We are proud to announce that Angel Laws will be the keynote speaker at Blogging While Brown 2011. Laws is the creator and editor of the popular entertainment blog, ConcreteLoop.com. Since 2005, Concrete Loop has been a recognized voice in urban lifestyle and culture, covering news, music, fashion, entertainment and politics. Concrete Loop has since been named one of TIME magazine’s top websites of 2008. The 26 year-old is also the author of the blogging book, "Angel's Laws of Blogging" (Skyhorse Publishing, July 2011). For more info visit her personal blog: AngelOnFire.com. Follow Angel on Twitter @AngelonFire and @ConcreteLoop

Adria Richards helps business professionals learn essential web technologies through hands-on training at Freshworkshops. Adria has presented at several blogging conferences on leveraging WordPress blogging, social media, and web technologies including SXSW, Blogworld, Blogher, Blogalicious, Wordcamp Atlanta, Boston, and NYC. She will be presenting at SXSW and several small business technology conferences in 2011.  With over 12 years of experience in website development, training and computer networks, Adria removes the frustration of learning the web. Now living in San Francisco, Adria continues to focus on raising awareness for open source, cloud apps and digital equality. Follow Adria on Twitter @AdriaRichards

Andrea Amir of Smart Money Chicks started blogging 3 years ago when she was a Real Estate Broker. Her local real estate blog provided current news about the Mortgage and Real Estate industry. This kept her clients informed as well as secured her new clients that resulted in a 35% increase of income that year. After realizing the amazing outlet the internet provided. Andrea transitioned from her 10 year Real Estate Career to a Financial Literacy Educator. She now helps people avoid the mistakes she made. Andrea is a co-owner of a Digital Marketing company that specializes in helping Small Businesses and Non Profits utilize the internet for their Marketing and Outreach needs. Follow Andrea on Twitter @AndreaAmir

 Anjuan Simmons is an information technology consultant who helps companies understand and implement emerging technologies. He is currently a Director at Adverlyze, a company that provides online marketing services. Anjuan is also a freelance writer for Black Web 2.0 and produces a weekly technology podcast, The Digital Weekly. As a public speaker he focuses on topics such as technology, business, and minority advocacy. Anjuan has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Texas A&M University. He lives in Houston with his beautiful wife and 3 amazing kids. Follow Anjuan on Twitter @Anjuan

 April Davis is the Publisher and Community Manager for AroundHarlem.com. She is a tech savvy individual whose areas of expertise include Online Marketing, Creative Project Management, Editing, and Managing Writers and Social Media Consulting. In 2010 she was invited to participate in “Speak Up NY” where she offered insight and advice on building the “official government website” for Manhattan residents. She currently has other hyper local properties in development and is writing a book on Harlem. Follow April on Twitter @April_Davis

Bren Herrera is a private chef, weekly food columnist for Latina Magazine and Dean & DeLuca and freelance writer for various food, travel and lifestyle print publications. She is the owner and editor of FlanboyantEats.com, a culinary blog documenting one Afro-Latina’s experience as a private chef and food writer cooking up Cuban, Latin, fusion and global cuisine. Having entertained with food all the way through college and during her corporate America years, Bren realized her food was a strong and repeat hit. Her passionate cooking and constant sharing of recipes and travel stories led to the creation of her blog. Bren has appeared on Emeril Lagasse’s Planet Green and NBC’s “Daytime” morning show. has been featured in The Washington Post, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution and other national publications and has secured sponsorship contracts with General Mills. Bren lives in Atlanta, GA and Washington, D.C. Follow Bren on Twitter @BrenHerrera

Chrystal Baker is the co-founder and co-editor of Duodishes.com, a food blog that features eclectic and homestyle dishes, mingling Southern roots, West coast flair and international ingredients.  With a double major in Communications Studies and French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she started her post-graduate career in the world of television production before settling into her true passion--cooking. After several years of creating dishes for family and friends, she started a food blog to share those dishes and the stories behind them with anyone interested in reading about it. That has led to recipe development with international brands, publication in cookbooks, various online features, radio interviews and more.  In addition to maintaining Duodishes.com, she is a contributing writer for Basil Magazine and Losangelesrestaurants.com. Chrystal lives in Los Angeles, CA. Follow the Duo Dishes on Twitter @TheDuoDishes

James Rucker is the executive director of ColorOfChange.org, an online community of over 600,000 dedicated to amplifying the political voice of Black America.  He also serves as co-director of the Citizen Engagement Laboratory, an incubator and umbrella for online organizing projects based on the model of ColorOfChange, largely focused on empowering currently underserved identity and issue based communities.Prior to ColorOfChange, James served as Director of Grassroots Mobilization for MoveOn.org, where he played a lead role in technology and organizing strategy. James is also co-founder of Secretary of State Project, an effort to elect progressive Secretaries of State at the state level, and Video the Vote , a citizen-journalism project that enables everyday people to serve as the eyes and ears for the public on Election Day. He lives with his family in San Francisco. Follow ColorofChange on Twitter @ColorOfChange

Jasiri X is an activist, entrepreneur, & MC who burst on to the International Hip-Hop scene with the controversial hit song “FREE THE JENA 6”, which was named “Hip-hop Political Song of the Year”. He recently became the first Hip-Hop artist to receive the August Wilson Center for African American Culture Fellowship. As President of LYRICS Inc. Jasiri successfully navigates communication with youth and adults by showing the pros and cons of the growing phenomenon called Hip-Hop. A 6 time Pittsburgh Hip-Hop award winner Jasiri is currently working on Season 4 of his highly successful series online Hip-Hop news series “This Week With Jasiri X” and preparing to release his sophomore album “The Ascension” with acclaimed producer Rel!g!ion on Wandering Worx Entertainment. Follow Jasiri X on Twitter @JasiriX

Jewel Figueras is a 40-something chick who lives in the Miami burbs with her family. She became enthralled with Social Media, while working in the Special Events, Marketing, and Fashion industries.Her personal blog, TheTinyJEWELBox, was named the Best Personal Blog in South Florida 2010 by the South Florida Sun Sentinel Newspaper. In April 2010, she undertook ChevyUnivTour, an 8 day family road trip that will visit the 2 university choices for her high school senior daughter. Jewel is very active in South Florida's Social Media scene and can be seen all over town hobnobbing! Follow Jewel on Twitter @TheTinyJEWELBox

 Joel Dreyfuss is managing editor of TheRoot.com. With more than 35 years experience as a journalist, editor, and news executive he has been editor-in-chief of Red Herring and Information Week, editor of PC Magazine, executive editor of Black Enterprise, a senior writer at Bloomberg Markets magazine and editor-in-chief of Urban Box Office. Dreyfuss served two stints at Fortune, as an associate editor and Tokyo bureau chief, and later as a senior editor and personal technology columnist. He also worked at USA Today and The Washington Post. A native of Haiti, Dreyfuss grew up in Paris, France, Monrovia, Liberia, and New York City. He is a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  Dreyfuss is an accomplished musician who has credits as a bassist on several albums. Follow The Root on Twitter @TheRoot247

Karen Taylor Bass is an author, public relations coach, brand consultant, and host for BlackEnterprise.com web-series, ‘Brand New You.’ She has created strategic “out of the box,” public relations, branding, and marketing campaigns for celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and corporations for over 10 years. Karen has appeared on numerous media outlets: NBC Today New York; BET News; CBS-NY; The Grio.com; Heart & Soul; Black Enterprise; The Network Journal; Essence; Ebony; Madamenoire.com; Philadelphia Daily News; Philadelphia Tribune; New York Daily News; and countless others. Karen spends her time as the PR Expert and CEO of The Brand New Mommy.com, a digital destination for savvy Black women renewing and redefining their personal brand post childbirth. Follow Karen Taylor Bass on Twitter @TheBrandNewMom

Kimberly C. Ellis, Ph.D. affectionately known as Dr. Goddess,” is a writer, entertainer, entrepreneur, scholar, and activist. She writes for TheLoop21.com and her own “Revelations” blog, a former columnist for the Pittsburgh City Paper and is published in the Special Inaugural Edition of Ebony Magazine.  Named one of the “Most Influential Black Women on Twitter” by “For Harriet” Digital Magazine and profiled as one of the “Exquisite Women” by The Black Man Can. Known for her “Twectures” (Lectures on Twitter) on American and Black History, Popular Culture and Activism. Dr. Goddess is also the Creative Organizer and Media Director for the “Are You for Fannie Lou?” Campaign & Consultant for the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. She organized and moderated the “Tweeting the Revolution: How Hip Hop Transformed 140 into 360″ panel for Netroots Nation 2010 in Las Vegas. Follow Dr. Goddess on Twitter @drgoddess

Marcie Hill is an entrepreneur, professional blogger and journalist.  She is the Founder and President of The Write Design Company (TWDC) where they help clients build their brands and long-term relationships through conversations. Marcie owns and manages 3 blogs: The Write Design Company, Shorty: Your Chicago South Side Resource, and Marcie Writes.  Her published works can be found in The Chicago Independent Bulletin Newspaper, N’Digo MagaPaper, Mahogany Magazine, and True Elegance Magazine.  Follow Marcie on Twitter @Marcie_Hill

Pam Perry is a PR Coach and an award-winning Social Media Strategist delivering online branding and marketing solutions for best-selling authors, nonprofits and entrepreneurs. She was voted the Top 100 “Savviest in Social Media” by the StartUp Nation, one of the Top 25 Urban Professionals to Follow on Twitter by BrandMakerNews.com, and one of the Top 50 Black Business Women Online by ww.mybbwo.com. She is an internet radio host of several popular shows including the Chocolate Pages where she has interviewed authors such as Kirk Franklin, Rev. Run, Demond Wilson, and Yolanda Adams. Pam Perry is also a local Detroit Emmy-award winning TV producer, a columnist with Gospel Today magazine and blogs for MyBlogalious.com, Examiner.com on branding, marketing and public relations 2.0 tactics. Follow Pam on Twitter @pamperry

Roshini Cope is a glamorous amazing Amazon (6 foot 1 inch) natural hair blogger & vlogger who has documented her journey on Glamazini.com (previously Roshini.net) for the past 8 years. Roshini blogs about hair, products, tools, experiences, trials, errors, recoveries, and day- to- day life.  Her passion is to tell her story and encourage others by doing so. Visit her often at Glamazini.com and on  her You Tube Channel. Follow Roshini on Twitter @glamazini

 Scott Hanselman works out of his home office as a Principal Program Manager for Microsoft. He aims to spread good information about developing software, usually on the Microsoft stack. Before working for Microsoft Scott was the Chief Architect at Corillian Corporation, now a part of Checkfree, for 6+ years. Scott will speak about computers (and other passions) whenever someone will listen. Follow Scott on Twitter @shanselman

Shawn P. Williams launched the highly acclaimed blog Dallas South in June 2006. The blog sought to change the way African Americans were portrayed in the media. Dallas South has been featured on NBC Nightly News, CNN, NPR, BBC, and in The Chicago Tribune, Ebony Magazine, and other national outlets. In 2009 Shawn helped organize Dallas South News, a nonprofit hyperlocal news website. Dallas South News won the inaugural Southern Dallas Business Competition held by Momentum Texas in October 2009.  In April 2010, Shawn received the Texas Social Media Award from the Austin American Statesman which recognized the top 25 social media users in the state.  Shawn currently teaches "Social Media and Its Uses" as an adjunct professor at Paul Quinn College in Dallas and was recently named to the National Advisory Board of The Poynter Institute of Media Studies. Follow Shawn on Twitter @shawnpwilliams

Yolonda Spinks, known around the blogosphere as Notorious Spinks, is a full-time blogger, social media connoisseur, and certified book enthusiast.  You can usually find her blogging about brands and culture at Notorious Spinks Talks and about books at Notorious Spinks Talks Books. If she is ever missing in action, fret not, she is just tweeting or reading a book. Follow Yolonda on Twitter @NotoriousSpinks

Yvelette Stines is a dyslexic Haitian- American writer who is proud to be living her dream as a writer. She has written about health, beauty, entertainment and education for numerous publications, including Essence Magazine, Uptown Magazine, Jones, Hispanic Executive, Michigan Front Page, Heart and Soul, Ambassador Magazine, Green Build and Design, Black Health Magazine, Thebacklist.net, Detroit Fashion Pages and Atlanta Life Magazine. She started her blog Calming Corners in order to motivate people to live a calmer lifestyle through health, wellness, fashion and beauty. Stines graduated Cum Laude from University of Detroit Mercy with a B.A. in Communications, holds a M.S. in Holistic Nutrition, an M.Ed in Integrated Education from Cambridge College, and has studied with Terry McMillan and Ruth Forman at the Voices Writing Workshop in San Francisco, California. Stines served as Vice President for The Detroit Poetry Collective, a non-profit that promotes literary arts through performances and workshops in the Detroit area. Follow Yvellette on Twitter @CalmingCorners

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