"Leap, and the net will appear." -- John Burroughs
In October 2007 I phoned Deanna Kosaraju and said, "I'm thinking about quitting my job and doing a service year at a nonprofit. Can you use me?" I started going in to the Anita Borg Institute office after the 2007 Grace Hopper Celebration, and five months later I was hired as their Communities Program Manager.
For the last four years it has been my honor to work for the Anita Borg Institute. I've learned so much from the exceptional staff, volunteers and community. It was fun to build the Institute's social communities on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and to see them fill with inspiring technical women and diversity champions. But a few months ago I started thinking about moving on. And then I started preparing: updating profiles, looking at job listings, talking to a few friends.
In that wonderful way fate has of giving us a nudge when the time is right, yesterday I was laid off. I feel extremely fortunate and grateful that my volunteer service turned into a four year paid position. I'm enjoying some time off for rest and play, and I'm excited by the possibilities of this new adventure.
As I did in 2007 when I started this blog, once again I leap into the unknown trusting that the net will appear.
Showing posts with label anitaborg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anitaborg. Show all posts
Friday, February 17, 2012
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Leaping Woman Lands!
"Leap, and the net will appear."
— American naturalist John Burroughs
That was the opening quote when I started the Leaping Woman blog on October 26, 2007. I had quit my job after 26 years in the computing industry, and volunteered for a service year with a nonprofit. I chose the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology (ABI) because I had benefited from its programs over the years and because I believe in its mission: to improve technology by involving more women at all stages, and to improve the lives of the world's women through technology.
I had no idea what I'd do after that service year. The quote served as a mantra, warding off any fear about the future. Everything was open to exploration; everything was an option; even as I knew at that some point I'd have to start thinking about that next paying job.
The net began materializing when one of ABI's staff moved on to a new position. I volunteered to cover the online communities work she'd been doing, until the dust settled. Everything I'd been exploring, reading up on and playing with online suddenly was of practical daily use. I learned to use social networking tools with funny names that made my friends say, "Huh?" I started to form a vision, and come up with new ideas to try. I bounced out of bed in the morning, looking forward to the day's work. And I started talking with the staff about joining their team.
"Leap, and the net will appear. " On March 3, 2008 I became an employee of the Anita Borg Institute. Leaping Woman has landed, and with a big smile on her face.
Readers of this blog are already aware that as my involvement with ABI has increased, my activity on this blog has decreased. I expect to do most of my writing now on the ABI website. Thank you for reading the Leaping Woman blog. And thanks for all of your support while I made that leap. One more quote, before I go:
"All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail."
— poet Dorothea Brande
— American naturalist John Burroughs
That was the opening quote when I started the Leaping Woman blog on October 26, 2007. I had quit my job after 26 years in the computing industry, and volunteered for a service year with a nonprofit. I chose the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology (ABI) because I had benefited from its programs over the years and because I believe in its mission: to improve technology by involving more women at all stages, and to improve the lives of the world's women through technology.
I had no idea what I'd do after that service year. The quote served as a mantra, warding off any fear about the future. Everything was open to exploration; everything was an option; even as I knew at that some point I'd have to start thinking about that next paying job.
The net began materializing when one of ABI's staff moved on to a new position. I volunteered to cover the online communities work she'd been doing, until the dust settled. Everything I'd been exploring, reading up on and playing with online suddenly was of practical daily use. I learned to use social networking tools with funny names that made my friends say, "Huh?" I started to form a vision, and come up with new ideas to try. I bounced out of bed in the morning, looking forward to the day's work. And I started talking with the staff about joining their team.
"Leap, and the net will appear. " On March 3, 2008 I became an employee of the Anita Borg Institute. Leaping Woman has landed, and with a big smile on her face.
Readers of this blog are already aware that as my involvement with ABI has increased, my activity on this blog has decreased. I expect to do most of my writing now on the ABI website. Thank you for reading the Leaping Woman blog. And thanks for all of your support while I made that leap. One more quote, before I go:
"All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail."
— poet Dorothea Brande
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Tempus fugit
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
— Groucho Marx
It's been three weeks since my last post. Well, I started some, but never finished. After I got home from my Thanksgiving travels, I finally got a badge for the ABI office and my own login. That made it easier to go in and work, so I've been spending a lot more time there. I helped TechLeaders program manager Kim McLeod put together materials for two back-to-back workshops, and started assisting with management of the online communities in Facebook and LinkedIn.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday I participated in the second of those workshops: Senior TechLeaders: Leading Across Cultures. There was an amazing group of accomplished and experienced women in the room. ABI Research Director Caroline Simard blogged her notes on the workshop:
Then last Thursday and Friday I attended a great online forum from the eLearning Guild on Strategies and Techniques for Implementing Social, Collaborative, and 3D Learning. Inspired by Caroline I blogged my notes but have to clean them up before posting. It was a fun way to bridge my technical training background with my current explorations and ABI work with social media.
There was plenty of fun over the last 3 weeks. I was glad to get home and back on the trike, and KJ and I have been riding to the Y and around the neighborhood. Latkefest 2007 was fun as always. And one of my nieces sent a stunningly silly pair of Black Bars glasses, modeled here. These may prove useful, since Leaping Woman is still (for now, at least) an anonymous blog.
— Groucho Marx
It's been three weeks since my last post. Well, I started some, but never finished. After I got home from my Thanksgiving travels, I finally got a badge for the ABI office and my own login. That made it easier to go in and work, so I've been spending a lot more time there. I helped TechLeaders program manager Kim McLeod put together materials for two back-to-back workshops, and started assisting with management of the online communities in Facebook and LinkedIn.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday I participated in the second of those workshops: Senior TechLeaders: Leading Across Cultures. There was an amazing group of accomplished and experienced women in the room. ABI Research Director Caroline Simard blogged her notes on the workshop:
- Senior TechLeaders: Leading Across Cultures
- Senior TechLeaders Day 2: Dr. Francine Berman
- Senior TechLeaders: Remaining Technical while Becoming an Executive
- Industry-University collaborations
Then last Thursday and Friday I attended a great online forum from the eLearning Guild on Strategies and Techniques for Implementing Social, Collaborative, and 3D Learning. Inspired by Caroline I blogged my notes but have to clean them up before posting. It was a fun way to bridge my technical training background with my current explorations and ABI work with social media.
There was plenty of fun over the last 3 weeks. I was glad to get home and back on the trike, and KJ and I have been riding to the Y and around the neighborhood. Latkefest 2007 was fun as always. And one of my nieces sent a stunningly silly pair of Black Bars glasses, modeled here. These may prove useful, since Leaping Woman is still (for now, at least) an anonymous blog.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Shifting Gears
"You should always know when you are shifting gears in your life. You should leave your eras; they should never leave you."
-- Leontyne Price
Today it's been exactly one month since I packed up my office and voluntarily left my job. It was a good job in many ways: It was challenging and I was always learning. I worked with some fine and delightful people with whom I accomplished a lot, and who will remain friends and valued colleagues. Leaving my job was more about what I want to move towards than it was about what I leave behind. I made a conscious choice to leave that "era" of my career, so no regrets.
The last month has been somewhat chaotic, as most transitions are. It's been a mixture of catching up on sleep and doctor appointments; enjoying more time with KJ; riding, playing and exploring (offline and online); organizing the stuff I brought home from work; and getting started at ABI. My mind is filled with ideas and new information, and overflowing with possibilities.
Today I'm heading East to visit my family over Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for, foremost of which is KJ's complete support for this leap I've taken. And I'm grateful to be working with the fine folks at the Anita Borg Institute, and to have this opportunity to give back to the technical women's community from which I've drawn support. I could go on and on, but I have a plane to catch today, so I'll stop here.
-- Leontyne Price
Today it's been exactly one month since I packed up my office and voluntarily left my job. It was a good job in many ways: It was challenging and I was always learning. I worked with some fine and delightful people with whom I accomplished a lot, and who will remain friends and valued colleagues. Leaving my job was more about what I want to move towards than it was about what I leave behind. I made a conscious choice to leave that "era" of my career, so no regrets.
The last month has been somewhat chaotic, as most transitions are. It's been a mixture of catching up on sleep and doctor appointments; enjoying more time with KJ; riding, playing and exploring (offline and online); organizing the stuff I brought home from work; and getting started at ABI. My mind is filled with ideas and new information, and overflowing with possibilities.
Today I'm heading East to visit my family over Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for, foremost of which is KJ's complete support for this leap I've taken. And I'm grateful to be working with the fine folks at the Anita Borg Institute, and to have this opportunity to give back to the technical women's community from which I've drawn support. I could go on and on, but I have a plane to catch today, so I'll stop here.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Tales of a Tech Woman
"Don't wait for something big to occur. Start where you are, with what you have, and that will always lead you into something greater."
-- poet Mary Mann Morrissey
Things are getting rolling at ABI now. I spent several hours there on Thursday and Friday, and I'm so thrilled to be working with this nonprofit led by the awesome CEO Telle Whitney. Telle and I talked about my goals and interests and agreed on the primary project that research director Caroline Simard had selected for me. It's a great fit based on my interests in and experience with corporate women's groups (and my own experiences as a technical woman) so I dove in and started reading up on background materials.
At home, I kept sitting down to blog and getting distracted by other cool, interesting and relevant stuff on the web. Now that I'm part of ABI I'm paying closer attention to my incoming Systers email, where there are often pointers to articles about or resources for technical women. And I've been reading a lot about social media and nonprofits. Between Systers and reading Beth's Blog (that alone seems to send me off to a dozen other useful blogs, videos, etc. every time I read it) I've been doing an awful lot of tagging on del.icio.us.
-- poet Mary Mann Morrissey
Things are getting rolling at ABI now. I spent several hours there on Thursday and Friday, and I'm so thrilled to be working with this nonprofit led by the awesome CEO Telle Whitney. Telle and I talked about my goals and interests and agreed on the primary project that research director Caroline Simard had selected for me. It's a great fit based on my interests in and experience with corporate women's groups (and my own experiences as a technical woman) so I dove in and started reading up on background materials.
At home, I kept sitting down to blog and getting distracted by other cool, interesting and relevant stuff on the web. Now that I'm part of ABI I'm paying closer attention to my incoming Systers email, where there are often pointers to articles about or resources for technical women. And I've been reading a lot about social media and nonprofits. Between Systers and reading Beth's Blog (that alone seems to send me off to a dozen other useful blogs, videos, etc. every time I read it) I've been doing an awful lot of tagging on del.icio.us.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Freedom to Learn and Play
One of the great benefits of quitting my job has been time to play with more flavors of Web 2.0 technology. In addition to creating this blog I've been reading the fantastic blogs of women I met at She's Geeky, and playing with Flickr, SlideShare, Second Life, etc. In my last job I'd been working a lot with the Confluence wiki, and towards the end had linked up with 150+ connections in LinkedIn, but hadn't had a chance to play with much else.
One of the other pleasures of not having a 9-5 job is riding my Sun EZ3 USX recumbent trike around the neighborhood in the middle of a week day when there aren't a lot of cars on the road. I hadn't been on a bike for years (long story) and although I can't ride far or long yet, it's lots of fun tootling around. The EZ3 USX is almost a comfy chair with wheels. Note the under-seat steering.
Of course all this leisure is about to change as I start my service year with the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI). Today I attended my first program team meeting, and got a sense of what I'll be working on, at least initially. More on that later, however. Right now my sweetie is home and it's time for dinner.
One of the other pleasures of not having a 9-5 job is riding my Sun EZ3 USX recumbent trike around the neighborhood in the middle of a week day when there aren't a lot of cars on the road. I hadn't been on a bike for years (long story) and although I can't ride far or long yet, it's lots of fun tootling around. The EZ3 USX is almost a comfy chair with wheels. Note the under-seat steering.
Of course all this leisure is about to change as I start my service year with the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI). Today I attended my first program team meeting, and got a sense of what I'll be working on, at least initially. More on that later, however. Right now my sweetie is home and it's time for dinner.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Power of 1600 Screaming Girls
"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito."
— Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop
Still basking in the afterglow of Grace Hopper and She's Geeky, today I made this a three-week estrogen spree by volunteering at the Girl Summit. There is nothing like the energy of 1600 preteen and teenage girls screaming and dancing to wake a body up in the morning! The girls gathered at the San Jose Convention Center to share, have fun, and learn about creating social change together.
This fabulous event was the kickoff to the Girls for a Change (GFC) school year program. GFC is another of my favorite nonprofit organizations, with a program that empowers girls to become social change agents who have a real impact in their schools and communities. After the Summit, many of the girls join Girl Action Teams through their schools or other organizations. Last year I co-coached one of these teams, and it was great to see some of the girls from our team at the Summit. Here's a short video clip on the Girl Summit from CBS channel 5 News.
Since my last day on the job I've done several short volunteer stints: Grace Hopper, the She's Geeky registration desk, today's Girl Summit and, last Friday night, the Haunted Lake at Palo Alto's Foothills Park. Thursday, I head over to the Anita Borg Institute to get started over there.
— Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop
Still basking in the afterglow of Grace Hopper and She's Geeky, today I made this a three-week estrogen spree by volunteering at the Girl Summit. There is nothing like the energy of 1600 preteen and teenage girls screaming and dancing to wake a body up in the morning! The girls gathered at the San Jose Convention Center to share, have fun, and learn about creating social change together.
This fabulous event was the kickoff to the Girls for a Change (GFC) school year program. GFC is another of my favorite nonprofit organizations, with a program that empowers girls to become social change agents who have a real impact in their schools and communities. After the Summit, many of the girls join Girl Action Teams through their schools or other organizations. Last year I co-coached one of these teams, and it was great to see some of the girls from our team at the Summit. Here's a short video clip on the Girl Summit from CBS channel 5 News.
Since my last day on the job I've done several short volunteer stints: Grace Hopper, the She's Geeky registration desk, today's Girl Summit and, last Friday night, the Haunted Lake at Palo Alto's Foothills Park. Thursday, I head over to the Anita Borg Institute to get started over there.
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