, and Brad Feld, among others, I was quoted in 15Five’s e-book, “The Little Book of Workplace Wisdom: 101 Leadership Lessons You Can Actually Use.”

2013

  • The Huffington Post: Hirespaces founder and Huffpo Tech blogger, Reuben Sagar, reviewed my Udemy course on Startup PR, which he deemed “a business saver” of a course.
  • The Next Web: In its coverage of Udemy’s Teach2013 campaign that aims to encourage “every expert in the world to teach the next generation,” The Next Web pointed to me as one of a few “interesting instructors” teaching courses with Udemy. I teach a course on Startup PR.
  • Mashable: While serving as director of community at technology startup Contently, I experimented with the company’s social media strategy, figuring out which types of posts gained the most traction. I found that office photos pulled in 400% more engagement than other types of posts on Facebook, for example. This post looks at how I and others use our smartphones for company photography. The post was also published on American Express OPEN Forum.
  • Go Mighty: I was honored and humbled to be one of 31 women interviewed and highlighted for Go Mighty’s 31 Days of Inspiring Women project. My life is all about curiosity, passion, and dreaming big. I was excited to share my story with the amazing team behind Go Mighty.
  • Clarity: I contributed my thoughts on the most valuable lessons learned through entrepreneurship, alongside 22 other startup founders, including Foundry Group co-founder Brad Feld and Technorati founder David Sifry.
  • BlogWorld: I was featured within the “Brilliant Bloggers” series on BlogWorld’s New Media Expo Blog, where they pointed out my post on “5 Ways Startups Are Using Vine.”
  • Fox News 5: Hair done high and sequins everywhere, I was interviewed at the 2013 Webutante Ball for a Fox 5 clip that aired during the 10 o’clock evening news.
  • Fox News: Technology is supposed to connect us, but it can sometimes leave us feeling ignored if we don’t receive instant responses. I was interviewed by a Fox News reporter regarding the oh-so-common ‘no response’ in the world of texting.
  • MuckRack: Journalist Brittany VanBibber interviewed me about the art of freelancing, focusing on my top tips for social media and financial success as a freelance writer.
  • B2B Twitterer of the Year Awards: I was chosen as the 2012 B2B Business Journalist of the Year, as voted on by my fellow Twitter users and an esteemed panel of judges.
  • Gigaverse: Interviewed on how to make it as a freelancer or consultant extraordinaire, I spoke with Gigaverse about my tips of the trade, as well as why I decided to attend business school while I’m founding a startup.
  • Clarity: For my strengths in startup PR and digital marketing, I was chosen as Clarity’s “Bossome Expert of the Week.” Bossome, as it turns out, is when something is both boss and awesome. Simply honored!
  • Northwestern University: I was interviewed by the staff at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University to discuss how marketing and analytical skills come into play for journalists. The interview was documented in a brochure about life at journalism school.
  • CEO Blog Nation: I was featured in a story about how entrepreneurs rebel in the workplace and buck the norm. My secret is being myself.
  • Volusion: I won Volusion’s TechCrunch Disrupt Twitter contest, with a prize of $1,000, by answering the question of what inspires me to create, with this tweet.
  • Aiellejai White Paper: My work was cited in a white paper entitled, “Blindsided! Why the Rapid Pace of Social Media Communication and Measurement is Leaving PR agencies Behind.”
  • Business2Community: In 2012, I spoke about brand journalism at SXSW, offering up a definition of the term and speaking about what it means for the worlds of marketing and journalism. I’m honored to say that more than a year later, the definition is still making its rounds. Let’s hope it lives on.
  • Biznology: Writing on the topic of brand journalism, Jon Greer evoked my definition of “brand journalism,” as discussed on a 2012 SXSW panel.
  • Alltop: Alltop’s Holy Kaw blog, which focuses on curated content that the editorial team deems “interesting,” picked up my Mashable piece about how to perfect a startup pitch. The post was promoted multiple times via founder Guy Kawasaki’s 1.2 million-strong Twitter account.
  • PR Tips for Startups:Interviewed by journalist Chikodi Chima, I discussed public relations tips for first-time entrepreneurs on his podcast series focused on educating startup founders about the worlds of PR and media.
  • YouTube Podcast: Interviewed by Tyler Moore, a YouTube guru with more than 50,000 subscribers, I spoke about PR for startups and how to get started with contacting journalists when you’re founding an early-stage company.

2012

2011

  • Travel Weekly: Senior Editor Johanna Jainchill of Travel Weekly interviewed me on my top social media tips for travel agents.
  • NPR’s All Things Considered: I was interviewed for a piece on Mattel’s social media marketing campaign that celebrated the reunion of Barbie and Ken, America’s iconic doll couple.
  • prTini: Heather Whaling, founder of Geben Communications and prTini blogger, interviewed me about my advice for PR pros hoping to increase their success rates when pitching tech reporters.
  • PR Daily: A controversial piece on PR pitch phrases that I hate made its round on the Internet and even landed in PR Daily.
  • DigitalFlash: I helped inspire 35 girls from the East Harlem Young Women’s Leadership School during an interactive day camp about women in tech.

2010

  • PRWeek Insider: Digital media strategist Rob Longert referred to my post on reverse mentorship while discussing the two-way street that is PR mentoring.
  • The New York Times: A Mashable post that I wrote on five small business predictions for 2011 was mentioned on The Times’ You’re the Boss small business blog.
  • Mediabistro: I was quoted in a piece covering the Hackers and Founders “PR for Startups” chat, explaining that founders just sound more compelling than publicists via email.
  • Hackers and Founders: I spoke on a panel about “Demystifying PR for Startups,” lending my advice as a journalist.
  • WOMMA: I spoke on a panel about the state of social media marketing at the 2010 Word of Mouth Marketing Association Summit in Las Vegas. Check out this live blog of the event for details.
  • Yahoo! Advertising Blog: My Mashable post on “5 Big Brands That Are Rocking the Social Media Space” was picked up by Yahoo’s advertising blog as a notable piece of “ad news and views from around the web.”
  • Česká Televize Milénium: After speaking at the Social Marketers Summit in Prague, I was interviewed alongside fellow new media specialists by Jiří Václavek, host of Czech news show Milénium, which covers science, technology and modern living. We discussed the future of social media. Česká Televize is the largest news station in the Czech Republic, comparable to CNN’s popularity in the United States.
  • Ekonomika ČT24: I was interviewed for Ekonomika, a show about economics on Česká Televize, the Czech Rebublic’s largest news station, about the revenue models employed by social media sites. (Fast forward for at sound bite at 14:15).
  • Marketing & Media: I was interviewed about the future of location-based marketing and social media for Marketing & Media, one of the top marketing publications in the Czech Republic.
  • Lupa: My presentation at the Social Marketers Summit was well-received by the audience and media.
  • Social Marketers Summit: I spoke at the Social Marketers Summit in Prague on ten emerging social platforms and how businesses can use them. My presentation was mentioned by Tomáš Hodboď on Česká Televize here.
  • Mediabistro: I was interviewed on strategies for finding jobs in the digital marketing field.
  • Social Media Brasil: I spoke at Social Media Brasil, the largest social media conference in Brazil, on crucial social media tips for traditional media.
  • MediaPost: Kelly Samardak was the first to report that I would be leaving The New York Times to join Mashable as a features editorial assistant.
  • Blogs.com: I was quoted on Blogs.com regarding a piece I wrote about privacy rights for suspected criminals after Faisal Shazhad’s Orkut and Facebook photos were used by national news outlets to identify him as the Times Square bomber.
  • NYTimes.com: I was featured on The New York Times SxSW Twitter list along with 60 other dynamic tweeters attending and tweeting about the conference.
  • Invoke Media: I video-blogged with Invoke Media during SxSW Interactive.
  • CNN: During Good Riddance Day 2010 in Times Square, I bid farewell to being uninsured and doing homework, in hopes that 2010 would bring a full-time job with benefits, as I am a recent NYU Stern graduate (2009)!

2009

2008

  • China Care Newsletter: I was featured in a China Care Foundation newsletter for managing a pro bono advertising project and getting a donated China Care ad placed in CosmoGirl magazine. I also won the Outstanding Leadership Award that year as President of NYU China Care.
  • Epoch Times: I was interviewed by the Epoch Times newspaper during the NYU Chinese Mei Society’s Yuan Fashion Show. All proceeds for the show benefited China Care Foundation.
  • IMUSE 2008: I was a runner-up for the 2008 “China in My Eyes” photography contest.
  • Washington Square News: I was interviewed by WSN for my leadership in NYU China Care during Social Justice Week 2008.
  • Our Town NY: I was interviewed by journalist Patty Lee about my study abroad experience in China.

2007

  • Continental Magazine: I was interviewed by Continental Magazine about my study abroad experience in China and future plans involving the country.

2006