Staff

Julie Falk, executive director

julie(at)b-word.org

Julie Falk was hired as Bitch Media’s first Executive Director in June 2009. She previously served as Executive Director of the Center for Health Justice in Los Angeles and the Prison Media Fund in Cambridge, MA.Born in Kentucky, Julie is a graduate of Swarthmore College. She is thrilled to have landed in Portland OR, where she enjoys cooking and eating the local bounty and exploring the town through the eyes of her children and dog, Copper.

Favorite TV: Perry Mason, Rockford Files, Designing Women, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Wire

Favorite Movie: Rear Window

Favorite Authors: Carson McCullers, Carolyn Keene, MFK Fisher, Georges Simenon, Lois Lowry

Turn-ons: bakeries, used bookstores, German writing instruments, clean linens

Turn-offs: industrial meat production, extreme temperatures, inconsistency

Andi Zeisler, cofounder and editorial/creative director

andi(at)b-word.org

Andi is the co-founder of Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture. A longtime freelance writer and illustrator, Andi's work has appeared in numerous periodicals and newspapers, including Ms., Mother Jones, Utne, BUST, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Women's Review of Books, and Hues. She is a former pop-music columnist for the SF Weekly and the East Bay Express, and also contributed to the anthologies Young Wives' Tales, Secrets and Confidences: The Complicated Truth About Women's Friendships (both from Seal Press), and Howl: A Collection of the Best Contemporary Dog Wit (Crown). She is the coeditor of BitchFest: 10 Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine, and the author of Feminism and Pop Culture (Seal Press). She speaks frequently on the subject of feminism and the media at various colleges and universities.

Andi graduated from The Colorado College in 1994 with a B.A. in Fine Art that has proved to be more or less useless, though she did use it to secure a job designing rugs for Pottery Barn back in the day. She passes her non-Bitch hours watching television, hanging out with her family, and embroidering portraits of dogs. Her other interests include painting, walking, snacking, Scrabble, and the interrobang.

Fatal weakness: candy, naps

Crushes: Gram Parsons, Steve Buscemi, Hugh Laurie

Favorite TV shows: True Blood, 30 Rock, Freaks and Geeks, House, Dexter, dog shows

Turn-ons: clogs, flocked wallpaper, the Winter Olympics, rainbow cookies

Turnoffs: lip liner, improper punctuation, Gwyneth Paltrow

Secretly wishes she were a: zoo keeper

Andi's animal twin: Andi has always felt an affinity for elephants, since she too has a long nose, an excellent memory, and a deep appreciation for French pastries and department stores — which, if the Babar books are to be believed, are apparently really big with elephants. She also loves the color gray.

Kristin Rogers Brown, art director

kristin(at)b-word.org

Kristin Rogers Brown joined Bitch Media as Art Director in March, 2010. Though her first love in design is print, she loves finding the right media for the message and believes in keeping a balance of form, function, and delight in all the details of her work whether it’s brand development, packaging, identity, or web design. Born outside of Chicago, Kristin is a graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.In addition to designing Bitch, Kristin is a freelance designer, educator, and serves as vice president of AIGA Portland (American Institute of Graphic Arts). She has worked with sustainable design initiatives for a variety of clients, and has been instrumental in work with AIGA Portland’s green team (established in 2008) and Worldstudio’s Urban Forest Project. When not designing, Kristin frequents waterparks, swoons for David Bowie, stalks jewelry designers and illustrators on Etsy, attempts to sew, and runs or rides her bike around Portland. She is part insomniac, part narcoleptic, and quite possibly the messiest perfectionist ever.

Forever celebrity crush: David Bowie, Wayne Coyne, Mike Rowe, Alan Alda, Parker Posey

Favorite music: (in addition to stuff created by her celebrity crushes): Sharon Jones, Budos Band, Jawbreaker, Mars Volta

Favorite movies: Bottle Rocket, Hoosiers, Little Miss Sunshine, Amorres Perros, Christopher Guest in every flavor

Favorite TV shows: Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Alan Alda’s Scientific American Frontiers, Trailblazers’ basketball, and most things related to law and/or order

Favorite books: Cruddy (Linda Barry), Dubliners (James Joyce), Spook (Mary Roach), Yehuda Amachai’s poetry, Raymond Carver in general

Turn-ons: scrabble, mix tapes (or CDs, since it’s not 1983), road trips, crabcake benedicts, Radiolab

Turn-offs: bad teeth, slam poetry, moths, using the wrong “to”, “too”, or “two” (ditto for “your/you’re”)

Secretly wishes she were a: Botanist

Jaymee Jacoby, development director

jaymee(at)b-word.org

Jaymee is a nonprofit addict, having worked and volunteered over the last ten years in just about every size and shape of art and environmental organization. After gaining very practical undergraduate degrees in Studio Art, French and Art History, Jaymee decided that she was better suited to a career of administrative creativity, and completed her M.P.A. in Nonprofit Management and Development in 2009. Her love for the arts led to five years of museum servitude before coming to Bitch to raise money for another cause she is keen on: the feminist analysis of pop culture.

When not asking others to put their money where their heart is, Jaymee enjoys spending time with her pets and partner, most all food-related activities and places, riding down snowy mountains, fiction and comedic non-fiction, late-night yoga, rapid succession TV series consumption, and planning the next trip.

Favorite authors: T.C. Boyle, Margaret Atwood, Sarah Vowell

Favorite TV shows: cooking and travel shows, Freaks & Geeks, Top Chef, Dexter, Mad Men, Project Runway, Arrested Development

Turn-ons: frankness, old buildings, accessible art, strong coffee, philanthropy, good food

Turn-offs: big egos, bad tippers, cultural insensitivity, wastefulness, disorganization

Secretly wishes she was a: baker or wildlife biologist

Jaymee's animal twin: Jaymee identifies most with the short-limbed, very active otter. Otters (like Jaymee) prefer to live near the water and are playful animals that engage in various behaviors for sheer enjoyment.

Brian Frank, operations director

brian(at)b-word.org

Brian is the Finance and Technology Director at Bitch Media, keeping the administrative and financial gears turning. Brian has been active in social justice and environmental causes for the past decade, most recently working for the human rights group Global Exchange, co-founding the North American branch of the grassroots energy / climate change network Rising Tide, and doing relief work during the nine months after hurricane Katrina in New Orleans with Common Ground. When not partying with databases or spreadsheets, Brian is probably in the kitchen, gardening, or botanizing in the Cascade mountains.

Favorite TV show: Six Feet Under, Twin Peaks, The Wire

Favorite directors: Emir Kusturica, Hayao Miyazaki

Best Celebrity Impersonation: Morrissey

Turn-ons: Eggplant, basil, tomatoes, and curries of all types

Turn-offs: Teflon

Secretly wishes he was a: vegetarian cooking / relationship advice tv show host

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Kjerstin Johnson, web content manager

online(at)b-word.org

Kjerstin Johnson was born and raised in Kansas City proper (that is, Missouri) and moved to Oregon with her parents soon after she had moved to Minnesota for college, where she had the opportunity to study abroad in France and Vietnam. After four years of working in the school library and radio station, she earned a degree in sociology/anthropology and women's and gender studies, but has since continued research in her previous fields of expertise, namely Krazy Kat comics and meticulously crafted mix CDs.

Kjerstin can't imagine a better place to punch her clock than Bitchand pop culture? Who'd a thunk!) and has volunteered with Rock'n'Roll Camp for Girls and at the Independent Publishing Resource Center in Portland. She is currently a full-time grad student in Portland State University's publishing and writing program. 

Favorite Authors: Kelly Link, Dorothy Parker, the Russians, Brenda Ueland

Favorite TV shows: The Critic, Peep Show, Strangers with Candy

Turn-ons: Christian Slater circa. 1989, Vietnamese food, biking

Turn-offs: Inflammatory headlines/tweets that actually precede non-inflammatory articles 

Secretly wishes she was: in an all-girl Replacements cover band.

Kjerstin's animal twin: Kjerstin imagines herself a bit of a bleating, awkward lamb because she is sometimes clumsy and likes to graze (her hair can be unruly at times as well).

Kelsey Wallace, web editor

kelsey(at)b-word.org

An honest-to-goodness Portland native, Kelsey spent the past few years earning an M.A. in Communication Studies/Gender Studies at the University of Oregon. Having now returned to the City of Roses, she can imagine no better way to spend her time than working at Bitch. Since this cannot, however, happen 24 hours a day, she spends the remainder of her time listening to podcasts, making things out of fabric, and entertaining delusions of grandeur. If you are in need of a friend who likes to watch reality television and sample a variety of hot sauces, she's your gal.

Favorite albums: Girls in the Garage vol. 9 Oriental Special, Paper Television by The Blow, Live at the Harlem Square Club by Sam Cooke, Ready to Die by Notorious B.I.G.

Favorite movies: The Royal Tenenbaums, The Station Agent, Mon Idole

Favorite books: Pastoralia by George Saunders, Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion, An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender

Turn-ons: vintage formalwear, a working knowledge of Arrested Development, boats

Turnoffs: baby talk, poor grammar, player haters

Celebrity crush: James Spader

Secretly wishes she were a: hip hop MC

Kelsey's animal twin: The elusive red panda enjoys Asian cuisine and afternoon naps, and hates hot weather–Kelsey can relate. She also aspires to someday be that cute and popular at the zoo.

Emily McNulty Scripter, development systems coordinator

emily(at)b-word.org

Bringing over fifteen years of nonprofit administration experience to Bitch Media, Emily McNulty Scripter is left and right-brained, being both an info-tamer and an artist. On the left-brain side she likes to organize, alphabetize and systemize (budgeting or preparing for an audit, anyone? Oh yes, and warm fuzzy thank you letters to our wonderful donors!). On the right-brain side she likes to create – sewing, painting, gardening, printmaking, bookbinding, beading, crocheting...The only person she knows with more hobbies is her husband, who is a mad scientist. Sometimes it feels like her primary role in life is maintaining order, be it donor files or craft supplies.

Favorite movies: Brazil, Fight Club and anything by Michel Gondry or Wes Anderson

Favorite artists: historically - Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe, and Judy Chicago, and locally - Sharon Bronzan, Gabriel Manca, Kristin Shiga, John and Robin Gumaelius and many, many more

Turn-ons: cats, unpainted cedar siding, natural fibers, and creativity

Turn-offs: greed, people without empathy, and the corporate mentality (is this the previous 2 rolled up in 1?)

Emily's animal twin: Emily chose a cat as her animal twin as they can be very affectionate, but are particular with whom they establish a close relationship. When taken by surprise, their claws come out, but later they are embarrassed about this childish behaviour. They are quick learners (at things they consider worth learning), obsessively clean, and know the value of a good nap.

Sara Stroo, publishing intern

publishing(at)b-word.org

Sara moved from San Antonio in 2008 and has been cold ever since. Just kidding! Really, she’s learned the art of layers, the joys of warm socks, the pleasure of a bubble bath and 23 ways to make soup. Sara enjoys discovering great books at the library, her pugs Waldo and Pepper, and working in the garden at the Oregon Food Bank. She volunteers at a yoga studio in trade for classes, and believes whole heartedly that she will one day do a handstand with integrity.

Favorite Books: Oryx and Crake, Beloved, Song of Solomon, You Shall Know Our Velocity!, Bean Trees, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, 1984, Enders Game and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Favorite Movies: Reservoir Dogs, Casablanca, Stranger Than Fiction, Little Miss Sunshine, Anchorman, Sleeper, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Y Tu Mama Tambien and Bad Education.

Favorite TV Shows: Futurama, Arrested Development, the Office (UK & US), Six Feet Under, 30 Rock, King of the Hill, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.

If Sara Could Wake Up Anywhere Tomorrow She Would Be In: India.

In Another Life Sara Was A: Nurse in the Civil War

Sara’s animal twin is a meerkat. Lovers of the warmth and true pack animals, they cuddle at night, play together their entire lives and nip each other’s bums as warnings when necessary.

Katie Waldeck, new media intern

newmedia(at)b-word.org

Katie was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, and made her way to the Northwest to attend The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. A school with no majors, required classes, or grades in the traditional sense, Katie supposes she majored in Women's Studies and Cultural Studies. In college she got to do all sorts of cool things like teach English at an elementary school inside of a soccer stadium in Buenos Aires, intern at Kill Rock Stars records, slip Dolly Parton into every paper she ever wrote, and scour the streets of Tokyo for purikura photobooths. When she's not busy interning at Bitch, Katie can be found doing crossword puzzles, cooking food with excessive amounts of rosemary, and dreaming of the day she will be grown-up enough to have a dog.

Turn-ons: Swimming in lakes, The X-Files, jewel tones, cheese, NPR, summer

Turn-offs: Coffee shops, avocados, jerks

Secretly wishes she were a: member of the Jeopardy Clue Crew

Sara Kantner, editorial intern

info(at)b-word.org

Sara Kantner was born and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania: a dying steel-town known for its floods and one of the world's slowest roller coasters, an inclined plane. Bored with small-town living and its ideals, Sara moved to New York City to attend Parsons where she found out that art school—especially all-night wire sculpture—just wasn’t for her. Once again, she ended up in Western PA, this time studying creative nonfiction and film at the University of Pittsburgh. Sara is stoked to spend the summer (far, far away from the Rust Belt) working as Bitch Media's newest editorial intern.

Wastes time: worrying, daydreaming, Googling, looking at pictures of Jeff Goldblum, wandering aimlessly, collaging

Favorite Movies: Harold and Maude, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Polyester, Pump Up the Volume

Favorite TV Shows: Strangers with Candy, 30 Rock, Top Chef/Top Chef Masters, Pee-wee's Playhouse

Turn-ons: handmade soaps, kitsch, surf rock, Diet Coke, hummus, socks/hosiery, neurotics

Turn-offs: days without coffee, pick-up trucks, silence, minimalists, Family Circus, Feng shui

Celebrity Crushes: Jeff Goldblum, Kyle MacLachlan, Tina Fey, John Waters, Richard Lewis, Iggy Pop

Ashley McAllister

library(at)b-word.org

Ashley was born on a futon mattress in SE Portland. She grew up in the Portland area and then moved away to get her degree in Literature and Women’s Studies at Western Washington University. Given her love for feminism and books, when she came back to Portland it only made sense for her to become a feminist librarian.

Ashley has spent a lot of time working with women who have been affected by domestic violence as well as educating teenagers on the effects of sexual assault. She likes to take on elaborate craft projects, bake cookies, attempt to choreograph outrageous dance routines with her BFFs, and talk to her plants.

Favorite books: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Kindred by Octavia Butler, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Favorite movies: Fire, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Volver, rom coms

Favorite TV: Parks and Recreation, Freaks and Geeks

Turn-ons: scones, knit graffiti, beekeeping, ecofeminism, mason jars, snail mail

Turn-offs: factory farming, snagging her tights

Secretly wishes she were an: erotic baker

Ashley's animal twin: Ashley identifies with the honey bee, because she is busy, likes sweet things, and is community-minded.

Snarky's Machine, Comment Moderator

Snarky’s Machine is a writer, cinema buff and a Barney Miller enthusiast. Raised in Greece, Germany and Southern California, she’s has been unsuccessful in her attempts to jettison her “military brat” accent. During her youth, Snarky’s Machine cultivated her appreciation of pop culture through summers spent adhering to a rigorous diet of 70s game shows, 80s sitcoms, Greek soap operas and Dirty Harry movies. Snarky’s Machine believes Jessica Fletcher killed most of those people and when she’s not tripping the light fantabulous she can be found writing meandering essays on Sydney Pollack, casting her imaginary bio-pic The Intergalactic Diva Network and rearranging the contents of her Fight Club fridge.

Favorite Directors: Sydney Pollack, Darnell Martin, Sidney Lumet, Sidney Poitier and Stanley Kubrick

Favorite TV shows: Barney Miller, Murder, She Wrote, Arrested Development, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Price is Right

Turn ons: cupcakes, The Electric Slide, books by Erika Lopez, the color turquoise, 70s political thrillers and Ikea Lack side tables

Turn offs: People who don't use coasters, -ism fail, pants that show my butt crack and itchy wool sweaters

Julie Sabatier

Julie Sabatier, podcast producer

julie(at)destinationdiy.org

Julie has been reading Bitch since her days as an Oberlin College student and was honored to come on board to help out with the podcast. In addition to assisting the Bitch folks with their quarterly audio project, Julie Sabatier hosts and produces a monthly radio show/podcast of her own called Destination DIY. She has produced quality radio for outlets such as Pacifica and American Public Media. She is also the associate producer of Oregon Public Broadcasting's daily talk show Think Out Loud. Julie spent her formative years in Baltimore and now lives happily in Portland, Oregon in a house full of men and cats.

Fatal weakness: spell check

Favorite books: Good Bones and Simple Murders by Margaret Atwood, To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Favorite movie: His Girl Friday

Turn-ons: nectarines, throw pillows, microphones, men in skirts

Turn-offs: grammatical errors, television

Secretly wishes she were a: lazy person