Contributors

Andrew Simon – Editor-in-Chief

Andrew Simon is the editor-in-chief of Hip Hop Republicans. As a world public speaking champion and professional web designer, Andrew has provided public speaking consulting, speech writing, and web design services for a wide range of political and business professionals. His political focus is on minority outreach, urban socioeconomic development, and policy promoting entrepreneurship and school choice as a tool for social mobility.

Richard Ivory – Founder/Executive Editor
Richard Ivory is a New York City-based political and social media consultant with a passion for tech, politics and music. He currently serves as the Vice President of Urban Affairs for Engage the Nation, a nonprofit that equips advocates around the country to use new technology and resources. He has worked for both the Republican National Committee and the Republican Youth Majority and in 2008, served as a consultant to the Youth for John McCain ’08 campaign. He has been featured in The New York Times, National Public Radio, CNN and US News & World Report. In addition to this, he has written for The BBC World News, TheRoot.com, and FrumForum.com amongst other publications.

Travis L. Gosa is Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. Since 2008, he has served on the advisory board of Cornell’s Kugelberg Hip Hop Collection, the largest archive on early hip hop culture in the United States. He teaches courses on hip hop, education, and Black families. He can be reached at tlg72@cornell.edu.

Erin Giddens is a journalist/blogger for Elegance Speaks TV , she was born and raised in Southern California. She graduated in 2011 with her BA in Journalism (emphasis in broadcast) from California State University, Northridge. Since college she has pursued her dreams of becoming a sports reporter while working different jobs to support herself.

Michelle D. Bernard is the chairman, founder, president and CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy and is a frequent political and legal analyst on Current TV, MSNBC and other television networks. Prior to founding the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy and joining IWF, Ms. Bernard was a partner at the District of Columbia’s Patton Boggs LLP. Ms. Bernard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and political science from Howard University and a Juris Doctor degree from The Georgetown University Law Center.

Doug Knickrehm is originally from Omaha, NE but currently lives in the Bronx, NY. He is a student at Fordham University where he majors in Finance. He is also Mentor at the Crotona center for boys in the Bronx. His current favorite artist are Curren$y, Z-ro, Clipse while his favorite Politicians are Ron Paul, Tom Coburn, and Gary Johnson.

Jose Fulgencio is currently a Lecturer in the Political Science Department at Oklahoma State University, a graduate student finishing his M.S. in Entrepreneurship (May 2013) and is in the process of launching his third business venture with the guidance of the School of Entrepreneurship faculty at Oklahoma State University.

Mendy Hecht a journalist, copywriter, editor, humor columnist and precipitously cool gentleman. He lives in his head, which is located in New Hempstead, New York. He writes for HHR whenever he has something to say, which is not too often.

Vincent Jackson Vincent is a Senior English/Film major at the University of Delaware. A lifetime resident of Wilmington, Delaware, he is a filmmaker, screenwriter, poet, blogger, and political writer, and music critic.

Dorian Davis starred on MTV’s morning show, MTV Hits, before switching to the other side of the camera to research and develop Iraq coverage for MTV News. Later, he contributed to specials for LOGO and FUSE. Now a freelance writer, Davis is published in Architectural Record, Brainwash Magazine, Business Week Online, Doublethink Online, New York Daily News, and XY. He lives in NYC.

Brandon Brice is a graduate of Howard University and is a former graduate of the New Jersey Eagleton Institute of Politics fellow at Rutgers University. Brandon Brice has worked as a policy intern for the former House Speaker Honorable J. Dennis Hastert and has served as a fellow at the United Nations. He has been featured on C-SPAN’s Road to the White House, BET’s What’s At Stake and Hot97 with Lisa Evers. Brandon is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, and attends the Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church in Harlem. @IamBrandonBrice

Randall Ramos is currently a sophomore attending California State University, Northridge, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science as well as a teaching certificate in ESL. Mr. Ramos interned at the Republican Party of Los Angeles County and worked on Todd Zink’s campaign for California State Senate. Other activities include serving as acting President of the newly formed CSUN chapter of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association.

Anthony “Rek” LeCounte has been keenly engaged in politics and philosophy ever since the 2000 election invented “Red” and “Blue” states while reminding everyone that courts can change the world. He is a native Floridian who currently resides in Virginia and takes pride in being an informed swing-state voter. An Army brat and avid learner, he has lived, traveled, and studied throughout the United States, Europe, and Brazil, and his fascination with diversity of thought and perspective is matched only by his love of writing. Rek graduated from Yale with a degree in Political Science and expects any future husband to love politics and college football at least half as much as he does. He blogs about conservative policy, principles, and political philosophy at Token Dissonance. Tweet him @RekLeCounte

Brandon Loran Maxwell is an essayist; political analyst; satirist; playwright; and journalist. He has been published in various local and national publications, including: The Hill, The Washington Examiner, and UtahPolicy.com. In addition, he has been personally profiled in a number of other publications and has been a guest on various news programs. In 2009, he spoke on judicial reform alongside then Congressman Wu. He is a winner of Portland, Oregon’s One Act Festival; a coordinator for Students For Liberty; and a political science and film studies undergraduate.

Alexander Benard is an attorney in New York. He has worked at the Department of Defense and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Alex publishes regularly on foreign policy and the U.S. economy, and his writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the National Review Online, and several other newspapers and magazines. Alex is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College and Stanford Law School.

Akindele Akinyemi is the author of “Academic Revolution”, a series of essays dealing with the need for more specialized charter schools in urban communities. He has a B.S in African American Studies from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan and a M.A. in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction.

Chris Ladd is a Texan who is now living in the Chicago area. He has served for several years as a Republican Precinct Committeeman in DuPage County, IL, and was active in state and local Republican campaigns in Texas for many years.

Rich Valdes is a New Jersey-based freelance contributor for social issues and popular culture. His commentary has been featured on Hot 97 FM, WMCA 570 AM, CNN Headline News, Telemundo, Univision, the Jersey Journal, and BlogTownHall.com. When not commenting on or debating politics and education. Follow on Twitter: @RichValdes

Erol Senel started out as a student of history but has been plying his trade in the world of finance and personal investing. Through this real world experience, he has found his true professional passion in economics and financial history. His mission is to provide readers with easy to understand, topical and informative articles with the hope of allowing many to make more informed decisions while partaking in civics and life. @senelslant

William Reed is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Black Press International. He has been a Media Entrepreneur for over two decades. A long-time Washington insider, Reed’s special strengths include: public and community relations; grass-roots organizing; script and speech writing, legislative affairs tracking and research; and access to a network of national and local government, business and organizational policy-makers and public opinion-molders.

Crystal Wright is the principal owner of the Baker Wright Group, LLC , a full service public relations firm, specializing in communications counseling, media relations, message development, media training and crisis communications. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgetown University and holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Robert Wicks is a Linux Systems administrator for Free Talk Live and an enterprise engineer and architect for Independent Contractor. He worked as a senior systems administrator for Community Loans of America, systems administrator for Georgia Department of Labor, an AIX systems administrator for IBM and as a systems operations analyst for Motorola. Wicks attended Morehouse College.

Raynard Jackson is a political consultant based in Washington, DC. He has been involved in every Republican presidential campaign from George H. W. Bush to George W. Bush. He has also worked on many Republican senate, governor, and congressional campaigns across the country. He is the president and CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC (RJA). This is Government Relations and Public Relations firm based in Washington, DC. They not only work with politicians, but also represent professional athletes and entertainers. RJA also works with foreign governments, especially in Africa, helping them improve their relations with the U.S

Dr. Ada M. Fisher is a retired physician from Salisbury, North Carolina. She earned her medical degree from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s in public health from Johns Hopkins University. A life member of the NAACP and a lifelong Republican, Fisher is the Republican National Committeewoman for the state of North Carolina.

John S. Wilson is a proud graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, John is currently a Master’s of Public Health candidate at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University where he is studying health policy & management. He is also a weekly contributor to The Loop 21, frequent contributor to theGrio, and founder of Policy Diary, a leading blog on health policy, management and reform. John’s publishings have also appeared in fora such as: The Orlando Sentinel, The Daily Voice, Wiretap magazine, Black Web 2.0, The Daily Californian, NewMajority.com, Club Relaford, HipHopRepublican.com and Policy Net.

Cleo Brown is the movie reviewer for HipHopRepublican.com. She lives in Manhattan and has a Master’s Degree in Contemporary African-American History from The University of California at Davis and has done work on a Ph.D. in education at The University of San Francisco. She has published several poetry books and is featured in Who’s Who in Poetry.

Princella D. Smith is a freelance contributor to the news paper Israel HaYom (Hebrew: ישראל היום, lit. “Israel Today”) she is currently getting a Master’s in counter-terrorism in Israel at the Lauder School of Government.

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