The Team

Inspired by the way the Internet has shaped the world in which we live, Maria Thurrell founded Media Awaken in June 2008. Spring-boarding off of her experiences in social media and her unyielding belief that anyone can create social change, Media Awaken was born.

Maria R. Thurrell, B.S., is the founder and principal of Media Awaken, Inc. She established Media Awaken in June 2008 after graduating Summa Cum Laude from Boston University. She received her Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the College of Communication.

She transferred to Boston University her junior year after taking two years off from Vassar College to travel Asia. In southern India, she worked for UNESCO developing, organizing and running an international youth conference called Youth for Human Unity. It was while she was working for UNESCO that she discovered her love of PR.

After attending PodCamp Boston in the fall of 2007 with her New Media and PR class, she became enamored with new media and has been embroiled in the northeastern new media scene ever since.

Maria currently resides in Boston, MA. She is also a graduate of School Year Abroad France and Phillips Exeter Academy.

You can follow Maria on Twitter: @MaThurrell
You can reach her at: maria (at) mediaawaken (dot) com
Or you can subscribe to her FriendFeed

Sandy Kalik, B.S. and B.A., is the general manager at Media Awaken, Inc. She joined Media Awaken from SHIFT Communications, where she was responsible for media relations activities for technology and consumer facing companies.

She began work in public relations at Topaz Partners after graduating from Boston University in 2007. At Topaz, Sandy learned the ropes of social media, blogger relations and communications strategy building.

While at Boston University, she served as president of her Public Relations Student Society of America chapter and was awarded the Edward L. Bernays award for excellence in public relations and her contributions to the chapter. Sandy is an active member of the Social Media Club of Boston.

You can follow Sandy on Twitter: @Skalik
Or you can reach her at: sandy (at) mediaawaken (dot) com