Member Profile: Susan Evans
Susan Cope Evans
Website: http://www.officenomads.com
Member Since: The Start of Time
Type of Member: She wears the pants.
Tacked up to the wall by the phone booth, there are two large pieces of paper covered pen and pencils scribbles. Together the smattering of sentences and half thoughts are the foundations of Office Nomads. The headings are “Who We Are”, “What We Do”, and “What We Stand For”. Susan and Jacob put that together over two years ago and, following our 2nd Birthday Party, it’s still there and ringing true.
Susan spends her days at Office Nomads encouraging the space to grow into what she and Jacob had hoped it could become. Sitting there, she enjoys watching how ideas tossed out by members then get feedback from others, including diverse points of view from an urban planner, a couple of web designers, a publisher and others. “The way we view things is very different, unique. I don’t think I knew how powerful that could be or how rewarding.”
She set out to create a “platform on which a coworking community could grow” and can’t believe how well it has taken off, especially in the personal relationships people have grown. “I hoped we would all get along and members would like each other. I didn’t expect them to go to each other’s weddings and help each other move. “
“It just knocks me over sometimes,” Susan admits. “Holy crap! It’s buzzing way more than it used to. [The atmosphere] has gotten warmer.” From here she has her sights set on encouraging other coworking spaces in Seattle. She wants to help them get off the ground and be a support system for whomever is creating a new collaborative space, be it offices, kitchens, workshops, etc. “I want to see more of these spaces around the city. They are vital to urban sustainability, as far as I’m concerned.”