Company: Dharana Digital, Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Nomination Submitted by: And, the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Company Description: I am representing two different organisations. Dharana Digital is a digital marketing agency offering social media and search engine optimization services to professionals working in the wellness space. University of the Sunshine Coast is a regional university located in Queensland, Australia.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Woman of the Year - Social Media
 Nomination Title: Dr Karen Sutherland
- Briefly describe the nominated individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 200 words used.
Dr Karen Sutherland is recognised as an international leader in the social media space. She has devoted the last decade to delivering high-impact social media services, education, and research to benefit multiple industries, Non-Profit and Higher Education institutions. Her PhD focused on social media in the nonprofit sector. During the last 10 years, Dr Sutherland has won multiple awards as a social media educator and author, developed and led a social media university undergraduate degree, major and minor and facilitated hundreds of social media workshops and presentations to support business owners, nonprofit organisations, high school and university students and senior citizens from around the globe in countries such as: Australia, USA, UK, India, Belgium, Thailand, New Zealand, and Portugal. Dr Sutherland has also led three International Social Media Study Tours for university students to Vietnam, Hong Kong and India attracting $45k+ in Australian Federal Government funding, and will lead another tour to Mumbai in 2023. In addition to being regularly requested by local, national and international media to provide commentary as a Social Media expert, in 2021, Dr Sutherland became the Director, Co-Founder and Social Media Specialist at Dharana Digital marketing agency, focused on empowering wellness professionals to help others.
- Outline the nominee's achievements since July 1 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
2022
2021
2020
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2020 of the nominated woman, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below:
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 247 words used.
Similarly to social media's profound impact transcending geographical borders, industry sectors, education levels, ages and cultures, Dr Karen Sutherland has positively affected a wide range of people on local, national and international levels.
A few examples of this impact are:
Locally, she has implemented initiatives that have helped 600+ local business owners gain social media support while simultaneously professionally preparing hundreds of university students studying social media, generating employment opportunities in the process.
Nationally, as Academic Ambassador of the Social Media Marketing Institute, Dr Sutherland organised and chaired the very first academic conference focused on research exploring social media education and social media marketing.
Dr Sutherland has also delivered social media workshops to assist business owners in drought affected areas of Australia, and helped leading national non-profit organisations including Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.
Internationally, Dr Sutherland has received the greatest recognition. She was appointed as Senior Fellow of the "Higher Education Academy in London and Fellow of the Academy of Micromovie and Transmedia/British Institute of Innovative Enterprises, Hong Kong/London, (among other aforementioned awards) for her impact in social media education. She has been invited to share her knowledge with researchers, educators, business owners and students from around the globe.
Her book, 'Strategic Social Media Management: Theory and Practice' features social media professionals from every continent (the only social media book to share international voices in this way). As such, the book has been downloaded 58k+ times and won a Book Excellence Award.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 170 words used.
Information in the other sections in this application link directly to evidence to support the achievements that are highlighted to demonstrate Dr Sutherland's global impact.
Additional supporting materials include:
1. A Video testimonial by world-renowned Digital Marketer, Dennis Yu, USA.
2. A Facebook post testimonial regarding Dr Sutherland's social media book, 'Strategic Social Media Management - Theory and Practice' by leading Digital Marketer and Entrepreneur, Jeff J Hunter, USA.
3. Letter of Recommendation (attached) written by world-leading social media scholar, Professor Karen Freberg from the University of Louisville, USA for the 2020 SMMI Awards.
4. Dr Karen Sutherland being interviewed by ABCTV in Australia about TikTok.
5. Dr Karen Sutherland's showreel.
6. Dr Karen Sutherland's promotional video for her social media book, 'Strategic Social Media Management - Theory and Practice'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csVcG56MByE.
7. Dr Karen Sutherland's YouTube channel (a repository of some of her interviews and workshops etc).
8. Dr Karen Sutherland's LinkedIn Profile, Twitter Profile, Facebook Page, Instagram Profile, and TikTok profile featuring further documentation of her work in the space.
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