Kristin Faulder

My latest post w/@ElizYekh: Have or Execute a #PR Program? Expert Insights for Navigating the Tough Media Landscape in 2020 bit.ly/2RhZ6j2

@_KarenHao Can't wait to listen!!

I'm co-hosting a new BBC podcast! It's called The Interface, and it's all about how tech is rewiring your week and your world. bbc.com/mediacentre/bb…

@Scaramucci @profgalloway Doing a brick-and-mortar store run this weekend to avoid ordering from @amazon. Can no longer justify supporting them with my money.

Cancelled Washington Post and a whole host of mag 7 subscriptions today to send a message of solidarity @profgalloway

If anyone wants to chat with me about applying to the NYT fellowship (I did it a few years ago), please feel free to text or email me. My info is in my bio.

#JournoRequest Working on a feature for World Menopause Month about why menopause wreaks havoc on sleep – and how to fix it. Looking for quick expert tips from psychologists, nutritionists or doctors on improving rest, managing anxiety & balancing hormones.Please DM or email!

✨ heading to SF today and i'll be there through Friday! ✨ engineers, researchers, anyone in AI -- i'd love to grab coffee or drinks. DM me or message me on Signal @ haydenfield.11

@mikeroweworks An incredibly important post & work you're doing to drive attention to this issue. PR/comms professional + mom of 2 boys (14, 8) who would love to help shine a brighter spotlight on the need + solutions (who previously did comms work for career & tech ed). Happy to chat-DMs open

My first two words on this particular Sunday morning were "Hallelujah!” followed by, “Amen!” I was not in church when I uttered them. I was at my kitchen table, watching the CEO of the most valuable company in the world say precisely what mikeroweWORKS has been espousing for the last sixteen years. In other words, this is what I look like before coffee, when I find myself in violent agreement with a multi-billionaire. If you haven’t already heard, a massive challenge is upon us. With regard to artificial intelligence and the energy we need to feed it, America will either change its current direction, or get left far, far behind. I know this because I run a modest foundation that has been arguing for decades that the portion of our workforce most often described as “the skilled trades,” will become the most essential component of our economy, our independence, and our collective future. Well, the future is here. Obviously, I didn’t know that the race to dominate artificial intelligence would be the thing that finally galvanized the folks at the grown-up table. When I founded mikeroweWORKS in 2008, I figured it would be a new commitment to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure that would necessitate a collective push to reinvigorate the trades. That need is still pressing, but I never imagined the most urgent cry for more welders and electricians would be ushered in by the need for more data centers. Back then, I didn’t even know what a data center was. But today, here we are. Data centers are headline news, because they are – as Jensen Huang says - AI factories. And if we want to remain competitive with China, we need to build thousands of them. Now. And presently, we simply don’t have the workforce to do it. I’ll be discussing all of this next Tuesday in Pittsburgh, at the Energy and Innovation Summit, which is turning out to be a pretty high-profile event. mccormick.senate.gov/.../president-… looks like I’ll be joining a panel of elected officials, including the President, and dozens of well-known CEO’s to discuss Pennsylvania’s role in the energy renascence. A lot of money is being invested in Pennsylvania, (a LOT), and my message to those writing the checks will be no different than it’s been since we launched mikeroweWORKS: "Set some of that money aside to make a more persuasive case for the work itself. The skilled trades need better PR, and they need it on a national level. The country needs to see thousands of examples - real world examples - of men and women who have prospered as a result of learning a skill that's in demand." I first made this point to President Obama in an open letter to The White House in 2009, shortly after he promised 3 million “shovel-ready” jobs in his Highway Infrastructure Act. bit.ly/44M8elW I was rooting for the President back then, and offered to use Dirty Jobs and mikeroweWORKS as vehicles to help promote his initiative. I did so because I was skeptical that people would line up to take those jobs simply because they were "created." “Filling three million shovel-ready jobs,” I wrote, “will be a lot easier if people feel enthused about the prospect of picking up a shovel. Investment alone, won’t create that kind of enthusiasm.” The White House did not respond to my offer. Understandably, most presidents do not seek the advice of marginally famous cable television hosts best known for crawling through sewers. But it’s worth remembering that the unemployment rate back then was over 10%. Millions of people were newly unemployed, and I think the former President assumed that creating three million shovel-ready jobs would translate to three million people going back to work. But that’s not what happened. Because back then, even with record high unemployment, there were 2.3 million open jobs, most of which did not require a four-year degree. Nobody wanted to talk about that. Today, that number is more like 7.6 million. Nobody wants to talk about it now, either. This is why I'm going to Pittsburgh. Just as I was rooting for President Obama in 2009, I’m rooting for President Trump today. I hope he succeeds in reinvigorating our industrial base and reshoring our manufacturing capabilities, and I want to offer my support. But if he does succeed, we’re talking about millions new jobs in manufacturing alone. And currently, there are over 400,000 jobs in that sector that are currently open, begging the obvious question... If we can’t fill the openings we have, how will we fill the one’s we’re about to create? That’s the question I’ll pose in Pittsburgh. I’ll let you know if anyone has an answer. Mike PS. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this change is truly upon us, and I've had a front row seat. Over the last six months, mikeroweWORKS been flooded with inquiries to collaborate on various recruitment initiatives and multiple industries. I mean, flooded. Not a week goes by that I don't hear from an industry leader who has come to the realization that they’ve gone as far as they can go without more skilled labor. Panic, is not too strong a word. The Maritime Industrial Base for instance, is currently tasked with delivering three nuclear powered submarines to the Navy every year for the next decade, and looking to hire 140,000 tradespeople. 140,000!!! “Do you know where they are?” they asked me. “We’ve looked everywhere.” “Yes,” I said. “I know where they are. They’re in the 8th grade.” I’ve had similar calls with the automotive industry, who needs 80,000 technicians and collision repair workers. Every single home service company is hiring – from foundation repair to roofing. The energy industry is looking for hundreds of thousands of skilled workers, and so too is the construction industry. A few weeks ago, at something called The Aspen Ideas Festival, I heard Larry Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, say we’re short 500,000 electricians. A few months before that, at an Energy Conference in Newport, I heard Governor Rick Perry describe the race to build data centers and catch up to China with all things AI as nothing short of a “modern-day Manhattan Project.” I think he's right. Part of the problem is an aging demographic. For every five skilled workers who retire, two replace them. That’s why we need to engage with eighth graders today. Maybe even before that. We have to make a persuasive case for these jobs to the next generation, and just as importantly, to their parents. That won’t solve the immediate problem, but this is marathon, not a sprint, and these jobs need to be magnified and amplified at an early age. The more immediate problem is the labor force participation rate. As we speak, millions of able-bodied Americans - for all sorts of reasons - are not working and not looking for work. According to economist Nick Eberstadt, that number is close to 7 million able-bodied men. youtube.com/watch?v=0eD6ad… I’m not sure what to do about that, but it’s a colossal problem that needs to be addressed. On the positive side, our last round of work ethic scholarships generated unparalleled interest. This year, mikeroweWORKSwill award $5 million to help train the next generation of skilled workers. That's ten times the number of qualified applicants we got this time a year ago. The needle is moving, and I believe we can move it a lot further, with a little help from the companies most incentivized to see the trades reinvigorated. Should be a lively conversation in The Keystone State…

For a story, I'm looking for someone who lowered their cholesterol in 6 weeks by swapping out their breakfast. If that's you, please reach out ASAP / this week! DMs open. #journorequest #sourcerequest #prrequest

@chrissyfarr Finished -- and LOVED it.

I’m addicted to the show “The Pitt“ after hearing some emergency medicine physician friends say it’s the most accurate medical show on TV. Already raised so many big points: - lack of beds /space - pressure & burnout - post Covid trauma Anyone else watching?

@kyliebytes @_KarenHao I'm getting started from nothing (i.e., haven't read one AI-focused book yet). Recommend starting with this one, or another (few)?

i have to admit - it feels really cool to have finished @_KarenHao’s book on my last day in hong kong (where she’s based!) will be writing my thoughts more formally soon but - as i’ve said before - this is one of the best AI books i’ve read

@CoryBooker This is the first time since the inauguration that I felt someone in the Democratic party was willing to stand up for what is right. I will be making a donation in honor of your commitment, @CoryBooker. Thank you... from a grateful American

I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again on the Senate floor, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent, when we must speak up. What’s most clear to me tonight is that this is just the beginning, that Americans across this country, no matter their title or party, are ready to be heard. I believe that history will show we rose to meet this moment. It will show we did not let the chaos and division go unanswered. It will show that when our president chose to spread lies and sow fear, we chose to come together, to work together, and to rise together.

@BarbMcQuade I found this episode of @jonstewart's @weeklyshowpod to be insightful: open.spotify.com/episode/6MsmEK…

I am no conspiracy theorist, but it really feels like they are trying to destroy our country from within. Health care, public schools, universities, research, law firms, federal workers, the environment are all getting the axe. What was it again that it made America great? wsj.com/politics/polic…

@RestPoliticsUS @Scaramucci @KattyKay_ I live in TN and have noticed pro-Trump ads lately. Who is paying for these? Why do we have them during a non-election year? Is this propaganda? Is this happening in other states? Would love for you to shed some light... 👃

🚨 Got a question for @Scaramucci and @KattyKay_ ?🚨 Curious about how the political system works?Wondering about the inner workings of a campaign trail? Drop your questions in the replies below! 👇

hi it’s my first day at @wired ! i wanna hear everything that’s going on in the energy / enviro / climate space. feel free to pitch me: molly_taft@wired.com , signal mollytaft.76

@Scaramucci I live in TN and have noticed pro-Trump ads lately. Who is paying for these? Why do we have during a non-election year? Is this propaganda? Is this happening in other states? Would love for you and @KattyKay_ to shed some light... 👃

@rrrins Can't wait!

I'm on NPR this week for a special series called Losing My Religion! We discuss modern spirituality—everything from yoga and reiki to treating wellness itself like a religion. LISTEN: npr.org/2025/03/17/126…

@EricNewcomer @lulumeservey I've worked in PR agencies for 17+ years-running my own for the past 8-& the average monthly start-up retainer is $9k-14k. While it depends on stage, even those Series B/C aren't typically spending that. PR can be critical to building a brand, but budgets are tight for early cos.

How much does a PR agency cost in tech? Here's what @lulumeservey says: "Monthly retainers can range from $5K for a single junior freelancer or young firm to $500K or more for a massive global firm with a big scope. The most expensive agency I’ve had was around $400K a month (but it was silly and we ended the engagement). Typical tech PR firms tend to charge startups $20-35K a month, while more specialized or high profile shops might charge $60K-100K, depending on the person and project."

@Kyle_L_Wiggers Congrats!

Personal news: I'm now TechCrunch's AI Editor! Super pumped to step into the role after three years here as a senior enterprise reporter. Looking to continue building the section as AI only grows in importance.

A Message to Elon Musk @elonmusk and DOGE from a Mother of a boy named Max. Please at least give it a read and reconsider haphazardly freezing funding on important government programs: "Elon, this perfect little boy is my son Max. He's not a parasite. He's pure joy. Love radiates from him, and he has a smile for everyone he meets. He was born with a rare genetic form of leukodystrophy called TBCD that is usually fatal by five years of age. We were filled with hope when the researcher our patient advocacy group has been working with at Nationwide Children's Hospital was awarded with an R01 grant from the NIH after our community pooled our resources to fund the first phase of her research to apply for it. Last year, she showed us some of her work in the lab that PROVED there was a pathway to a treatment. It was just a few cells in a dish. My son's neural cells -- cured. Right now, her funds are frozen. The grant that was providing hope for a future for these children with a condition so rare that private pharma would never have any interest in creating a treatment is what you're fighting to slash funding for. You might as well be slashing my kid's throat. Any delay in bringing this from the bench to the bedside WILL kill children in our community - and you're laughing on X and calling them parasites? Shame on you."

@EliMcCann In 2000, I was studying in Paris and when asked of which celebrity I was a fan, I answered Oprah and the international group of students (+ French teacher) looked at me like I had just grown 10 heads.

Recently I posted that we don't know who Robbie Williams is and a British person responded something like "that's fair. We don't know who Carrie Underwood is." And I am now so fascinated to know which of our big celebrities have not crossed the Atlantic.

@KayeSteinsapir I am so sorry... sick to see this news. You and your family will be in my thoughts. And, of course, Molly remains in our hearts.

Molly’s mural burnt today. Along with our beloved Theatre Palisades and so much of our community. Some of our friends have already lost their homes. The rest of us are at great risk, as the winds will be at their strongest tonight. The fire is already very close to our house and our beloved cat, Leroy. I don’t know what else to say.