Trevor Smith

http://trevor.smith.name

Member Since: April 2009

Type of Member: Resident

Trevor’s work is about helping creative individuals realize their visions.  “In general, I help people who have ideas about doing something interesting with technology.”  Sometimes that means working with an artist or with a biologist.  They all find Trevor to help them manage software development, helping find material for fabrication, etc.  “These people always have 4000 more ideas that they can’t do and that is where I fit in.”

One such project is to do the software infrastructure for a robot that will be installed in the San José Airport.  The robot will be able to react to the people, lights, the flights landing and many other factors surrounding it.  He is also building software for an installation that will be pillars covered in LEDs and his software will make the patterns in the lights.  Trevor has been a part of a diverse range of projects and his website does a great job a cataloguing them, from the robot to the websites.

Trevor is a one-man operation based in Office Nomads. Here he pours his creative energy into his projects without the distractions he found while working from home. “Raw productivity almost doubled when I came here.”  He sticks around until his daughter’s school, which is only down the street, let’s out and then they grab the bus to the door of his house.  At home he finds that he doesn’t have his own art because, he says,” All my creativity goes into helping other people solve their problems.”  He does, though, have the time to train for a half marathon he will be doing in January.  Trevor’s sister has challenged him to the Key West half marathon and, turns out, Trevor is willing to get competitive if it’s an excuse to go to Key West in January.   The Nomads will be rooting for him.

George Divoky

Website: http://www.cooperisland.org

http://blogs.discovery.com/cooper-island/

Member Since: April 2009

Type of Member: Regular

In 1975 George started going to the northern end of the Americas to study black guillemots, an arctic seabird.  The study initially began after discovering some of their nests on Cooper Island which was a rare setting for these cavity nesters.  Excited by the find, he began spending his summers studying the birds with a focus on their breeding.  As the study continued over the years it became apparent that the habits of the birds were changing and this was happening as a result of climate change.  What used to be 200 fledglings a year is dwindling to single digits as food becomes scarce and other animals move onto Cooper looking for food and impacting guillemot eggs and chicks.  The black guillemot population is hurt most by either becoming dinner for polar bears, or getting pushed aside by encroaching puffins.  George shakes his head, “The birds are trying to raise their young.  They did it in the past, the climate is changing, and now they can’t.”  Sadly, these seabirds have become a clear indicator of climate change and as it gets worse for them, “things are getting worse and worse globally”.

George’s summers are spent tallying, weighing and compiling other necessary data.  When he returns to Seattle he comes back to us at Office Nomads where he analyzes the data, does outreach regarding climate change and works to acquire funding for his research and NGO.  After being alone for 3 months, a home office with nobody else around is incredibly unappealing.  He finds calm when surrounded by other people.  “An extended period of isolation does not give you mental peace,” George said. “It makes you uncomfortable.”  At Office Nomads George has the opportunity to be part of the constantly buzzing community here and find the inner calm he misses on the island.

George can easily snag the title of “Coolest Nomad”.  His stories of island life and of his work are rather fascinating, so much so that Darcy Frey wrote a cover story in New York Times Magazine about him.  David Letterman found him just as awesome and had George on his show to talk.  And anyone who can recommend headphones and at the same talk about chasing off polar bears with a shot gun is cooler than just about everyone else in the room.

It seems to be a hot week for community input here in Seattle.  Throughout the week, we’ve seen community input being gathered at venues such as design review sessions on Capitol Hill, the open-source transition process for Mayor-Elect Mike McGinn, and even here at Office Nomads with Tuesday’s “State of the Nomads” meeting.

What each of these opportunities provides is a chance for members of a community to weigh in and help guide the direction of the community they are a part of.  As opposed to more traditional business models which try to anticipate the needs or desires of a market, community input enables a business, a nonprofit, a governmental body, or any other organization to truly map their offerings to what the community desires.

This was the second time we held a State of the Nomads gathering at Office Nomads, and it was another success for our community.  Members had a chance to hear how Office Nomads was doing as a business, what initiatives we were currently working on, and then weigh in their opinions and concerns on all aspects of Nomadic life.  This is a critical aspect to how we want Office Nomads to continue growing and thriving – with the community instead of in front of it.

Community input is more than just watching activity on a blog or a Facebook page.  It requires time.  Patience.  Solid listening skills. It is, as Tara Hunt would say, about turning the bullhorn around.  Community input is the cornerstone of building anything that is meant to serve a community need.  Whether for a building, a service, or an entire government office, community input allows for the voices of the community to be heard.  But as Steve, one of our Office Nomads members said at State of the Nomads, “you have to participate in what is made available to you.” Couldn’t have said it better myself, Steve.

So get out there in your community and start letting your voice be heard.  You might be surprised at how receptive those your speaking to are to your needs.

(Thanks to Flickr User Audin for providing this photo “Holy Feedback!” as part of the Creative Commons license.)

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 2^nd 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.”

Mike Jones

Website: http://www.morganclaypool.com/

Member Since: January 2008

Type of Member: Resident

Mike Jones is another one of Office Nomads’ world travelers though he’s not from out of the country, he just seems to go there quite a lot. Mike works for Morgan & Claypool Publishers as Director of Marketing. According to him, that means he travels the world charming the pants off librarians. In fact, he sent us the biographical details we used to write this while sitting in a convention hall filled with 1,000 librarians. How he kept his mind on his email in such a place we will never know.

Mike spent three years working out of his kitchen before he discovered Office Nomads. It was not a good experience.”No one should have to work from my kitchen,” he says. “Nobody ever goes in there, there’s no food, I don’t cook, etc. In fact I think President Obama has strictly forbidden working from my kitchen.” Now, he says, he can’t imagine working anywhere other than Office Nomads. Not even the library.

After working in out of his decidedly depressing sounding kitchen, it’s no surprise that Mike settled himself squarely into the center of the main room. It’s a perfect vantage point for Mike, giving him ample access to procrastinating conversations with Jacob, opportunities to tease Nomad Suzi about her diet and to toss various objects at Erik, Robyn and whomever else presents themselves. A word to the wise: Mike is a sharpshooter with the Nerf projectiles, so be on the lookout.

Chris Haddad

Website: http://haddadink.com/

Member Since: December 2007

Type of Member: Resident

Chris Haddad –aka Number 1 — is Office Nomads’ first resident member. Back when Jacob and Susan first opened the office, it was only a matter of days before Chris signed the paperwork and was setting up his unique adjustable-height desk that allowed him to stand while working. He’s been running his direct-response copy writing business, Moneyfingers, Inc. (“Yes, it’s a funny name. But I love it.”) from various spots around the office ever since. He’s also taken on the task of firing Charlie daily; even though he never hired Charlie in the first place, it’s a task he excels at.

Chris first came to work at Office Nomads because like many of us, he grew tired of never *not* being at work. “I’d been working from home for about 4 years and was going nutso futso,” he says. “The walls closed in. I didn’t shave for weeks. I stopped wearing pants.” If you know Chris, this was not a good scene.

We were definitely interested to hear what Chris’ favorite seat in the office might be, since he’s moved his desk around more than any other member. He’s gone from the main room to “The Alley” and finally into “The Green Room” in search of a spot where he can spread out to his heart’s content without driving Susan mad. He seems to love it back there. Never satisfied to be in one place for too long though, Chris has been getting a lot of his work done on the leather couch of late, which he has taken to referring to as “the couch of productivity.”

Robyn Welch

Website: http://www.burgis.com/

Member Since: August 2008

Type of Member: Resident

When Robyn moved to Seattle a year and a half ago, she was trying to get a handle on the whole telecommuting thing.  She had moved from New York where she had worked for four years as an urban planner with Burgis Associates.  She had thought that the move across the country would be an end to that but Burgis loved her so much that they wanted her to try telecommuting for the New Jersey-based business.  As luck would have it, she saw a sign pointing her towards Office Nomads and has not left us since.

As an urban planner, Robyn works with private firms and municipalities that are too small to have their own department for planning.  “Basically, we write master plans and development ordinances to implement the plans.”  Projects include affordable housing, open spaces, historic preservation plans, and much more.  Her projects have been known to keep her here until 11:30 PM, which is what prompted her to become a resident here at Office Nomads.

Robyn is a great, positive addition in the space.  When not working, she is usually laughing with one of the other folks sitting near her. “I was so isolated when I never left the house.  I come here and everyone is great.  I’ve made great friends.  Office Nomads has given me a good social network,” she says with a smile.  It also gives her the opportunity to live vicariously through the pet owners in the space.  With Cortez the Killer across the way and fellow nomadic pooches Chuey and Sadie taking turns sitting to her left, Robyn gets a regular quota of quality dog time. Whether it’s the people or the dogs keeping her here, Office Nomads is incredibly lucky to have Robyn on board – not only does her laughter light up the space, but her welcoming attitude has made others feel at home here on their first days as Nomads.

Justin Bell

Website: http://www.new-edge.com/

Member Since: January 2009

Type of Member: Resident

Justin has a fantastic business card.  It opens up and has a great, clean design to it.  The one thing, though, is that there is no title with his name.  “There are no titles for a reason,” he says, “My job title depends on what day it is.”

Justin works for New Edge + The Brewery in marketing strategy.  Some days he is a strategist or a project manager, other days maybe a client director.  Justin’s work has him working with mostly Fortune 500 companies who are seeking some help.  “They come to us and say, ‘We know innovation needs to be a focus but we don’t know where to focus our innovation strategy’ or ‘We have this technology or opportunity and we need to find a market for it.’”

Justin had a big suite in Bellevue where there were multiple conference rooms and offices, just no other people there but himself. When New Edge + The Brewery realized they no longer needed a suite for their one-man Seattle operation, Justin was left looking for an office space where he could complete his projects when a friend pointed him in the direction of Office Nomads.  Now he loves it.  “A stuffy office with no interaction is very one-dimensional,” he said.  “The physical space here gives me figurative freedom.”

He is a constant fixture in Office Nomads as the Seattle office of New Edge + The Brewery, adding to the Richland, WA-based business which also has a London office.  When he leaves us in the evening, he goes home to relish in the life as a new dad. His ride back to ON in the mornings is a pretty awesome Discovery Channel Team Trek.  He is probably the most active Nomad with multiple triathlons and two Ironmen under his belt.  We all mention 5Ks we are thinking of doing, while he has his sights set on a Half Ironman in the spring.  Go Justin!

Exciting times here at Office Nomads!  After two years of being open (hooray!), Jacob and I are excited to announce that we have two kickin’ new employees at the office: Eric Von Blon, master of operations, and Alexandra Kruse, community cultivator extraordinaire.

Eric has been at Office Nomads since Day 1.  There are about a million stories we could tell about Eric’s time here, but perhaps the most poignant was the day he lost his job.  At about 4:45 on a Friday at the end of a month, he got the dreaded phone call.  His full-time telecommuting job that enabled him to work at Office Nomads was no longer.  No two week notice, no exit plan, just no more job.  Eric looked up from his desk and shared the news with the other Nomads.  Their response?  Drop their work, head out the door with Eric and get some much-needed beers.  Since then, the community has pitched in and provided Eric with enough part-time work to keep him at the office.  This is the power of community.  Eric has now happily stepped up to be the Office Manager at ON, with responsibilities including opening the space, keeping us stocked on supplies, updating member info, and helping us out with critical infrastructure issues.  Not only is Eric reliable, creative, and energetic as a worker, he’s a boatload of fun to be around, which makes him a great fit for the space. WIN!

Alexandra has been a longtime friend of Office Nomads, coming to many open houses and other events in the space.  Alexandra is a community-builder.  She can’t help it.  In her past work, she strengthened key programs at high schools, tutored math, and hosted after-school events to encourage student and parent engagement.  Alexandra took on the challenge of becoming Office Nomads’ first-ever Community Cultivator, with her job’s goal being making member life here at the office even better.  She makes it a point to get to know each member so she can carve out specific events that speak straight to members, or even just foster helpful conversations between members who may not have known one another.  It’s a unique job description, and Alexandra takes to it like a fish to water.  Within her first month here at the office, she’d already worked on building a member wall, hosted a new member lunch, and planned out a fall family night for our members with little-’uns. When she’s not hard at work on member life here at ON, she’s usually found geeking around with her many bikes, telling jokes, and babysitting for some very lucky Seattle families.  Oh, and going to school in preparation to fulfill her career dreams of being a math teacher.  Phew!  We are incredibly lucky to have her on board. DOUBLE WIN!

Jacob and I consider this a huge step in Office Nomads’ growth.  We want to ensure that this space is set up to run smoothly for years and years to come. By hiring on new additions to our team, we have been forced to start actually writing things down like procedures and ideas that have been bouncing around in our heads for the first two years.  So the value is twofold: we have an incredible team to help us make Office Nomads an even better coworking space, AND we are able to grow our business to the next level by mapping out key parts of the space that haven’t been captured before.

Eric and Alexandra, we are incredibly humbled and appreciative of your time and efforts here at the office.  You guys are rockstars!

Paul Pham

Website: http://pulse-programmer.org/

Member Since: June 2009

Type of Member: Resident

Paul Pham is an inventor.  How cool is that?  He might just say that he is an electronics designer but then he will explain his job and it’s clear that he is an inventor, like we all dreamed we wanted to be at some point.  Paul designs electronics for scientific instrumentation, like physics experimentation.  This is something that grew out of his graduate school work and has taken off to be his full-time job.  At his desk in the Green Room here at Office Nomads he adjusts his designs per requests of clients from as far off as Germany.

Paul is a huge fan of shared spaces like Office Nomads.  He had been working in his apartment and in coffee shops but he found that isolating and discouraging.  Now he has his hand in two shared spaces, here at Office Nomads and at a workshop space in SoDo.  In the workshop is where he solders together his pulse programmers.  We get him most of the time, luckily, when he has put down the soldering gun and is tapping at his keyboard. “I left Amazon to work here full time.  It has helped me focus on this project, which I’ve been working on for a while.  I thought I should get serious about it and now it can be my main focus and this space lets me concentrate on it.”

Paul is a constant and positive presence in the space.  Whenever there’s a Brown Bag Lunch or any events with the Nomads gathering, he is sure to be found.  He wows us with his brightly colored hair and willingness to help out.  If he’s not at his desk, he can be found mingling around.  “I enjoy going around and seeing what other people are working on.  We’ll have game nights sometimes.  Last week three of us went out and saw a movie during the day.  If you can’t watch a movie in the middle of the day, why be your own boss?”  Excellent question.