Staff
Marga C. Fripp
Art Marketing Coach and President of EWI
Marga Fripp, the Founder and President of Empowered Women International, is an art marketing coach, journalist and entrepreneur with over 15 years experience in managing non-profits, marketing, art management, media relations, gender and entrepreneurial development. She has a passion for empowering women to make a living from their work and thrive as leaders, educators, global citizens and entrepreneurs.Over the past seven years since immigrating to the United States, she has worked with hundreds of immigrant and American-born women of all media and cultural backgrounds, and helped build their careers and businesses. Through her vision and work, Marga gives voice to immigrant, refugee and culturally diverse women by promoting their art and cultures, and leading them to entrepreneurial success.
In 2008, she formed Entrepreneurship Academy for Artists as a business school for artists to expand art marketing, business workshops and coaching services to artists, artisans, educators, arts organizations and entrepreneurs in creative industries.
Shannon Lynberg
Program Manager
Shannon Lynberg is a dedicated advocate for women’s issues and women’s empowerment, both domestically and internationally. For the last five years, Shannon has worked with nonprofits and public health agencies on women’s empowerment, women’s health, and ending gender-based violence.Prior to joining EWI, Shannon served as the Program Director of the Younger Women’s Task Force under the National Council of Women’s Organizations, where she worked with younger women across the U.S. to develop leadership trainings and raise awareness about the issues affecting women in their 20s and 30s. In 2009, Shannon co-founded Holla Back DC!, a local organization that aims to build a community free of public sexual harassment and assault though both online and offline organizing. In 2007, Shannon worked at PR Solutions, an organization that develops strategies to help nonprofit advocacy groups educate the public.
While in college, Shannon was awarded the Tonya Fellowship by Sewanee, the University of the South in order to work the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she worked to tailor sexual assault prevention programs for college and university campuses. She also worked with Dekalb County Board of Health designing cardiovascular health outreach initiatives for Latina’s in Atlanta.
As someone passionate about ending all forms of gender-based violence, Shannon has volunteered as an advocate for sexual assault survivors at the DeKalb County Rape Crisis Center (in Atlanta) and the DC Rape Crisis Center, spent time researching femicide in Guatemala, and is the co-author of the 2010 report Understanding Sexual Violence at a Large, Urban University. Shannon holds a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and hopes to pursue a Masters degree in the future. Shannon was featured as one of “Tomorrow’s Leaders” in the November 2008 issue of “O, The Oprah Magazine” and nominated for the “Young Woman of Achievement” award by WIN in 2009. Shannon has spoken at numerous conferences across the U.S. about women’s issues, women’s empowerment, and gender-based violence. Shannon lives in Mount Pleasant and when she is not working, she enjoys traveling, yoga, and exploring DC.
You can contact Shannon through email at shannon@ewint.org.
Erin Liggan
Outreach and Volunteer Manager- AmeriCorps VISTA
Erin Liggan is devoted to promoting sustainable economic development and the tenants of fair trade. While obtaining her Bachelors Degree in fashion merchandising with a minor in business at Virginia Commonwealth University, she focused her studies on the fair trade movement within the fashion industry.In the summer of 2007 Erin became part of a select group of VCU students to participate in the “The Spirit of Fashion” program, a line development project in collaboration with a women’s weaving cooperative in rural Tecpan, Guatemala. The group developed a line of T-shirts and handbags that celebrated Mayan culture through the incorporation of symbols, colors and meanings, mirroring traditional Mayan dress. Their goal was to create a sustainable source of income for the women by utilizing their weaving skills and creating a product that was marketable to American consumers. Upon return to the United States she spearheaded the campaign to import, promote and sell the finished products at VCU’s college campus, as well as raise donations to further the project. This life-changing experience encouraged Erin to devote her future to finding ways to improve the lives of other women by creating sustainable sources of income through their work.
She joined the EWI team in March of 2011 to help build the organization’s Etsy page and transitioned to become Outreach Coordinator through Americorps VISTA in June of 2011. In her past career, Erin worked as personal shopper for the fashion retailer Anthropologie in the Garden City, New York, and Georgetown, DC, stores. She hopes to use her flair for merchandising and enthusiasm for the message of EWI to highlight and showcase the beautiful work of the talented immigrant women of our community.
You can contact Erin through email at erin@ewint.org
FALL INTERNS
Christine Crow
Outreach Intern
Christine Crow is a junior at American University where she is studying International Studies and Anthropology. The Iowa native loves to travel, and has done volunteer work in both Kenya and India, making contributions to issues ranging from environmental conservation to community development to human rights. She is excited to be working with EWI at home in the US. Her passions include human rights, international development, women’s issues, learning about diverse cultures, travelling, dancing, and the great outdoors.
Hye Ryung
Outreach Intern
Hye Ryung Hwang is an Outreach intern for fall 2011. She is a junior at Korea University in Korea. She majors in English Literature and International Relations. Recently, Hye Ryung volunteered to help others in Korea and the Philippines, and she is very interested in human rights. She is really passionate about and excited to be working for EWI, and is looking forward to having a great experience working with a lot of people.Sara Ahmed
Sara Ahmed is an Empowered Women International Intern for Fall 2011. She has an Associates Degree in Business Administration and is continuing her studies at Florida International University and is planning to finish her studies in International Business and minoring in Fashion Merchandising. She loves having an opportunity to contribute and learn from such self-motivated, passionate and independent women. She is excited to be working with EWI because of her passion of creativity, cultural diversity, women empowerment and entrepreneurship.
Aida Dedajic
Aida Dedajic was born and raised in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where after the war she immigrated to the United States in 2002 and got her B.A. in International Affairs from University of Mary Washington. During her college years she discovered her passion for U.S.-Russian relations and founded the UMW Russian Club. Being a very active and diligent student she was chosen to be one of the five representatives to the regional CIA competition. Her last semester she interned for State Department’s foreign aid agency, Millennium Challenge Corporation, where she worked on the agricultural development for Georgia, Armenia and Moldova. She hopes that her Bosnian background and international affairs experience bring a unique element to EWI.
Elizabeth Wilson
Elizabeth Wilson is a junior at Goucher College in Baltimore Maryland, where she is currently double-majoring in International Relations and French with a minor in Business. Elizabeth has spent most of her high school and college years volunteering with various organizations from New York to DC to Botswana, but she is especially excited to be working as an intern with EWI. Elizabeth’s other interests outside of volunteering include theater, running, art and cinema.