Ilina Ewen

Ilina is a writer, advocate, and born rabble-rouser. She served as Chief of Staff to the First Lady of North Carolina for sure over two years. Before that, she had her own brand strategy consulting business for 15 years. Now she finds herself working in the construction industry, serving as director of corporate social responsibility at Samet. Her new role puts her at the perfect intersection of business, advocacy, branding, and social justice. Ilina is known as an “accidental activist” who advocates for myriad issues that stem from ACEs, adverse childhood experiences, and uses her voice as a champion for children. Specifically, she works to reduce childhood hunger, eliminate child abuse, support public education, advocate for global vaccines, and fight for access to affordable healthcare. She uses her voice literally and figuratively as a public speaker and writer who talks about advocacy, family engagement, finding and using your voice, and social justice. Ilina has over 25 years of marketing and communications experience and earned an MS in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University and a BA in History from the University of Virginia. She is a doting mom to two teenage sons, one who just went 800 miles away to college, and has been married to her biggest champion for 21 years. She abhors sans serif fonts and loves the Oxford comma. When Ilina isn’t working, writing, or trying to smash the patriarchy, you can find her reading, cooking, or planning her next adventure.

Twitter + Instagram: @IlinaP
Blog: Dirt & Noise