Tara and Kendyl (and Kendyl’s dog with occasional background vocals) were joined by the Portland Trail Blazers’ new Digital Content Manager, Amara Baptist. They learned more about Amara’s background, how she got to where she is today and what it is like to be the person behind the social media accounts. Then they talked about meeting the newest Trail Blazers at Summer League and how she is adjusting to life in her new city. Listen in to find out if she has decided on a doughnut allegiance yet.

Amara is the person behind all of the Blazer’s digital accounts: twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat (trailblazers), and trailblazers.com

1:30 introducing Amara Baptist, regw up a Lakers fan, worked at Fox Sports, spent two years with Memphis Grizzlies running their social media.3:30 on hearing a lot of “nos” and pushing through.4:00 Interning at the Kobe Bryant Skills Academy and with The Drew League. 6:30 What is it like to be a digital content manager and how is it going with the Blazers?9:00 How do you take on a voice that is already established?10:30 How do you deal with backlash or fan reactions when things are rough? Being with the Grizzlies who lost 60 games last season, learned that you can’t take it personally, that fans need to express themselves.12:30 Brooklyn Bar-B-Que tweet cheers folks up during a 16 game losing streak. 14:00 Settling into Portland and meeting the players. Getting to know the younger guys at Summer League.16:00 Giving Amara some tips on things to do in Portland18:00 Does she have a doughnut preference yet? 20:30 Who is a woman who inspires her? Her friend @minapark who worked for the LA Rams and recently started her own digital agency, Crispy Chicken Co. 

Join the Women’s Hops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball.

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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