Eastern Foundry hires events director Kimberly Blackburn

Arlington-based incubator Eastern Foundry announced on Wednesday that it hired Kimberly Blackburn as a new director of events and sponsorships.
Blackburn joins Eastern Foundry from Tech Cocktail, where she served as director of events for four years.
Eastern Foundry cofounders Andrew Chang and Geoff Orazem cited her experience at major events like CES and SXSW as Blackburn’s top qualifications. “Kimberly is going to be instrumental in bringing our members together so that ultimately they can do business in ways they would not be able to do so elsewhere,” Orazem said in a statement.

Eastern Foundry is excited to welcome @Kim_Blackburn to the team! Read more about her on the blog! https://t.co/Cyo67W7qFa

— Eastern Foundry (@EasternFoundry) March 17, 2016

“I have a great opportunity to team up with a lot of the key partners in the DC area and really expand Eastern Foundry’s influence.” Blackburn said, for her part. “I’m looking forward to building out our events and to really provide valuable resources for our members.”
Lauren Schmidt, Eastern Foundry’s former director of events, will become a director of client development.
Concurrently with this staffing announcement, Eastern Foundry revealed the company’s three-person Board of Advisors. Michael Barbero, Mark Brunner and Ronald Carpinella will all be on the board, “advising Eastern Foundry and its members on best practices in government contracting.”