MEET THE TEAM: VIRGINIA “STEPH” DONALDS - DIRECTOR OF MEMBER SUCCESS & SPECIAL PROJECTS
@_stvph
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Role: Director of Member Success & Special Projects
Skills: Networking, A&R, Project Management, Administration, Event Curation
Virginia “Steph” Donalds is our Director of Member Success & Special Projects - and the glue that holds it all together. A natural born hustler and creative, Steph plays a key role in discovering talent, creating partnerships, and generally keeping the ship running smoothly. At just 24 years old, she’s an entrepreneur and a cofounder - and somehow has time to attend just about every workshop and industry event NYC has to offer. Steph plays a key part in PressPlay by providing project management skills to help with marketing and press campaigns for clients and ensure that all our our team members are in great shape - and takes pride in building strong relationships and equipping talented young artists with tools that they need to navigate in the music industry. She is a fierce advocate, a valued team member, and a star PressPlay brand ambassador - and we’re happy we found her first!
Raised in Brooklyn, Steph grew up in a Panamanian household where she was heavily influenced by Hispanic and Caribbean culture, and exposed to a huge variety of people and music - from salsa and merengue, to dancehall and calypso, to the inescapable rap and R&B of the 90’s and 00’s. She grew up dancing from a young age and continued through high school and eventually college, where she naturally found herself in the role of press relations as the Public Relations Chair of her dance team. During her sophomore year, Steph founded a successful grassroots company called Buddah Blend, which manufactured and sold handmade personal care products like body butters, face washes, hair oils, and more. Always running in artistic circles, she found herself surrounded by a slew of talented young artists, producers, and other creatives. Seeing an opportunity to help empower her talented circle of friends and colleagues, along with her two managing partners, Steph co founded KRMA - a collective organization and creative house for artists, DJs, producers, musicians and other creators, building a community that fosters collaboration, creativity, and creating new opportunities. Steph had always had a knack for connecting the dots, but quickly realized she had an ear for connecting talented producers to new opportunities. She soon leveraged her position into a partnership with the RCA Records A&R department, shopping her producers’ beats for placements with RCA artists. As if that wasn’t enough, during the summer of 2019, Steph and her cofounders once again saw an opportunity to help young artists and strengthen their creative community by creating Taste of Sounds - a series of intimate, coffeehouse-style showcases where local artists, musicians, and creatives gather to showcase their talent, forge new connections, and support one another. Taste of Sounds has been hugely successful - having been featured on popular media outlets like TheShadeRoom and shown love from celebs like Chris Brown, Fat Joe, Young MA, and more - and is quickly becoming a staple in the Long Island music scene. The platform recently announced their transition into becoming a non-profit to continue to provide opportunities to artists and creatives of all disciplines. During the global pandemic, Steph continued to rise against the chaos by becoming the Editor-in-Chief of The Playground, a digital media site that highlights and promotes emerging artists. Within her role, she leads a team of bright individuals, creates social media strategies, and have interviewed artists such as Chris Patrick, Seddy Hendrinx, Lo Village and more. Steph continued to leverage her relationships which landed The Playground a partnership with 1824, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, to have outlet participate in their artists’ press runs.
Time and time again, Steph has proven her ability to execute on ideas, organize groups of people, and keep her finger on the pulse of culture like few others. She is skilled in building new relationships and leveraging her creative network to lift up those around her. Her ability to relate and her eye for talent are matched by few, and only part of what makes her an indispensable member of the PressPlay team.