A Big Day

Today was a big day at work.

I feel... EXHAUSTED (I only slept 3 hours last night), shaky, void of energy, more ready for bed than I've ever been... But mostly, I feel... proud!

I was asked to speak on a panel (at-a-conference-where-VPOTUS-also-spoke-NDB!) on how to use online tactics to engage minority communities. I felt really proud (also humbled?) to be asked to speak, and I was surprised by how much fun I had presenting! 

It sort of took me back a little to my Visitors' Center days -- especially since we had to use a cordless microphone. I will never use a cordless mic again without remembering my VC Director, Elder Pedersen and how he would tell us over and over to either A- not fidget our hands while holding a mic (it makes the sound all wonky) or B- hold the mic to our chins and leave them there the whole time! Ahhhh, good times. :) 

Hopefully the folks in the workshop had fun, too. :)

with the other panelists (also, #BANGS!)

(photo from Elianne of #LATISM)

(The folks at the conference even SPELLED MY NAME RIGHT!! Accent mark and everything!)

Today, we also saw the fruits of a lot of hard work from our team. To make a long story short, I manage an issue campaign for my organization, for which I've launched a series of Google Hangouts to inform our audience about the Affordable Care Act. Normally, I moderate them, but today my boss did, because our guest for this Hangout was Secretary Sebelius of HHS. I honestly just could not have been prouder of this event and especially, of my team.

I can't stress enough how much I love and appreciate the people with whom I work. Whenever I feel like I'm about to fall apart, I know I won't, because my team has my back. When unexpected crises arise last minute, I know I won't be dealing with them alone. The work we do is often extremely stressful, but as long as we keep looking out for each other, we're always going to be just fine.

I had a surreal moment during the Hangout (I was in the studio during the filming) where I thought, "Holy moly, I can't believe this is actually happening!" The event was successful, and we got good press and social media coverage (we even had celebrities and Members of Congress tweeting about it!), and I really just can't say enough how proud I was of this event and of the work that we do to inform the community. The law is not perfect, but it affects everyone, and we do our very best to make sure we share information that is actually helpful -- and not fluffy. It was nice to see our hard work paying off in a very big way.

getting mic'd and prepped

LIVE!!

my boss is the most adorable pregnant lady :)

And that's all for tonight. Buenas noches! I'm off to bed...