Meet Our Team
Walid Karim
Walid Karim is a DC boy, sort of. A native of Reston, VA, he graduated from South Lakes High School, and opted to stay close to home for college. At George Mason Walid threw great parties at local bars as fraternity fundraisers, and had so much fun doing it he was inspired to make money. His talents for party planning meant success, which he parlayed into one of DC's premiere nightclub promotion companies. With his partner Anoosh, Walid established the DC A in 2001. Now everyone wants to be on the DC A list. With other partners, Walid recently purchased FLY lounge, and is converting it into an exclusive VIP hot spot called Heist, scheduled to open in early 2012. In spite of all these connections, Blacktie-DC found Walid through family. Blacktie believes Walid's youth and energy made him the perfect choice to lead the launch in the 11th Blacktie market. Taking advantage of his iconic stature on the nightlife scene, Walid plans to apply his talents to the nonprofit world, where all that extra energy can only be a good thing.
Jan Tyler
"My life," according to Jan Tyler, "prepared me for Blacktie-DC. I've worked in high finance and low circumstances, for a President and a men's magazine publisher (no I didn't pose). You probably wouldn't want to travel like I have - to work in countries where there were no toilets, let alone cell service. I was in Kazakhstan before Borat was cool. My day job lasted almost twenty years, and my play jobs were mostly short lived." I'm on a mission to make Blacktie-DC the go-to resource for philanthropists, nonprofit staff and boards, vendors, event planners and anyone interested in fundraising events and the people who support them. We are a small business facing a big challenge - helping nonprofits thrive in a era of austerity.
Together we can tackle any task. Ask us, we can help. We want to help. No nonprofit is too small, or too big, to benefit from Blacktie-DC.
Victoria Michael
Victoria Michael is Founder of VM Public Relations, a full-service public relations company, which she started in October 2001. VM Public Relations addresses the needs of a wide-range of clients in the restaurant, hospitality, corporate, retail, sports, entertainment and non-profit industries. Victoria has successfully managed new restaurant and retail launches, developed marketing and public relations strategies for high-profile individuals and corporations and organized special events for many charities. She is recognized for her strong networking skills, ability to establish meaningful client partnerships and talent for defining and publicizing the most important elements of a client’s enterprise.
Victoria is actively involved in developing public relations campaigns for local and national charitable organizations. She is sought after by high-profile organizations because of her proven marketing and public relations methods. The efforts of VM Public Relations have afforded clients recognition in the New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, Elle, Lucky In Style, Gourmet, Food and Wine, Travel and Leisure, Vanity Fair and Town and Country, to name a few.
Prior to starting her own firm, Victoria was the Associate Publisher of The Georgetowner, one of Washington, D.C.’s oldest publications. During her tenure at the paper, she doubled the circulation and increased advertising revenues by fifty percent. She continues to maintain a close working relationship with this influential local publication as well as other local and national media outlets.
Website is www.vmpublicrelations.com
Bry Boland
After finishing high school, I have been working in the beauty industry where my family has been for years. I got involved in photography when I realized that instead of just creating beauty, I wanted to capture it!
I grew up in the Philadelphia area and about five years ago moved to DC where my mother was born and raised. The excitement and thrill of living in this amazing city never seems to fade.
Jennifer Cubas
Jennifer is a Photography major at the Art Institute of Washington - Northern Virginia. She is a Virginia native and specializes in photojournalism and documentary lifestyle photography. She has a background in traditional black and white photography, and enjoys being in a darkroom any chance she can get. She is a member of the National Press Photographer’s Association and member of the AI-NV Photo Club.
Jennifer has a passion for volunteering for causes and organizations focused on art and education. She is constantly challenging herself to improve her craft and dare to be different. Her ideal subjects are people and her goal as an artist is to capture their true personalities, inspiring emotions and document life’s fleeting moments.
Daniel Clemmer
Daniel Clemmer joined Blacktie-DC in August as a photojournalist. He discovered his penchant for photography while he was studying abroad in Germany during college. He was born and raised in the Washington DC area and studied Global Trade at High Point University.
When he is not photographing and editing photos for Blacktie, Daniel enjoys playing volleyball and golf. He has a strong interest in world politics and German culture with a life goal of becoming totally fluent in German.
Daniel looks forward to establishing Blacktie as a well-respected name in coverage of Washingtonian non-profit events.