Being a Gov 2.0 enthusiast…I personally realize the barriers of communicating the need for social media to the government. For that reason, I was mesmerized when Ms. Andrea Baker was divulging the success she was having with Navstar, Inc. It seemed as though the Social Media – DC networking event froze, as the Director of Enterprise 2.0 greeted and explained the mission of Navstar, to Brian and me. We were not only impressed by her professionalism but her social community tendencies; as she was the sponsor of the event. Being a Director of a woman owned business that works with the government is an accomplishment in itself, considering the male dominated statistics. For that accomplishment and the fact she is highly fashionable we celebrate Andrea Baker.  It is important to note this post is in honor of Veterans Day, as Andrea Baker is also an Army Veteran. -J

My Life Long Inspiration
By Andrea Baker

Growing up I watched my mother work hard as a cashier at Giant to keep food on the table for us kids, seven of the eight of us living at home. My mom never got to go to college, because she was barely out of high school when she had me. Ever since I can remember my mother worked these kind of jobs, because she did not have a college education. I remember also wanting at age five, to be President of the United States.

When I left home and joined the Army after high school, I had no desire to continue my education, I wanted to travel and learn foreign languages. I felt that the Army, was the easy way out for me. Little did I know that I picked one of the toughest Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) available — 98 C — I was a crypto-signals intelligence analyst, who happened also to learn and be certified as an Arabic Linguist. I spent two of my four years, if not more in service in training.

While I was in the Army, I started working on one of the earliest websites of the Intelligence Community’s network called Intelink. I didn’t know how to make a web page when I started, but I stayed after my shift and learned the codes, Unix, Perl, and basic HTML. I was building an online database of knowledge for folks back in the states about the work we were doing abroad. To me, it is my earliest point in my career since that I can point to mixing technology and collaboration.

I got out of the Army back in 1998, before social media was used to connect people via twitter I was working in the Mid-Atlantic Music scene as a promoter and talent scout for record labels. I honestly felt as if I was doing real good by connecting bands with their fans on a real grassroots level as I talked bands into using Yahoo! Groups for the fans to post their questions, plan road trips, and pictures of shows they had been to about their favorite bands. As much as this was a passion and a hobby, it was also a stress and in 2003, I walked away from the business to get serious about my career in the Intelligence Community, in which I had been a contractor for, since leaving the Army. So yes, I was business attire during the day and goth’d up at night.

For the past several years I have been growing my division of Enterprise 2.0 at Navstar, Inc, a woman-owned small business out of Virginia. As a company we have been aware of the effects of businesses output on the earth. We have a Green program within the company and even offer it as one of our Core Competencies with Green IT. In addition to getting my Government customers to collaborate using Enterprise 2.0 methodologies via social media, I also am the Vice-President of Social Media Club – DC and one of the DC Co-Chairs for She’s Geeky, a non-profit organization focusing on empowering women.

Right now I am in Denver where I will be speaking at the Defrag Conference. I have been looking forward to this event as I know I will be surrounded by some really smart thinkers and doers. My talk, Nerdherding for Fun and Profit is a play on the fact I have been doing community management for nearly a decade in some form, for play or pay. I will be talking about how I learned everything I know about community management by just thinking about what the community wants and then make it happen.

This weekend, we have our first She’s Geeky event in Washington DC, where I am hoping to meet and speak with amazing women that inspire me to achieve the things still on my list, but also remember, we do not have to do it all to be great.

Later this month Social Media Club – DC, Young Association Professionals (YAP), NextGenWeb, and Thankfulfor.com are joining forces with Epic Change for Tweetsgiving. Next month I will be traveling to Alaska to speak in both Juneau and Anchorage on the work I have been doing to change the way Government works. If you have trouble keeping up with me, just follow me on FourSquare, I am addicted.

Throughout my career working with the Government I have rethought the idea of becoming President of the United States. I realized that I love sleep too much and while I don’t get enough of it now, I don’t think I could stand less sleep. I have to color my hair every month now. I mean look at Obama, when he started in office, he wasn’t as gray. My colorist knows that if I didn’t color, I would be white haired! I decided if I run, its only going to be for the House of Representatives or Senate, but for now I would settle to be the mayor of my small little town.

What keeps me going is that I was able to graduate from college, see the world and make a difference. All the things that my mother wanted to do, but has been happy to see be done by me. Knowing how busy I am, my mother mentioned, maybe she could be my personal assistant. What she doesn’t realize, she has been all along. She has been my guidance on decisions to even the occasional second set of eyes review on an important piece for business.

So what motivates me? My mother, my sisters, and my goddaughter. I never want them to struggle again or like it was for us growing up to make money, pay bills, or eat. No one should.

I believe that via social media and the hard work of other women like me, we can raise awareness of the problems that hit home in our own backyards of women struggling to make ends meet. I am hoping that Social Media Club and She’s Geeky are two parts of that solution.

And last, but not least, to my fellow vets out there, Happy Veteran’s Day, Thank you for serving.