About Us
NextGen Chicagonista is a site for the career-minded, successfully-focused social, savvy, and smart 20 year olds that writes to share their love of Chicago and zest for life.
Our NextGen Chicagonistas:
Jamie Villarreal
Jamie is the managing editor of NextGen Chicagonista. Born and raised on the south side, she is a Chicago girl through and through. The way to her heart is easy with Etsy, mac and cheese, slouchy berets and wine with pretty labels. You can usually find her behind a good book, running around with her adorable Corgi puppy, Edie or writing at: Oh! How Lovely!
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jamielovely
Stacey Andeen
Stacey Andeen was born and raised in the Chicago burbs. After attending college in the cornfields of Urbana-Champaign, she moved to Chicago proper and never looked back. Currently she works in marketing and brand maintenance and can occasionally be found cocktailing in Wrigleyville on the weekends. She loses her mind a little bit over Mad Men, social media, branding, Top Chef, Belgian beers, everything letterpress, Anthropologie, restaurants she can’t afford, and everything involving her weird little dog, Ruby.
Catch her on twitter @StaceyAndeen
Nicole Crimaldi
Nicole Crimaldi is a Chicagoland native who graduated from Miami University where she studied Finance and Entrepreneurship. Ready to start her career on fire, Nicole began selling sub-prime mortgages two weeks after graduation. After feeling unethical about being part of the sub-prime mortgage “bubble,” Nicole transitioned into Commercial Banking for about 3 years where she serviced and managed a commercial portfolio for local business owners. She now works in Finance for a large international financial institution. Nicole shares her experiences on mscareergirl.com; a career and personal finance blog for ambitious twentysomething-aged divas. You can find Nicole all around Chicago: trying new restaurants and bars with her four best girlfriends, attending networking events around the city, tweeting @mscareergirl and walking her yellow lab, Giada.
Elizabeth Cron
Liz is an Ohio native who has been living in the near-northside of Chicago for the past three years. She works in consumer PR at a large agency in downtown Chicago where she specializes in social media. Liz became engaged over the summer and is planning to tie the knot in April 2012. Her blog, abattylife.com, follows her wedding planning, city-livin and life as a 20-something in Chicago. The name “A Batty Life” is a tribute to her soon-to-be last name…Batman. Yup- she’s marrying a real-life superhero! When she’s not working or planning her wedding, Liz enjoys playing volleyball, attempting to play chef, singing in her church’s choir, reading books in one day, being with friends & family and trying out Chicago’s new restaurants.
Nicole Gallmann
Erin J
Erin is an internet-obsessed, Macbook loving, DVR watching, cheese plate eating, suburbanite. In her non-internet life, Erin teaches preschool special education, is a wife to Ted, and a puppy-mom to Rufus and Kaya. Having grown up in the Fox River Valley, Erin is more than prepared to show you that there is more to life outside the city than mini-vans, soccer moms, and Chili’s. She blogs regularly about life, pups, and infertility at the state that i am in, and you can follow her on twitter @stateiamin.
Lynn Karlstrom
Lynn is an Ohio transplant and has been living what her father deems a “high-roller” lifestyle in Chicago for the past four years. Contrary to her father’s claims, she enjoys finding plenty of affordable ways to enjoy city-life when she’s not pulling down her 9-5 advertising sales gig at an investment research company. Her passions (some might call them obsessions) include the Chicago Bean, Yelp, trying to figure out the mysteries of “Lost,” putting serious mileage on her digital camera, and keeping bookstores in business by resisting the allure of the Kindle.
If you enjoy this sort of thing, feel free to follow her on Twitter: @lynnAkarlstrom
Mary Jo Maffei
Mary Jo is about all things Chicago: the food, the culture, the lake, the fashion and the people. As a freelance journalist, she is spending her mid 20 something life exploring what her job title -and her age- means in the ever changing world of journalism; all while enjoying the perks of being the in the thick of helping to define and change what it does mean.
She enjoys high fashion, everything to do with Edward Cullen and has a slight obsession with Nordstrom. She is still in love with Lincoln Park even though she moved out the neighborhood years ago all while indulging her passion for the ethnic diversity of the south side. She is a tad bit random and finds herself falling in love with almost every trend that comes her way.
Mary Massey
Public relations (for Henson Consulting) and social media junkie, triathlete by night/weekend, aunt whenever I get the chance, reader too late at night, nonprofit work because it feeds my soul, passionate Chicago-dweller, online shopper way too often.
Oh, and if you want to find me elsewhere: twitter.com/marymassey marymassey.posterous.com/
Whitney Middleton
Whitney is the creator of Fauxshionable and Fauxshionable.com – a company and website dedicated to inventive and affordable styling. Fauxshionable focuses on enabling fashion die-hards to achieve a high-end look for a low cost by sharing ideas on how to achieve it mixed with stylist services. For more information visit www.fauxshionable.com.
Whitney is a 3rd generation fashion enthusiast – being the product of a vintage loving grandmother and an interior designing mother. She grew up in Chicago’s southwest suburb of Joliet, IL and graduated from Joliet Township Central High School in 2002. She went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Business Administration from The University of Illinois CU Business School in 2006.
Whitney spends her free time bargain hunting, scouring fashion magazines for inspiration, socializing as much as possible, and taking in everything Chicago has to offer. Whitney resides in Chicago’s Ravenswood Gardens neighborhood and is celebrating her 3rd year of city living.
Leah Pogliano
Leah is an advertising and marketing copywriter living, breathing, working, cooking, shoe buying, and karaoke-ing, in Chicago, IL. She likes attempting DIY projects, and finding creative ways to spend the least amount of money, while having the most amount of fun. You can find her blogging about all of the above and more at her blog Bitemarks.
Follow Leah on Twitter at: @leahchristine
Renee Powers
Renee Powers moved to the Chicago suburbs from South Bend, Indiana in August 2008 and has since conquered the ‘burbs. She and her enginerd husband called Hoffman Estates her home until Thankgiving 2009 when they moved to St. Charles. Suburban street cred includes living and playing in suburban Cook county, working a political campaign in Lake county, working for a politician in Will county, and currently managing a coffee shop on the Fox River. Renee can be wooed with promises of maple white mochas, fabulous sales on shoes, and Two (Three?) Buck Chuck — white zin please. Catch her on Twitter @BelleRenee.
Alex Stewart
Alex just recently moved back to the Chicagoland area from NYC and loves being back and exploring the place where she grew up. In addition to working her 9-5 marketing gig and writing an (anonymous) blog, she also enjoys finding out-of-the-ordinary places to take all her out of town visitors, searching for the perfect cheeseburger, and is addicted to TV (especially anything on Lifetime).
Follow Alex on Twitter: @astew1016
Jenny Westerkamp, RD is a sports nutritionist for SportFuel and a nutrition consultant for Eat Like the Pros organic meal delivery service, both based out of Chicago. She is also an entrepreneur, as co-founder of All Access Internships, a resource and community for dietetics students. Jenny graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and completed her dietetics training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She is tech-sassy, loves social media, and has a passion for REAL food and an even bigger passion for writing about it. You can keep up with this trendy nutritionista while she blogs and tweets her way down the grocery store runway!
Popularity: 100% [?]