FirstEnergy’s Post

Being laid off twice in fifteen months wasn't on my bingo card, and yet, that's the way the things have played out. Yesterday, myself and 25% of SunPower Solar's workforce were impacted by a reduction in force due to the winding down of their residential home solar installation business, of which I have been supporting operations for the previous twelve months. My heart breaks for my friends and colleagues that were impacted, as the uncertainty that bloomed in our lives yesterday is REAL and there is no way around a lay-off than through it. So where do we look for faith? That it will work out - because it has to, right? The past three years, I have found hope and solid ground within my garden. 90% of what happens there starts from a single seed, sown in dark, damp soil, with only the promise of light and water and daily attention to get to a fruitful harvest. So I offer this to anyone impacted by a lay-off: plant your seeds. Plant them in your network and in your window sill. Believe that you can again grow something from nothing. Every day, come back to them and yourself, and say that you can do this. Because you can, because you will. Friends, colleagues, mentors, if you've read this far, thank you. If you're hiring or know someone who is, I'd love the opportunity to chat. I'm organized, energetic, analytical and a direct communicator; I am a hardy, unique varietal searching for new soil. XO, Ruthie P.S. if you want to support my creative writing endeavors during this time, please visit my website, www.ruthhawley.com, and subscribe to my weekly newsletter. It's delicious. And a quick read. And subscriber counts really do matter when I'm pitching myself and my work. Thank you <3

Never underestimate the power of intentional connections. How many networking events do you go to? How many networking events make you feel truly energized and genuinely connected to others? Do you leave events feeling your cup is full and you have poured into others? Not always? Me neither. Not every networking opportunity fills your cup, and that’s ok. Many are productive and create the opportunity for a business introduction. But that’s not the case when I attend each Intentional Connections event. It’s unique. It’s introspective. It’s beyond business connections. It’s about supporting others and creating real connections and meaningful relationships. It’s an opportunity to be your authentic self alongside other genuine women in the professional community. I’m energized to continue to build on the real and supportive connections that these events have facilitated. Shout out to Molly Lopez, MS, CAE and Lisa Behrends, MA for having the vision and dedication to create a networking event to empower professionals in Iowa (and expanding!) with #IntentionalConnections in Des Moines.

Systems change can originate from strategic planning, systems thinking, and design. However, societal shifts only happen through the hard work of many teams across a system. I'm grateful for the many teams in Hawaii working together to face challenges head on.  Our purpose connects us and drives our collaboration.  Together we work towards equity. Together we work towards justice. #EmploymentFirst 

Check out how we’re fulfilling our commitment to #careergrowthandlearning, #socialimpact, and #diversityequityandinclusion.

We’re so happy that many of you are engaging with our Sustainers Program! Your cooperation is truly meaningful to us. 🌟 NPA is proud to facilitate connections among members from various news organizations globally, fostering knowledge exchange, preventing isolation, and helping to retain precious talent in the media industry. By becoming an NPA Sustainer, you can support our efforts and allow us to offer more resources! 💬 That is a way of showing back some love - just like a community member did when answering the survey we are running: “Before NPA, I didn’t have words to describe my role. Now I better understand how to “bridge” stakeholders and the importance of “product” in our transformation work. It sounds silly, but the idea of “product” in a news environment didn’t exist in my head until joining NPA. The organization clarified many things.” We’re committed to maintaining an inclusive community for diverse representation in the news product field and rely on your support to keep bringing this vision to life. 👉 Join as an NPA Sustainer! 

🎉I've been featured in the CLI Fall Magazine!🎉 I was waiting for an opportunity to share OpenExO approach to communities, and indeed I got this chance 😎 My article talks about Community & Crowd as an Exponential Organization attribute for growth of modern business. It’s time to re-think the way we structure communities and explore new models of engagement for different levels of involvement into the business growth and development. Communities are not linear anymore and are not based only on customers. Instead, they are made of people who play various roles in a company as well as outside of it. As we navigate the digital age, understanding the evolving role of community and integrating the attributes of Exponential Organizations will be pivotal in staying ahead of the curve and fostering meaningful connections with stakeholders. Transforming your community through these invaluable insights will not only elevate your business but also create a lasting impact on the lives of those you serve. 💻You can download the magazine at mycli.co through MyCLI account. 🤝 A big thank you from my heart to those who believed (and still believe!) in me and gave me a possibility to apply my knowledge about community: Fabrizio Gramuglio, Debora Barg, Katrina Montinola, Hans Christian Smith, Stefano Benatti, Jason Perry, Pam Jefferies, Elissa El Hajji, Daria Albrecht, Cerstin Hannestad #howtocommunity #community #communitybuilding #exponentialorganizations #exo #communityandcrowd #businessgrowth #people #CLIXFallMagazine #modernbusiness #communitymanagement

It's Monday, and its time for another #MemberSpotlight! Meet Steven Stransky, AICP, Disaster Recovery Team Lead with the Iowa Economic Development Authority! What's your favorite part of your job? The favorite part of my job is seeing the impact of our work. It takes a lot of meetings, monitorings, reading regulations over and over again, etc., but being able to visit Iowa communities and see the finished product and impact of a new affordable housing development, infrastructure project, etc., it makes it feel more than worth it. Why did you get involved with The Loop DSM? To meet more like-minded professionals and get more involved in the Des Moines community Who is a Des Moines Business person you admire? I am not too familiar with Des Moines business figures at this time, but look forward to becoming so. What's a common millennial misconception you don't believe? I don't believe in "fake it until you make it". I believe you should take the time to become as prepared for your job as you can and not hesitate to ask questions of those who can help you figure it out. Thanks for being a great member of The Loop DSM, Steven! We're happy to have you! #Getintheloop #Networking #Youngprofessionals 

I love helping amazing people do amazing things! In my work with the JCC of Greater Baltimore and the JLife programs, we were focused on evaluation, but first... We started with why -- why this work? We articulate our goals -- what, exactly, are we trying to do? We thought about indicators -- how would be know if we were accomplishing goals? We considered strategies -- what were we going to do to accomplish those goals? And then we thought about the evaluation process. Before thinking about measuring what we're doing, we need to think about what, exactly, we are doing and why. What are we trying to accomplish and why? Only then can we really understand what we're doing well and where we may need to improve. In the end, JLife had an amazing first year, putting on engaging programming that connected their community to each other and to Judaism, and I am excited to see how they take the data we collected to make next year even better! Want to think about what you're doing in a different way? Need a thought-partner to process where you are and where you're going and where you want to be with your organization? I can help! Let's chat! #results #process #sarahrubinsoncc

At Menlo, our values are not just words. They permeate everything we do for our employees, clients, suppliers and the broader community. 🌟   🤝 Synergy, Versatility, Desire, Responsibility, Care - these values are the building blocks of our culture and the driving force behind our progress.   🏆 Why are these values so important to us? With our team consisting of 150 professionals from 30 nations, we need a common foundation to be able to meet the needs of our employees, clients, suppliers and the community regardless of the location.   👥 We want every person working at and with Menlo Electric to experience these values, both in our daily work and beyond. This is what binds us and helps us build a true community.   🚀 As we progress, these values will continue to be our guiding light, helping us attract and develop great people, overcome challenges and achieve progress.   🌍 These values were defined by our employees through a series of questionnaires, team discussions and final workshop that took place during our recent getaway in Georgia. Take a look at the pictures below to see how we worked on them – by living them at the same time! #MenloValues #CompanyCulture #Synergy #Versatility #Desire #Responsibility #Care

Our audience is driving bigger conversations with great thought-provoking questions during these panels! We appreciate our attendees participating and speaking up on these important topics. #BostonPolicyForum #C2CImpactEngine #NortheasternUniversity #SummerJobs #CreativeCareers #ClimateJobs #STEMCareers