John Chambers
Founder and Chief Executive Gardner of BloomBars
Prior to BloomBars, John was a Senior Vice President at GMMB, a social marketing and
advocacy communications firm based in Washington, D.C. He joined the firm in 2001, bringing more
than 10 years of experience in advertising, advocacy, corporate, nonprofit, and government
communications to the firm.
While at GMMB, John directed accounts for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries
and Financial Services for the Poor initiatives; the Fetzer Institute’s Campaign for Love and Forgiveness
and Lincoln Leadership Series; the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets Campaign, Casey Family
Programs; the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign’s national Click It or Ticket mobilization; the Fannie
Mae Foundation’s Read Out Loud adult literacy campaign; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Faith
in Action program; the Justice at Stake Campaign; Donna Edwards for Congress; Rushern Baker for
Prince Georges County Executive; and the ONE Campaign’s Live 8 concert in Philadelphia.
Prior to joining GMMB, John was the Director of Communications for the Presidential Members of the
U.S. Census Monitoring Board, an oversight body charged with monitoring and encouraging participation
in Census 2000. He served as a spokesperson, managed communications and community outreach, and
led efforts to increase the participation of communities of color and children—traditionally the most
undercounted populations.
John was also the General Manager of the Capitol Radio Network, where he increased the network’s
audience from several thousand to more than 10 million listeners, and developed weekly radio
commentaries for former NAACP and National Urban League presidents. He was also a senior account
manager for Walls Communications, where he managed accounts for several nonprofit organizations
and Fortune 100 companies. In addition, John worked with MASSPIRG, and a local NBC affiliate in his
native Western Massachusetts.
John’s community service work has included serving as the President of the Board of Directors for the
United Movement to End Child Soldiering (UMECS), which sponsors secondary and higher education
for former child soldiers and formerly abducted children living in internally displaced persons (IDP)
camps in Northern Uganda war zones, the board of the Black Administrators in Child Welfare (BACW) and the Board of Trustees for Solebury School in New Hope, PA.
John’s artistic pursuits in include acting, photography, and film and video production.
