World Information Architecture Day

World IA Day is a one day global celebration celebrarted in cities around the world to inspire the global growth of information architecture as a community of practice. World IA Day is jointly produced by a network of global, regional, and local volunteers.

Since 2015, I have been the volunteer coordinator for the Kent, Ohio celebration. This entails recruiting and vetting a series of 10-12 speakers per year, securing a venue, breakfast and lunch for the day long event. It also includes managing the event web site, participant registrations and AV equipment needs. Lastly, coordinating this event entails securing sponsorship, as the event is free to participants. In 2019 our keynote was delivered live in Cluj, Romania and simulcast in Kent, OH and all of our speakers were live streamed.

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Man and Woman of the Year Campaign

In 2016, I was nominated to be a candidate for the Woman of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This campaign is a 10 week fundraising campaign where nominated community members “compete” to raise the most funds and be declared the Man/Woman of the Year.

Generally funds are raised by a combination of fundraising events, letter writing campaigns, and corporate donations. In a 10 week time frame I managed a team of 10 other volunteers and planned and coordinated 5 fundraising events including a virtual 5k and a benefit concert, among others.

Together, my teammates and I raised $29,000 over the 10 week campaign, with no single donation over $1,000 and an average donation amount of $50.

Startup Bus

“Equal parts boot camp and road trip, StartupBus is an annual competition designed to empower the tech community - challenging top tier talent to hop on a bus and conceive, build and launch a startup in just 5 days.”

In July 2019, I had the honor of being a “conductor” on the Ohio Startup Bus. Aspiring entrepreneurs from across the United States, Canada, and Mexico spent 5 days on 7 buses traveling from all parts of the continent to converge in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Along the way, they pitched, formed teams, and created startups from scratch. They were required to have a user base and a working product in order to qualify for the final pitches in New Orleans.

The riders didn’t know what our routes were, when we were stopping, or many of the rules and surprises ahead along the way. My job entailed recruiting, coordinating hotels, stops, and food along the way, making sure the bus didn’t leave anyone behind, and acting as a mentor to the riders along the way.