Mae Weinstein (she/her/hers)

Gold Award Participant

 

That’s me! :D By day, I’m a 10th grader in the Washington D.C. area who enjoys film photography and has a Pinterest obsession. I've been a Girl Scout since I was eight years old. I play the harp, ukulele and guitar, and recently I’ve been doing some voiceover work. I've been to a handful of comic book conventions, and I've read practically every comic at my public library. Six times.

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Stephanie Cooke (she/her/hers)

Project Advisor

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Stephanie Cooke is a writer and editor based out of Toronto, Canada. Stephanie is the founder of Creator Resource, a website with resources to help creators better understand and navigate the comic book industry. As my Project Advisor, Stephanie gives me first-hand insight into the comic book world, connects me with a diverse group of authors, and helps me lead meetings. Her debut graphic novel, Oh My Gods! is available now.

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Carla Rush (she/her/hers)

Diversity Expert

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A proud parent of four (two of whom are avid comic fans), Carla is passionate about advocating for equity and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities, especially our youth. As an African American woman, she's gained special insights into navigating spaces where race and gender are at the forefront. Serving on diverse stakeholder panels and moderating a number of roundtable discussions has taught her that there's no “one size fits all” answer to the inherent bias and systemic inequalities we face. It is only with compassion, courage and openness that we can approach the much-needed conversations and make a real difference. 

 

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Alisa T. Weinstein (she/her/hers)
Marketing Expert

 

Alisa brings 25+ years of creative marketing experience and a proven track record in strategy development, concept fulfillment, creative direction and copywriting. She is most well known for innovative, arresting solutions that affect behavior change. Alisa has earned dozens of industry awards while at some of the most prestigious agencies in the world (BBDO NY, Arnold Worldwide, ICF International). She is currently obsessed with Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and claims the type in comic books is too small for her “old eyes to read.” She’s also my mom. 

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Adam Weinstein (he/him/his)
Business Development Expert

 

Adam is co-founder/owner/CEO of two companies: Full Circle Research (online market research) and iTraffic Center (digital lead generation). He’s been in market research for almost 40 years, starting his career at his mother’s focus group facility when he was 13. Adam’s business leadership has earned Full Circle a spot three times on Inc. 5000’s List of Fastest-Growing Companies in America, amongst other industry accomplishments. He’s been known to show up as Batman while coaching my brother’s soccer team, and can be heard shouting “DeSaad!!” at weird hours of the night. He’s also my dad.

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Kaylen Chang (she/her/hers)
Social Media Manager

 

In addition to leading inklusion's social media efforts, Kaylen also manages @queeratchurchill and @wchs.fashionclub, both on Instagram. She loves to read, from comic books to updates on Lady Gaga’s next album tour. Graphic novels shaped her childhood and brought life to literature for her. (Picture books are still books, but way more fun!) Along with film, fashion and writing, Kaylen tries to regularly water her dying plants. She can kind-of play the guitar and piano and likes to write songs in her free time. 

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Katie Lynskey (she/her/hers)

Design Expert

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With a passion for all things visual, Katie grew up immersed in illustrations, comics, design and paintings all her life. Following her calling, she went to Moravian College and earned her Bachelor's degree in Graphic and Interactive Design, and is now a successful graphic designer. Nowadays she remains engrossed in the things that first set her down this path, reading all manner of comics, Webtoons, and manga. It's hard to nail down a favorite!

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Thom Blanton (he/him/his)

Web Development Expert

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Thom has created animations since childhood, winning the PBS-sponsored "Young Filmmaker's Festival" in 1976. He later apprenticed under pioneering experimental film artist and Guggenheim Fellow, Will Hindle. With the introduction of the personal PC in the early 80s, Thom began designing and constructing computer animation workstations. He has formed 3 successful multimedia design and production studios, the last of which was purchased by Xerox. Thom was a fortunate fan of comics: As he aged, so did available comics with storylines from creators like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller. Examples of comics as literature are becoming more common and recognized as such by publishers. This benefits us all.

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La Nguyen (he/him/his)

Printing Expert/Color Specialist

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La has been in printing for more than 20 years, after earning a BA in Fine Arts with a concentration in Computer Graphics. He's witnessed the evolution of the printing industry, from ammonia-based printing to digital marketing. During college, he worked at a comic book store named Geppi’s, which was named after Steve Geppi, founder of Diamond Distribution (the main distributor for the comic book industry). The X-Men is La's favorite comic book series because of the diversity of characters and abilities. He says, "The conflict between mutants versus normal humans is timeless." 

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Jennifer Kaechele (she/her/hers)

Co-Troop Member

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Jennifer started Girl Scouts with me in the second grade. She plays violin, studies German, and takes care of her ADORABLE puppy, Bucky. She especially loves art and fashion, and spends her free time sewing, painting and listening to all kinds of music. She's currently into webcomics (although she says, "Let's face it: nothing beats holding a physical book in your hand!"). She has a soft spot for cute/wholesome and romantic comics, and at this point, she's convinced she needs Webtoon to survive.

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Kara Suggs (she/her/hers)

Co-Troop Member

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Kara has been a Girl Scout since the second grade. Aside from being a comic book junkie, she's active in her community, is on the school soccer team, plays countless instruments, sings in a choir, writes stories and loves visual art. Comic books are a huge source of light and happiness in her life. From cosplaying, going to conventions or just obsessing over anime and cartoons, comics have made her life more wondrous than she could have ever imagined.

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