One Hoya contributes to Georgetown’s online voice

This story is part of Georgetown Faces, a storytelling series that celebrates the beloved personalities, unsung heroes and dedicated Hoyas who make our campus special.

Anupam Chakravarty’s (SFS’10, G’14) professional career began in an unusual place: in his high school rock band.

Chakravarty, senior director of digital channel strategy at the Office of Advancement (OA), played bass guitar and discovered his passion for design and communications while promoting the band.

“I created cover art for our demos,” he said. “I spent hours refining our Myspace presence and learning HTML.”

His parents encouraged his love of design and communication as a way to “unlock something in people,” he said. And his mother, former associate dean of media studies at the New School in New York City, introduced him to design documentaries such as Helvetica.

“Always since, “I was fascinated by how words and fonts can express something beyond language itself,” he said.

In 2010, Chakravarty graduated from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and spent the following years helping to develop OA’s digital strategy, earning his master’s degree from the Programme for Communication, Culture and Technology (CCT)and married fellow Hoya student Constance Parham (SFS’10). Today, he applies his love of design and communications as senior director of the Digital Channel Strategy team in the OA Communications Department, where he works with staff and alumni to develop email strategies and the digital media voice of Georgetown alumni.

“I found my people when I came to Georgetown because there was such an emphasis on service.”

Chakravarty also serves as co-chair of the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAAPI) Employee Resource Group (ERG), working closely with colleagues to empower AAAPI employees to create an inclusive work environment.

Chakravarty recently represented the ERG at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Leadership Development Summit for higher education leaders, administrators, and faculty. He moderated a panel on the origins, challenges, and opportunities associated with establishing and sustaining AAPI ERGs on campuses.

“It’s one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever been a part of at Georgetown,” he says.

Learn more about how Anupam Chakravarty found his career path through activism and music, how he met his wife, and how he wants to improve Georgetown and life there through his work.

How I got into digital storytelling: It started with activism and music. I play bass guitar. I’ve been playing piano since I was a kid and sang a lot in high school. In college, I became a DJ and played at all the formal student club events. But while doing benefit concerts – and throwing big fundraising parties for a good cause – I discovered the importance of spreading the message through design. That’s where art, activism, advocacy and community building came together for me.

My favorite subject at Georgetown: I’m going to choose “Ethnic War and Class Struggle” by Elizabeth Andretta. It was my freshman advanced course at SFS. It was small and I got my first taste of what college can be like and how far your mind can go. The course also fit really well with my love of ministry.

My other favorite undergraduate course was Genocide Justice and Reconciliation, taught by husband and wife team Brian (SFS’94, L’97) and Jessica Kritz. They brought incredible real-world experience—their involvement with international criminal tribunals and their field work in Rwanda—to an engaging class.

I would like to thank my PhD supervisor, Professor Leticia Bode. The course I took with her on technology and foreign policy reached me and resonated with me.

How I met my wife: It was our first class of freshman year: French at 8:50 a.m. in the ICC. We happened to sit next to each other, so we were French partners. We became friends in college and took classes together. She made me laugh. I had just met the girl of my dreams. I was like, “Oh, you’re sweet and smart and funny and beautiful, and what’s going on in my French class?”

We started dating about a year after we graduated, when Teach for America brought her to DC and this job offer from Georgetown brought me to DC. I remember texting her—just my friend at the time, but a friend that I probably had a little crush on—because I was so excited to be in DC with her.

We got married in 2015, right across from Georgetown at the sadly now closed Key Bridge Marriott, and we had a mixed Scottish-Indian-Episcopal-Hindu wedding. She is the best person I know.

This is how my career at Georgetown began: I feel very happy. I was brought in, interviewed, and hired immediately. There was a concerted effort to recruit young alumni to work at Advancement because we have a built-in love and understanding of Georgetown that could help us succeed.

This love was mutual and reciprocated, especially when Our workplace has become more flexible. We are creating the workplace we want to work in by taking mental health more seriously and trying to build community.

A big, transformative moment in Georgetown: As my role shifted from building online media to a more specific focus on channel strategy, my entire professional career changed, focusing on social media and making email a priority.

My role then shifted to managing a system. How do you get people on board? How do you motivate people on tasks that require a lot of volume and repetition, like drafting emails? How do you build trust with alumni volunteers who do a lot of on-site communications for us? I learned a lot while completing a CCT degree on the side, and that built my confidence as a digital communications strategist.

Why I work with AAAPI ERG: Serving as co-chair of the AAPI ERG at Georgetown seems like a meaningful way for me to contribute to the community right now.

The ERG was born in conversation with the anti-Asian violence we’ve seen before, during, and after the pandemic, as well as the anti-Asian violence I’ve personally experienced. I took the opportunity to hold Georgetown accountable for creating a more equitable, inclusive workplace where people can be themselves and feel like they belong.

We are in the early stages of creating the space for employees and bringing people together. Georgetown is so meaningful to me, and so I am exploring and navigating my own culture and working hard, vulnerable Community building is important.

Co-leading this ERG requires a lot of volunteer energy and serves the common good, but it is a double-edged sword. We hope that by initially investing time in designing the space, volunteers will eventually see the results of how our university pursues its goals for equity and inclusion.

What inspires me: There’s a website called Seventeenpeople.com that features an infographic of the West Wing episode “17 People.” I wrote my senior thesis for CCT on the White House and the portrayal of race in the White House on television dramas, so I appreciate how they were able to really let their hair down on this passion project.

Furthermore, two novels have made me a better person. exhalation by Ted Chang taught me that you can create a world with very little. It sounds corny and cheesy, but he just immerses you in this science fiction world that envelops you very quickly.

At about the same time I read The upper story by Richard Powers, and this book is the opposite. There were just so many stories, and it was long and complex, but it was worth it.

If I could only play one song for the rest of my life: I’d choose “Eat That Up, It’s Good for You” by Two Door Cinema Club. I saw them live at the 9:30 Club a long time ago with some close friends, one of whom died, so that’s a special memory for me. It’s got this lovely big instrumental sweep in the middle that always makes me look forward to it.

I wish everyone knew what I know about myself and my role: I don’t have everything figured out and nothing is off the table yet. I’m still discovering what I can do and how to make the biggest impact. The last few years have been inward-looking and focused on the local and present situation. I’ve had to be quieter, but I’m starting to find my voice again.

I want to be even more outspoken about mental health, about DEI, and about the importance of “caring for the whole person” at Georgetown. I have earned a seat at the table to ask questions about equity and inclusion and also about caring for people more comprehensively.

Everything we do in digital communications takes a lot of thought. It’s really close to our hearts. I hope people know that. I hope they know that we’re really trying to push inclusion and help the university right some historical wrongs in small ways that hopefully move Georgetown in the right direction over time.

By Racquel Nassor