Joe's Story
Joe Newlin launched vsbly.org to sharpen tools, messages and strategies for social justice leaders, organizers, communicators, thinkers, makers and all-around doers.
As the chief creative and technical force behind vsbly, Joe has been responsible for launching advocacy nonprofits to social media relevance, growing engaging social media campaigns from the ground up for union organizing drives, and coaching nonprofit social media managers to approach digital strategy like organizers.
Joe brings a sharp creative eye and design sensibility to every project because one of his guiding principles is that the quality of your visual impression is interpreted by your audience as a proxy for your overall competence, and the better you look, the more support you inspire. In other words, when you look good, you grow your capacity to do good.
At the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, Joe spent over a decade planning and operationalizing organizing campaigns that added thousands of new union members. He led community engagement campaigns throughout the Los Angeles area and convened coalitions in support of workers’ rights, healthcare reform and clean elections. His media outreach garnered positive coverage by major print media and radio and television stations.
Earlier in his career, he worked at Consumer Watchdog, where he served as a spokesperson, advocate and organizer for consumer-focused energy policy and citizen-driven political campaigns.
Joe Newlin leads vsbly’s team, and partners with savvy designers, writers, strategists, coders and researchers.
He leads a double life, cultivating communities of experimental musicians and artists, curating experimental music events, and writing software programs for experimental music, video and still images.
