A Brief Bio: Alex Priest is the DC Community Manager for @Uber_DC. He’s been called “hilariously driven” and is a lover of social media, politics, transportation, technology, design, bicycling, and more. Alex loves living, learning, and collaborating in what he considers one of the best cities in the world: DC. His goal in life? To simply tell good stories when he’s old. Follow him on Twitter @alexpriest.
A Slightly Longer Bio: After growing up in rural Kentucky, Alex made his big escape to the city and attended American University in Washington, DC. There he earned two bachelor’s degrees—in marketing and public communications—and a minor in statistics. Throughout his four years at AU he was exposed to a number of incredible experiences, including numerous internships, on-campus extracurricular activities, a study abroad semester in Copenhagen, Denmark, and more.
Alex has made the most of his time working in Washington, DC: he has held internships in communications and marketing with Senator Harry Reid, MS&L PR, and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). He has also served as Social Media Director for TechChange and in contract positions for CEA and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Outside of work he’s pursued hobbies in design, photography, biking, writing, and more.
On campus, Alex was active in a number of organizations including the Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity, Kogod 1955 Club, Public Relations Student Society of America, and more. More notably, Alex founded the first (and now largest) student-led Social Media Club in the nation, the AU Social Media Club. Over the course of his senior year at AU, he grew membership to more than 25 members and created a national profile for the organization. In April 2011 he led the club to host the first ever Social Learning Summit. The summit brought together almost 100 social media, marketing, and communications professionals with over 300 attendees (including students, faculty, and professionals) to learn from each other and with each other about what’s next in education and social media.
After graduating in 2011, Alex began his career as director of marketing at GeniusRocket, a creative agency in Washington specializing in video advertising. There, he led all branding, marketing, and communications efforts for the agency. In the fall of 2011 he left GeniusRocket to be the DC Community Manager for Uber, an on-demand, technology-driven private driving service looking to change the way people think about getting around. I’m obsessed with my job, my life, my friends, and my city. It’s a good thing.
