Portland Lindy Society

As always, building strong foundations between people and process begets flowering organizations 🔥 🌹 🔥

***Warning: Celebratory Post Below*** While the Portland Lindy Society (PLS) hosts weekly dances and live music for our local community, our flagship event every year is the Portland Lindy Exchange (PDXLX). First hosted in 1999, PDXLX is an entire weekend celebrating the vintage swing music and dances of the 20’s – 50’s, and draws dancers from across the U.S. as well as international swing communities. Looking over the data we collected from PDXLX 2024 last month, two numbers stand out to me: - We increased our event pass sales by 65% from 2023 📈 - 100% of our survey respondents have a desire to return next year 😍 As the Event Director for PDXLX since 2022, I know our event growth is in no small way fueled by our efforts to reflect and learn from each year. Not only do we survey our attendees for feedback, but we also host an internal retrospective process, allowing us to capture lessons learned and build better the following year. Staying open to feedback can certainly be challenging, but like dance, facing the music often yields the best results! BONUS: Check out the Breakfast Club featured in our group photo, consisting of those who were the last dancers standing in the wee hours of the morning 🤠

Change is HARD, but also REWARDING! When I took on the mantel of CEO for the Portland Lindy Society in May of 2023, I knew that my experience had the potential to help transform our non-profit into an institution that thrives. Little did I know that we would see the fruits of our labor materialize directly in our budget with an average monthly net revenue increase of 53.5% for 2023! How did we drive such a transformation? With project management methodologies in one hand and the Capability Maturity Model in the other, our focus continues to be internal resiliency that drives organizational growth. Namely, we're choosing to change in ways that make us: - Less reactive as an organization. - Data-driven, with decisions based on understanding performance and financial results.   - Dependent on consistent processes (and documentation) rather than individual heroes to save the day. Organizational maturation doesn't happen over night, but 2023 (and even Q1 of 2024) was a great example of how investing in your team and infrastructure can pay back in spades. I can't wait to see how we continue to grow the rest of the year!

Wondering what other ways I'm keeping my leadership and project management skills sharp during the job search journey? Check out my ongoing work with PDXLX for the Portland Lindy Society: In 2022 I became the Event Director for Portland's celebration of the vintage swing music and dances of the 20’s – 50’s, The Portland Lindy Exchange (PDXLX). We took a beloved local event dependent on its governing organization for funding, and designed an event charter that evolved this yearly swing mecca into a self-sustaining, must-attend fiesta! I'm excited to say that we have another exciting weekend in store for 2024, all centered around the amazing music and dance talent based right here in the Pacific Northwest. Once again I have a dedicated and passionate event committee helping make the magic happen, and I can't wait till we can release more details on the fun to come. In the meantime, I am still on that job search journey, looking to serve as an adaptable and results-driven leader within a growth-oriented company. Know of an open Project Management, Scrum Master, or related role in your network? Please DM me! I appreciate any leads :)