Volunteers: The Heartbeat of PDXWIT

I often find myself sharing the work we do here at PDXWIT with companies and organizations, and occasionally it comes up that we have three paid employees. Pretty consistently, I see the  jaw of the person I am talking to drop. How do we manage our programming and build community all while holding dozens of events each year? What I tell them every time is that this work is possible because we have over 100 highly engaged, skilled, committed, creative volunteers.

Volunteers who are building dedicated spaces

We have several affinity groups under the PDXWIT umbrella –– LGBTQ+ in Tech, Native Americans in Tech, Experienced Women in Tech, People with Disabilities in Tech, and our newest initiative: AAPI in Tech. These groups are the result of volunteers like Hazel, Crystal, Erin, Tracy, Claire, Katie, Zhou and Joe who had a vision and dedicated time to create these critical spaces. 

If you’ve visited our website, connected with career opportunities on our job board, or hopped into the PDXWIT slack, Ilana, our Director of Technology (or someone on the exceptional volunteer team she has built) was responsible for making that possible.

Volunteers who are uplifting the community

Ever read our member and volunteer stories, or caught an innovator spotlight during Happy Hour? We have Coretta, Elizabeth, Bree, Alexis, and our newest volunteer Sam to thank for those. 

Been matched with a mentor or mentee lately? That’s Deana and Cary working their magic.

Our bi-annual #InvestingInYou scholarship program is possible in part to volunteers like Rich who shared his vision, and volunteers like Melissa who help to keep it running.  

Did you know we have had over two hundred events in the last four years? Whether virtual or in person, we’ve leaned on volunteer support for each and every one of them. Not to mention (but let's mention!) our Speakers Bureau, who ensures that meaningful discussions and presentations are taking place at the tech companies we partner with. 

We even have a volunteer team dedicated to onboarding and matching new volunteers to roles. Thanks to Elisa and her team, our volunteers get connected with opportunities that are meaningful to them. 

Cheers to our content creators

If you’ve been tuning in to our Humanizing Tech Podcast, you have co-leads Anusha and Dharani to thank for that, in addition to half a dozen volunteers who are supporting production on the backend. 

From newsletters to blog posts, PDXWIT has a lot to say. Our copy editor Kristina pores over every word before it goes live, and Jess and Ashtyn hop in once it’s time for publishing. 

Speaking of blogs, have you ever written to Dear Witty for career or workplace support? Did you know those responses come from a super secret volunteer? I won’t reveal them but they know who they are. Thanks Witty. 

And our creative team! From single graphics to creative direction for months-long campaigns, we have a whole team of brilliant designers like Anna, Heather, Bree, Mika, Deborah and Linda lending their skills and expertise.

Teamwork makes the dream work 

Our staff team––Dawn, Isabel, and myself––work incredibly hard, and our volunteers make our work exponentially better and more impactful. There are so many more volunteers I didn’t mention, but each and every one of them plays a vital role in our organization––and that’s been consistent throughout our ten-year history. To the volunteers who are reading this: You are deeply appreciated, thank you.

If you’re not a volunteer with us and want to get in on the action, sign up and we’ll be in touch.

Elizabeth Stock has served as Executive Director of PDXWIT since May of 2018. Her work centers on disrupting problematic systems in the technology industry to shape an equitable future for everyone. Outside of her work at PDXWIT, she sits on the board of the Regional Arts and Culture Council. She is a mom to two young boys and has never met a dog or a tulip she didn’t instantly fall in love with. Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn.