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About Walker

walkerHi, my name is Walker Evans, and I live in Columbus, Ohio.

I am the founder of ColumbusUnderground.com and TheMetropreneur.com. I live in the historic King Lincoln District adjacent to Downtown with my wife Anne, son Desmond and daughter Sophie. We love the urban energy and culture that Downtown Columbus has to offer. Outside of work, I stay engaged in a variety of civic activities including:

  • North Market Development Authority Board of Trustees - I began my first term at the North Market in January 2008, where I will serve through December, 2010. Personally, I’ve been a fan of the North Market for as long as I’ve lived in Columbus. The North Market is more than just a marketplace… it’s a cultural institution in Columbus and a valuable connection between our urban fabric and rural surroundings. If you’ve got an idea or a concern about the North Market, feel free to send me an email, and I’ll do my best to relay any information, ideas and opinions to the rest of the Board.
  • Dine Originals Columbus Board of Directors - I joined the Board at Dine Originals Columbus in January, 2009. Dine Originals is a group of 40+ local, independent restaurants who have come together to celebrate, support, and promote the local dining experience. The group benefits from shared collaborative resources, and my role on the board is to assist with creative marketing and advertising outreach as well as volunteer recruitment and event promotion.

Some of my past/previous civic involvement includes:

  • The Create Columbus Commission - I joined “The commission formerly known as the Mayor’s Young Professionals Commission” in May 2007 and served through May 2010. The Create Columbus Commission is working to engage young people in Columbus civic activity. This group was pulled together as a joint effort between the Mayor’s Office and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. I was proactive in several subcommittee activities including Transportation initiatives, event planning, communications, and outreach.
  • The Columbus Metropolitan Club - I served as a founding Vice-Chair for the CMCpm Committee for a year and a half in 2007 and 2008. This committee was created to put together a series of events that offer programming targeted at a younger audience. This pilot program was launched by the Columbus Metropolitan Club in mid-2007. I also served on the Marketing Committee for the Columbus Metropolitan Club in 2008.

When I’m not busy working or in meetings I enjoy watching films, cooking, playing video games, working on our house, exploring the city, and trying out new restaurants.

I grew up in Marysville, Ohio which is an northwestern exurb of Columbus. In 1998, I made the move to Columbus proper to attend school at OSU. I also attended CSCC and Franklin, and obtained my degree in Interactive Multimedia Technology. In the past 10 years I’ve worked for a large local Fortune 500 company, the State of Ohio, a printing and graphics firm, and a local newspaper. I’ve also done a lot of creative freelance work in my spare time, and as of July 2007, went full time with Columbus Underground.

ColumbusUnderground.com was launched in November 2001 as an online resource for all things Columbus. It originally started out with more of an entertainment focus centered around local music, dining and nightlife. Since then it’s gradually grown to cover other topics including art, restaurants, shopping, politics, urban living, movies, sports, and more. In October 2005, Columbus Underground was registered with the State of Ohio as a business entity and began to offer advertising opportunities aimed at local businesses.

Today, ColumbusUnderground.com has grown into a great community resource that attracts over 750,000 pageviews per month, and over 190,000 visits per month.

On August 3rd, 2010, I launched TheMetropreneur.com with a team of local online media professionals. The Metropreneur is an online news resource for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Central Ohio. It also serves as a “virtual incubator” through online networking applications and a Local Resource Database that connects entrepreneurs with the tools and programs that can assist in their success.

I host this blog, “The Walker Evans Effect” to share some of my own personal opinions with the world. I also use it as a resource to share information between the various organizations I’m involved with, and the online young tech-savvy blog-reading locals (you!).

If you happen to see me out somewhere, be sure to say hi. I always enjoy meeting new people.