Marketing, Advertising & PR
Moderator: Alicia L’Esperance
Alicia L’Esperance is the Brand Governance Strategy Lead at Wells Fargo where she oversees the company’s digital brand center and brand education program. She is responsible for ensuring that all 250,000+ Wells Fargo employees and certified agencies and vendors are equipped with the right tools, resources, and training to deliver a consistent brand experience for customers, both internally and externally. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Alicia held various brand marketing, brand management, and advertising positions at highly sought-after companies and brands like Sony, Time Inc., Duncan Hines, and GM helping to bring their brand strategies to life, grow product market share, and build relevance in their respective industries. A proud alumna of GWWIB and GWU, and mentor of non-profit organizations like Junior Achievement, Alicia is passionate about helping the next generation of young women recognize and leverage their unique value. Alicia holds a Master’s in Business Administration and undergraduate degree from George Washington University.
Julia McDowell
Julia McDowell is an award-winning marketer, having helped create marketing strategy and awareness (PSA) campaigns for some of the most well-known nonprofits and professional associations. She draws upon her roots in entrepreneurship and blends it with her creative spirit to develop and implement solutions to reach clients' ambitious goals. Julia wrote and self-published her first book, the Marketing Plan Workbook, for everyone in need of a marketing plan. It blends her passion for marketing, helping others harness their ideas, and create personal and professional success. She also publishes a regular video series, breaking down complex marketing tasks into five things you can do in five(ish) minutes. During the pandemic, along with a colleague, she launched Two Marketing Moms, a podcast covering the struggles, fails, and wins of marketers who are balancing being a boss, their home life, and (arguably the most demanding job) being a mom.
Shruti Bramadesam
Shruti is a passionate marketing and advertising professional with over three years of experience working at agencies of all sizes. Currently, she works at Ogilvy as an Account Executive on their North America New Business team. Shruti is responsible for working closely with c-suite executives to develop pitch strategies for multi-million dollar opportunities and driving net-new revenue for the agency. On the side, she also founded her own creative agency called Nokkam, where she works with BIPOC founders, public figures and brands to amplify their voices and stories across the digital ecosystem. Shruti graduated from the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication.
Alix Black
Alix is a former Digital Strategist turned Brand Strategist and has been with Edelman since graduating from GW in 2018. During her time at Edelman, Alix has supported all things Social Strategy for Samsung Mobile and Google Pixel campaigns and elevating integrated Earned-first strategies to some of your favorite brands like Hawaiian Tropic, Intuition Shave, T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, and Trojan. While at GW, she was deeply ingrained in GWSB and was the 2018 Commencement Speaker. She also led many Student Theatre projects as an actor, director, Artistic Director of Generic Theatre Co. and more. Outside of Edelman And GW, Alix is currently living in Brooklyn with her GW best friend and is an avid theatre person, Netflix binger, culture enthusiast, and dog fan.
