Zerlina's going to Netroots Nation

by: Rosi Efthim

Thu May 13, 2010 at 03:02:39 PM EDT

Lady Z

Last year, I went to Netroots Nation, as one of the Democracy for America Netroots Nation scholars. Two years ago, Jeff Gardner got there the same way. Zerlina - Lady Z at The Urban Politico - is headed to Las Vegas in July for NN10. She's a Round One winner in DFA's competitive scholarship that's sending 40 bloggers to Vegas for the 5th Netroots Nation. Zerlina's from Millburn. How many more DFA NN scholars from New Jersey is up to you. Want to apply?

Zerlina blogs as Lady Z at The Urban Politico, a blog I like a lot. She's a founder, and the manager. And she just started blogging in September.

The Urban Politico's a 4-person team, in NJ, Philly & D.C. - one a lawyer, one in state government and the other working in D.C. Zerlina's works as a paralegal by day, and attends Rutgers Law School, Newark as a night student. She's "the most liberal" of the four,  says they talk all day long, and often collaborate on diaries. And they weigh in on each other's posts with "2 cents" reactions that broaden the conversation. Some of those conversations go on for a days, like the question, Is Gay the New Black?

Zerlina's a fellow at New Leaders Council, and was an organizer posted in Virginia for the Obama campaign, but says her blog chops come from heavy on-line reading after college (Tufts, she's 28). Before she found blogging, she shipped op-eds she found to friends via facebook. She's always been the person "everybody goes to for news."

Best way to describe Netroots Nation is blogger heaven. A couple thousand extraordinarily smart and opinionated people under one roof all at the same time to confab and, uh, seriously party. Speakers lineup isn't out year, but Senator Al Franken (damn, that still sounds awesome) is closing, and last year's speakers included Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, and Valerie Jarrett. Anybody can go, but the DFA NN10 scholars get most of their expenses paid (want to help contribute to that?), an extraordinary thing DFA does. Want to see what a winning application looks like? Here are the Round One winners. May 23's the deadline for Round Two.

I'll be at Netroots Nation. So will Adam. And Lady Z. You coming?