The PBG Bloggers
Madison Butz
Madison is a junior at the University of Alabama. A burrito lover, a Futurama fan, a California native, a sorority sister and the partner of the best engineer (and video game fanatic) in the world; Maddie is the director of her campus's women's a capella group, a volunteer at the UA Women's Resource Center, and a research assistant at the psychology department's cognitive functioning lab. She hopes to go to grad school in clinical psychology and become a marriage and relationship therapist. She thinks critically about all issues and is never afraid to question points of view, whether it be from other feminists or the patriarchy.
Emma Buzzell
Emma Buzzell is a 14-year-old junior high student from Maine. She enjoys singing, being on stage, and writing. She loves being a member of her school's Civil Rights Team. She has a 7-year-old brother who means the world to her. When she's not performing, you can find her babysitting. She hopes that someday the world will be rid of low self-esteem. Emma hopes to make a difference by encouraging self-confidence through promoting healthy body image and helping others realize that they can't look like the not totally true models who are digitally altered. She looks forward to writing PBG blogs and empowering young women with her words.
Kara Chyung
Kara Chyung is a high school sophomore in eastern Pennsylvania. A passionate student, she loves math, but also really enjoys reading and writing. She is an avid tennis player, a clarinetist, a student council officer, a Scholastic Scrimmage team member, and a vocalist in her school's ensembles. When she has time, Kara loves to read almost anything (especially fiction and memoirs), listen to music with her sister, and recite movie lines with her friends. She also likes Harry Potter and fashion, and she more recently is enjoying trying and failing at baking, winning arguments in politics, reading Jane Austen, and making origami. Through PBG, she hopes to dispel stereotypes about feminism and to spread the message that feminism is still needed in the world. Ultimately, she believes that differences should be celebrated, not disparaged. She's excited to be a member of the PBG team and help empower girls.
Katherine Connolly
Katherine Connolly is a rising fresher at Oxford University, reading History and Politics. After a stressful high school senior year in Bethesda, MD, she is enjoying her summer by interning in Washington, DC at a political thinktank. In her spare time, she can be found hanging out with her friends, volunteering or reading through her extensive summer reading list.
Erika Davidoff
Erika Davidoff is a senior in high school in Colorado. She's a huge science nerd, editor-in-chief of her school paper, a freelance designer, a veteran member of the debate team, and a voracious reader. But, her heart belongs in the mountains where she hikes, skis, backpacks, snowshoes, and otherwise enjoys time away from the pressures of academics and, of course, the media. Her desire to steer girls away from the negative influences of modern media was strengthened when she spent a month as a junior counselor at a summer camp and saw that even when miles away from civilization, many girls felt the need to conform to the standards of beauty they saw on magazine covers. She's excited to join the fight against these oppressive messages.
Danielle Hrachovec
Danielle is a resident of the backwards state of Indiana and will be here for four more years as she attends Purdue University. Danielle works as a kids’ party hostess, Zumba instructor, and feminist blogger (coming on three years!). Danielle has been in Girl Scouts since Daisies, volunteered around the city’s nonprofits, and is known for being a gluten-free advocate. She takes a special interest in cases of physical fitness/body image and sexual violence. Danielle wants to touch the lives of people from all backgrounds and help them understand that a person cannot be accurately confined to a stereotype or prejudice.
Hannah Johnston
Hannah Johnston has been a blogger for about a year now. She is a junior in high school in Maine and she hates writing about herself in the third person. She is an avid volunteer and advocate for social justice and equality and was an organizer intern on the campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples in Maine. She loves to write, and wants to make the world a better place for everyone.
Julia Krupski
Julia Krupski is a senior in high school in upstate New York and will be attending Cornell University in the fall, studying Industrial and Labor Relations. She is the president of her school’s Speech and Debate Team, an editor for her school’s newspaper, and a member of her school’s Gardening Club, and History Club. She also volunteers at a local Alzheimer’s care facility and for a teen help hotline. Julia is interested in current events and loves watching the news and discussing politics. In her free time she enjoys watching movies, reading, biking, and spending time with friends and family. A self- proclaimed feminist, Julia has always been passionate about women’s rights issues. She is very excited to be working with PBG to help empower women and to fight against negative messages in the media.
Jamie Martina
Jamie Martina is an AmeriCorps VISTA worker for The Housing Assistance Corporation in Hendersonville, NC and a resident advisor at the local women's shelter. Over the many years spent in Academia she has studied Anthropology/Sociology, Gender & Women's Studies, and Digital Media. When she's not rolling eyes with her incessant, scathing critique of today's media culture and the political war over women's bodies, she enjoys making art, blogging, doing yoga, and baking bread. She completed the first phase of her first documentary on the life and opinions of exotic dancers in the Pittsburgh area. She hopes to eventually pursue a graduate degree in media and communications so that after she academically and persuasively trashes the state of the media today, she can turn around and do it better herself.
Yas Necati
Yas Necati is a 16-year-old activist from London. She likes cats, plays guitar and is an extensive reader of books, comic-books and poetry. Yas writes for the school magazine and runs two independent blogs: one about equality in general and one about feminist cats. She enjoys sparking discussions about activism in her school and is a super-duper nerd! She spends most of her spare time writing and is hoping to finally finish her novel about a very cool feminist with blue hair. You will be able to find her on a regular basis outside the News International headquarters, singing and dancing in a rather dodgy fashion in order to put an end to Page 3.
Christiana Paradis
Christiana Paradis works at The Women's Center of Columbia and Montour County as the Medical and Legal Outreach Advocate and attends Marywood University part-time and is working to complete her Master's Degree in Social Work. She has recently returned from Washington, D.C. where she interned with Lt. Dan Choi for two weeks and learned about case law, nonviolent protest, activism, and public relations. She graduated from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Women’s Studies. Ultimately, she would like to work with LGBT youth. Her favorite hobbies include reading, hiking, going to concerts, and hanging out with her friends. Her greatest hope is that as a society, we will come to the realization that we are not black, white, gay, straight, female, male, or however else society chooses to classify us, but rather a member of a global community.
Allyce Yang
Allyce Yang is a 9th grader on Long Island in New York. She plays the viola, and her favorite foods are Cheddar cheese, savory soups, and potatoes. Allyce is a Girl Scout who volunteers at a local children's museum and at an organic community garden. Her dream is to visit the ancient cities of the Middle East and Europe. You can probably find Allyce walking around her neighborhood and looking at the sky.
