I am excited to share what is next for me.

While I’ve had my ups and downs that have shaken and changed my faith through the years, my core worldview has never changed:

People inherently have the instinct to help and connect to others and will do so when encouraged and valued for who they are and what they contribute to the world. Technology is the catalyst. Time is a currency. Financial gain is only one of many forms of compensation.

It took me less than 48 hours after being laid off last month to know exactly what I wanted to do next (besides re-start this blog).

I want my professional life to be centered on using technology to lead impactful, flourishing community again.

I want to envision and lead spaces where people share information, support, and learn from each other. I want to work for a company that invests in building those spaces with intention. Somewhere that recognizes that business goals are met by a thriving community working together towards a shared purpose. Somewhere where metrics are set and measured in impact in addition to the number of eyeballs or dollars brought in.

This has been the throughline of my entire career that has brought me the most joy and satisfaction.

• From when I was answering many questions in early Mac usenet groups in the early 90s.
• And when I was serving as President of the New York City Mac Users Group a couple of years later.
• When I mourned my dad by joining a grassroots group of colorectal cancer survivors and their loved ones to start not one but two national nonprofit organizations.
• When I organized other family members to start an advocacy organization for parents of special needs children in 2001 that still exists eighteen years after I moved away.
• Through being an early customer leader in emerging Salesforce nonprofit communities – first in a Google Group, then later in the Power of Us Hub.
• I finally had the opportunity to do community at a larger scale as a Salesforce.org employee as I envisioned and launched Open Source Commons (now Salesforce.org Commons).

There’s a bigger world I’m looking forward to exploring. I’ve spent the last seventeen years focused on one company’s ecosystem. I’d love to stay in technology/product and customer advocacy if possible. I’d also love to stay within the social impact sector. However, I’m not closing any doors. Community, shared purpose, and impact are found in businesses of all shapes, sizes, and tax statuses. I only know that I don’t want to work for another publicly-traded company.

For the last three weeks, I have had the best time connecting to, following, and learning from community-building leaders in CMX Hub, Community Club, Rosie Land, and more. I updated my LinkedIn profile to reflect the shift I’d like to make. I already have a shiny new certificate to show for it, and I’m hungry to learn more.

I’m excited to apply the last eight years of experience in strategic planning, program, and business development, analytics, customer support at all lifecycle levels, product development, customer success, enablement, documentation, and people leadership to a community-centered, technology-driven role.

I’ve always taken the worst, most challenging moments of my life as a driver toward the path I was meant to follow. This is no different.