Chicago native Elizabeth Schmidt is a new media expert specializing in brand marketing. Elizabeth bridges the gap between marketing, branding, digital, and business development to create and grow communities through social and e-commerce. As the Digital Marketing Director for Threadless, she currently oversees omni-channel marketing for all of Threadless’ channels, including their print-on-demand eCommerce platform, Artist Shops. Prior to Threadless, she founded a marketing and communications consulting firm working with clients like L’Oreal, artist Rose McGowan, and actor Blake Lively. Formerly Head of Communications at theAudience, one of the world’s largest multi-channel publishers of social content, Elizabeth built and maintained social networks for entertainment studios, A-list celebrity clients, and Fortune 500 brands. As the former Social Strategy Lead at Disney —Elizabeth also helped launch Disney’s full portfolio of social fan pages, including starting their Instagram and Twitter profiles, and was instrumental in coordinating their award-winning Toy Story 3 digital marketing campaign. Elizabeth spends her free time studying the latest strategic digital communication trends at Loyola University, kayaking the Skokie Lagoons, gardening, and making herbal skincare remedies for her apothecary line, Rooms.