Hello. Thanks for stopping by. My name is Sasha, which is a Russian nickname for Alexandra.
Here are the short and long versions of my bio:
SHORT VERSION
Sasha Cagen is a writer who inspires people to celebrate their totally quirky selves. Her books are Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics (Harper One) and To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us (Simon & Schuster). She is well known as the founder of the quirkyalone movement and the world’s leading todolistologist. She was also founder of To-Do List magazine and cofounder of the street fashion social network StyleMob. She consults to Internet startups to help them create community and she coaches people to help them get in touch with what they want in life. She is passionate about tango and travel. She recently completed a year of solo travel in South America; she blogged about her travel experiences for the Huffington Post. She speaks French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
LONG VERSION
Sasha Cagen is an author, essayist, and entrepreneur who builds commmunities around new ideas. She is most well known for coining the term “quirkyalone,” a person who prefers singledom to dating for the sake of being in a couple. She is the author of Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics (Harper One, 2004) and To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us (Simon & Schuster, 2007).
Sasha’s work as a writer and community-builder has been featured by more than 100 national outlets, including Anderson Cooper, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Time, and USA Today.
Her essays have appeared in the Village Voice, Utne, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 x 7, and numerous anthologies.
Sasha expressed her love for print magazines by publishing To-Do List, a print magazine that used the idea of a to-do list to explore details of modern life. Among other major recognition, To-Do List was named Best New Magazine of 2000 in Utne’s Alternative Press Awards, Reader’s Choice. She continued the project on todolistblog.com, a blog that publishes handwritten lists.
In addition to her work as a writer and web publisher, Sasha has worked in social media as a grassroots marketer and product marketing manager. She’s created three user-driven sites: quirkyalone.net, todolistblog.com, and StyleMob.com, a street fashion network where she was a co-founder and served as Chief Marketing Officer. Sasha and her co-founder sold StyleMob to Glam Media in 2007.
Sasha is the creator of International Quirkyalone Day (Feb. 14), a growing alternative to Valentine’s Day that celebrates all forms of love, that has grown into a celebration spanning more than 40 cities.
Sasha is an experienced speaker who has spoken on a variety of topics to many different audiences, from engineers and business people to students and retirees, at a range of venues, including the Commonwealth Club, Grace Cathedral, Boston College, Google, Adaptive Path, the Omega Institute, Hollyhock, the Conference of World Affairs at Colorado University, Boulder, Sonoma State University, University of San Francisco, the Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing, and a host of others.
She has led workshops at two of North America’s leading retreat centers: Hollyhock, in Canada, and Omega Institute, in Rhinebeck, New York.
Sasha attended Amherst College and graduated from Barnard College.
As a celiac, Sasha is an advocate for greater awareness of celiac disease and a U.S. gluten labeling law on our foods. Sasha is also passionate about tango and its ability to inspire meditative healing and bliss.
Sasha currently lives in Oakland, California and plans lots more travel and to live in Buenos Aires. She blogged about my travel experiences for the Huffington Post and on her travel blog unplannedadventure.wordpress.com.
If you are interested in hiring Sasha as a writer, coach, or marketing consultant, please contact her at sasha AT sashacagen.com.
Sasha Cagen on Twitter
Sasha Cagen on LinkedIn
Sasha Cagen on Huffington Post
Sasha Cagen at Authors@Google
Sasha Cagen on Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Sasha Cagen on Anderson Cooper