About Dharana Digital
Dharana is a Sanskrit word meaning fixed, concentrated attention on a single point without wavering.
We apply this same concept with each client we work with so they can clearly establish and achieve their specific wellness coaching goals. Dharana Digital was formed out of a desire to help businesses not only enjoy effective digital marketing and training, but thrive because of it.
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With co-founders from Australia, Bangladesh, and the US, we offer our clients rich international marketing experience. This allows us to craft the perfect message for our coaching clients' target customers, no matter the country.
Meet Our Team
Co-Founder
Social Media Specialist
Dr Karen Sutherland
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Co-Founder
SEO Specialist
Gina Mares
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Dr Karen is a multi-award winning social media educator and author with nearly 25 years' industry experience in marketing, public relations and communication roles for organizations such as Monash University, ABCTV, Fremantle Media, and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. She has four degrees (communication, marketing, film and TV) including a PhD focusing on social media.
Dr Karen's book Strategic Social Media Management - Theory and Practice by Palgrave Macmillan won the social media category of the 2022 Book Excellence Awards and was also named in the Best 100 Public Relations eBooks of All Time by the Book Authority.
Dr Karen was recently announced as winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Woman of the Year - Social Media at the 2022 Stevie Awards.
She also won the 2021 Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (DASSH) Award for Education, Innovation and Employability and was named the Best Social Media Educator of the Year for 2020 by the Social Media Marketing Institute .
Dr Karen leads the social media major and minor at the University of the Sunshine Coast, is the Academic Ambassador of the Social Media Marketing Institute, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in London, is a founding member of the Adobe Creative Educator program and a co-author of Public Relations and Strategic Communication published by Oxford University Press.
Gina Mares has been working with individuals, small businesses, nonprofits, and startups since receiving her BSBA in marketing from the University of Denver, Colorado, USA in 2011. She has extensive experience in business strategy and marketing development, search engine optimization (SEO) to create high-quality traffic streams to websites and YouTube videos, and video marketing.
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Utilizing Gina's SEO strategy, startups like Oxford Online English have seen tremendous growth of their businesses online. OOE went from virtually no website traffic and just the idea of a business in 2013 to a thriving English school with 25+ teachers and over 250,000 monthly website visitors, using only a YouTube and website SEO strategy-
no paid advertising.
Gina has spent time living and working abroad, and is passionate about meaningfully connecting with different kinds of people from every corner of the world. She thrives on learning new things and working on business development and investment projects. She also runs a short-term property rental business in the Colorado/Utah/Arizona/Nevada region of the United States. Ultimately, she aims to connect with and learn about others and share ideas to help make the world a more tolerant, sustainable place.
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Co-Founder
HR and Finance Specialist
Akik Chowdhury
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Copywriting and Marketing Lead
Dr Krisztina Morris
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The idea of entrepreneurship has always driven Akik Chowdhury. As with many entrepreneurial journeys, he has gone through ups and downs, and has tried his hand at various types of ventures. From working with an engineering consultancy firm which works with the Bangladesh government, to an online cosmetics store, and a small leather factory, Akik has extensive experience working with many different types of people and ideas.
He is a master networker and strategist, with professional connections spanning around the world. He is a people person and loves collaborating with others to reach a common goal. Akik is also a business visionary. In fact, it was his idea to collaborate with Gina and Dr Karen to create the company that is now Dharana Digital.
Dr Krisztina Morris is a communication specialist with a background in public relations and marketing. Dr Krisztina has extensive experience in strategic development and corporate sustainability communication, working with organisations such as the Sunshine Coast Environment Council, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, and Sustainable Sunshine Coast. She is also an active board member of Parkinson’s Advocacy Sunshine Coast, and a social media educator and researcher in tertiary education.
Dr Krisztina has recently completed her PhD with a strong focus on CSR communication in the oil and mining industry. Her goal is to align communication directives with operational processes in every project for a successful and measurable outcome. For the past seven years, Dr Krisztina has been successfully running her own public relations agency, working with small to medium businesses on the coast. In her free time, Dr Krisztina is a fresh F45 enthusiast and keen runner, and an overly dedicated organiser.
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Web/SEO Lead & Project Manager
Musthasin Alam
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Content Creative and Strategy Lead
Karen (Mahima) Mallinson
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Musthasin has over five years of experience in web development and SEO strategy and is currently the Web/SEO Lead & Project Manager at Dharana Digital.
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He specializes in developing eCommerce websites, landing pages, blogs, and listing sites—you name it.
If you're looking to enhance your website's rankings and drive organic traffic, Musthasin’s data-driven approach empowers him to track data and propose SEO strategies and improvements, ensuring your website thrives on Google.
In his current position, Musthasin manages website and SEO projects, deadlines, deliverables, and also facilitates clear communication with clients and within his team.
Known for his work ethic, Musthasin is a positive-thinking professional who values hard work and integrity. He keeps pace with the latest technology, offering efficient web solutions to challenges.
Karen (Mahima) Mallinson has over 20 years’ marketing experience working across many facets in different industries - from sole trader start-ups, Not-for-profit associations, to global multi-nationals including Unilever and SC Johnson and Kikkoman, in Australia, USA
and also in her native UK.
Born in the UK, Mahima completed her BA Hons Degree in Business and Marketing in 2001 at the Liverpool Business School, UK. She then continued her professional studies and completed a post-graduate diploma in Marketing, with the Chartered Institute of Marketing
in London in 2003. As the marketing landscape evolved to digital, Mahima has continued to invest in her professional development.
She is a strategically minded and highly accomplished Marketing professional with expertise in developing and revitalising brand and marketing communication strategy across different industries, channels, business to business and consumer segments.
In 2013 Mahima embarked on a different path following her passion and began to study a two-year diploma in Yogic Studies. She now combines teaching meditation and yoga with her professional career. Mahima’s other passion in life is travel, she says there’s nothing quite like immersing the senses in new places and experiencing new cultures.
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