
Please introduce yourself (name, location, family, hobbies)
My name is Adele and I live in San Francisco with my husband, dog, and cat. I'm from Minnesota originally but have lived in the Bay Area for around 4-5 years now. In my spare time you'll find me watching nature shows on Netflix, checking out cool local bars, or exploring the city by cable car (my favorite method of transportation!).
What do you do for OrgOrg?
I manage the OrgOrg Job Board and work on the membership team.
What Inspired you to volunteer with OrgOrg?
I first learned about OrgOrg through Kim Rohrer (cofounder of OrgOrg). I was looking to leave higher education/student affairs and she suggested I consider Office Management (shout out to Kim for getting me into this field!). With her guidance, I joined OrgOrg to learn from other awesome folks in people-oriented tech roles and to get a better understanding of the landscape. I was immediately drawn to volunteer to get even more exposure in the field and network with more experienced members; all with the hope of eventually supporting other people who were new to the tech/operations space.
What projects have you worked on for OrgOrg?
While I was living in Minneapolis I was the Twin Cities Chapter Head. Currently I am the Job Board Admin and I help on the membership team.
What is your day job?
Office Manager at Y Combinator
How did you get to where you are today?
By being flexible, willing to learn/do anything, and OrgOrg! Those three are office manager must-haves and have really helped me in my startup career. Through OrgOrg I have been able to meet so many awesome people who have inspired me and is also how I found the job I am currently at.
What is your typical day like?
No one day is the same but during parts of the day you can find me putting out fires as they come up (overbooked conference rooms, monitors not working, etc), restocking snacks and drinks in the kitchen, preparing for upcoming events, driving to Mountain View to help out our other office, and everything in between. For those step-trackers out there, I average around 8,000 steps just during the work day so I'm constantly running around doing whatever needs to get done in the office :)
Anything fun or interesting you’ve worked on?
The Job Board is a fun project and was new when I started on it about a year ago. It has been really great owning this part of OrgOrg and being able to see its adoption among members.
At my previous position I did an office move for our staff of 100. That was the most fun I’ve had working on a project. It involved everything from IT to furniture to facilities and was a huge highlight in my career. I can’t wait until my current company wants to move offices!
If a high schooler or new grad walked up to you asking for your advice and you only had a few minutes to give ‘em your best tips, what would it be?
Have the mentality that no job is beneath you. There will be times when you will be asked to clean up a mess that someone else made and sometimes you just have to take care of it no matter who you are. Having that mentality will also present opportunities to learn new things which will make you invaluable.
One more: don't let people get ya down! There's always going to be someone you work with who is difficult. Try not to let those people affect you and you will be so much happier in life :)