The Backstory & Insights of the FilipinX Force "Fireside Chats & Day in the Life" 2023 Line-up

After an amazing 12-month Fireside Chat & Day in the Life 2023 line-up (we actually started with two “trial runs” in Nov & Dec 2022), there’s so much to say, so I decided to attempt to sum everything up in an infographic!?(My very first ever infographic creation!)

A few people starting new community groups asked for some tips, and after some trial and error, I think the best formula I could put together is:

??Vision + ??Thoughtful Strategy + ??People Focus + ??Consistency + ??Organized Execution = ??Community Engagement!!

With that said, it really took a village to make it all happen…so I’d like to mention out some shout outs with some backstory:

??The idea of the “Fireside Chats” and “Day in the Life Series” was actually born after a poll within the FilipinX Force Linkedin group for ideas on ways we could learn together while also getting to know each other better. We took notes from the Military Trailblazer Office Hours format and I was truly inspired by Jade L. David Scott Nava Bill Kuehler and all they do to help the community. Special thanks to Lory Tibbetts, RN,BSN ?? , Jennifer Quintero , Jienelle Herndon, FNP-C and Leia Mendoza who helped me brainstorm in the beginning and Anthony Rodriguez ? and Lory who continually offered feedback and support throughout the year!

?? Shout out to Megan Tuano and Lory Tibbetts, RN,BSN ?? for encouraging me in Nov 2022 to run with the idea to invite Martin Gessner (Focus on Force Founder) as a very first “Fireside Chat” guest to join our small FilpinX Force Linkedin group to share his story and inspire us and for Sara Samonte for help in making it happen! One thing that Martin said that really resonated with me was “the desire to help people and consistency” was the driving factor that led Focus on Force to be successful and I think that mindset was the foundation with how I approached the 2023 Line Up! We also discovered that I needed more time for the swag prize giveaway ending.??? Here’s the link to the other takeaways from Martin in Nov 2022 here:? https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/nataliemean_filipinxforce-salesforceohana-focusonforce-activity-6996842501122793472-cs62/

??Shout out to Lory Tibbetts, RN,BSN ?? and Rey Mallari for volunteering to be our very first “Day in the Life” panel (Booz Allen Hamilton) that opened the invitation to the Healthcare Heroes Force, Space coast Salesforce Trailblazer Group, Melbourne FL and the Salesforce Professionals Discord Server groups as well as the Merivis Slack Community! It was informal and fun...and it helped me figure out how to actually better facilitate the meeting using Mentimeter and I had to figure out a better method for confirming swag prize winners with a growing audience (at first Lory’s spin the wheel was working well until more people showed up)! ??Here’s the link to the key takeaways from the Dec 2022 conversation here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/nataliemean_salesforce-ohana-healthcareheroesforce-activity-7012067933447208961-y_FZ

?? And I’m especially grateful to all the 2023 line-up panelists who volunteered to be vulnerable with us by sharing your struggles/horror stories/failures, what you were proud of, what advice you have for ??navigating challenges, what you liked best and least about working in your org, how you got your job, etc. It was also a great way to give??speaking opportunities to people that might not otherwise have had an opportunity and to ??amplify a diverse group of voices?that may not always be in the forefront. The wonderful part was 98% of the people I asked to participate said yes! (I didn't even get to ask everyone who I hoped to chat with!) So, ??HUGE SHOUTOUT to everyone who volunteered to be a panelist on the 2023 Line-up!

Pei Mun Lim Arianne Santos Blanca Leon-Carter, MBA, POPM, ITIL Leia Mendoza Katie Silorio Megan Tuano Courtney Van Rosendale Jodi Hrbek Gio C. George Esteller Brooke Iskra Dennison A. Joanah Maleen Gacuya Nicho Mangente Jemmy Padilla Danette S. Walter Bril Doug Contaoi Nicole G. Tony Nguyen Evan Decker Kat Aquino Greg Acierto John Kopelakis Beatrice Heidkamp, M.Ed Jade L. David Scott Nava Crystal Agbalog, RN Luisa Bolivar Amber Kulesza Jourdin LeGard-Jenkins, CSM Khesi Peterson Brenda Duenas Anita Jones Lory Tibbetts, RN,BSN ?? Giancarlo Berroya ?? Rafael Castillo, MD Larry Lee, CSM?, LSSGB Shea Perez Reggie Ramos Janeen Marquardt, MBA, PMP Paolo Sambrano Jenh Vo Celine Marielle Domingo Brian Gapud Anne Powell Anthony Rodriguez ? Joey Chan Jeanette Jett Jennifer W. Lee Gordon L. Oleh Mykytyn Kyle Battle Erwin Bautista Ryanthony Baronda Ronald Defeo Amos Go Glenda Ninan Ryan Ericson Canlas, SA, MAPM Sarah Epting Vanessa Grant Kyle Gause Steven Trumble Ike Wagh Cherrice Browne Guilda H. Tiffany Spencer ??

?? Since the FilipinX Force group is not a featured Trailblazer Community that gets official Salesforce benefits or resources like other local communities, MANY THANKS to the generous prize donations from Salesforce Discovery 101 books (thanks to Pei Mun Lim) ; Rock Your Role as a Salesforce Admin books (thanks to Jodi Hrbek); Talent Stacker | Salesforce Career Development Program (thanks to Anita Smith & Bradley Rice ); Clicked swag (thanks to Janeen Marquardt, MBA, PMP & Jeff Sample ); Hootie plushies (Thanks to Jeanette Jett ); The Salesforce Anchor program (thanks to Kyle Battle ); Technopath 's Nonprofit Cloud Study Guide (thanks to Sarah Epting ) ; $50 Amazon Gift Card (thanks to Kyle Gause ); Salesforce Certification Vouchers and Swag (thanks to Guilda H. ) and Scrum in a Box (thanks to Anita Jones )

?? Being a highly functional introvert, I didn’t really think about how much of a commitment and endeavor it would be to actually host a monthly event that we also decided to open up publicly so people could invite people in their network. Since some people have asked, here’s the list of tools I used to stay organized and to make it all happen:

?? Google Cloud

- Google Docs: to store templates for announcements/reminders; panelist research points; interview questions

- Google Sheets: Tracked registered participants to email for future events

- Google Contacts:? Used for email distribution list for reminders

- Gmail: Emailed reminders to registered participants from shared inbox

- Google Photos/Slides:? Organized all the images and swag winners pics

??Zoom (initially Google Meet - but it had time limitations) Special thanks to Anthony Rodriguez ? and Lory Tibbetts, RN,BSN ?? for sponsoring the web calls...MARAMING SALAMAT PO!!

??Canva - to create promotional flyers and infographic

??LinkedIn Events - to promote events that could easily be shared (Thank Lory Tibbetts, RN,BSN ?? for the idea!)

??Mentimeter - great tool I discovered from Pei Mun Lim ’s Salesforce BA Working Group to interactively engage participants. I always wanted to ask people how they were feeling if nobody asked them how they were feeling that day and to let people know we “see” them if they are feeling overwhelmed, anxious or just need a few words of encouragement!

??Printful & Etsy- I never was able to win the #Salesforce Trailblazer Hoodie or go to an event to win swag, so I thought it would be a fun idea to print some “limited edition” FilipinX Force swag that would cultivate a sense of belonging and capture the essence and “brand” of our community as well as draw people to want to participate. If you didn’t have the opportunity to win the swag, you can purchase FilipinX Force and Healthcare Force Heroes swag here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/IdentityImprints

Pictured swagalicious winners & representers: Giancarlo Berroya ?? (our very first winner!) Lory Tibbetts, RN,BSN ?? Jienelle Herndon, FNP-C Blanca Leon-Carter, MBA, POPM, ITIL Reggie Ramos Jennifer Quintero Amber Kulesza Erwin Bautista Van ? N. Megan Tuano Kendall Pidgeon Paulomi Patel Kat Aquino Crystal Belton Sheley Lee Shea Perez Tiana Scott, MAOM Jodi Hrbek Walter Bril Tony Nguyen Evan Decker Jade L. David Scott Nava Jeanette Jett Kyle Battle Gordon L. Vanessa Grant Anita Jones Larry Lee, CSM?, LSSGB Janeen Marquardt, MBA, PMP Anthony Rodriguez ? Oleh Mykytyn Glenda Ninan Steven Trumble Joey Chan Ryanthony Baronda Ronald Defeo Pankaj Shevkar, MBA Sharkie Kirby

??And last but not least...one of the primary reasons for the virtual meetings was to get to know each other better and connect with each other. Food is always a favorite topic in the FilipinX Force group, so it became a regular thing to bond over someone’s food, whether it was Spam, ube cheesecake or some weird and wonderful Asian snack (I’m still trying to find the tandoori peanuts in my city!) And the Zoom comments (which I didn’t always get to read) had a fire chat thread of it’s own especially with some of our funny commentary thanks to? Giancarlo Berroya ?? Lory Tibbetts, RN,BSN ?? , Reggie Ramos Van ? N. . Of course the obligatory group photo was taken as a fun intermission after “Chismis Time” (i.e., breaking news, hot topics, etc.) Much appreciation to the our resident snapshotters (Reggie Ramos, Vikki D. and Van ? N. )

??Finally, what would a community event be without attendees?! It was so nice to meet and see folks who were located near and far who chose to break away from “life” for 90 minutes to spend time with us to interact, listen, learn and have fun together! This truly felt like ohana to me.? Big thanks to those that shared the posts and reshared with their own personal commentary about the meetings. ?

WHEW!! My introvert self is ready to hibernate and regain some energy by deepening closer relationships with individuals and smaller groups, focusing on some personal development goals, and cheering you all from the sidelines in 2024!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR! ?? ????

#FilipinXForce #TrailblazerCommunity #ohana