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Last week, I attended a beginner Joomla! training. As someone who doesn’t deal with Joomla! or Soapbox or much of the other projects that my colleagues do on a daily basis, this was a new experience for me. I learned how to add articles online, connect websites (such as Google and YouTube) to the training website using Joomla’s wrapper feature, and was even able to start the design of my own site online! I may not be a Joomla! wizard just yet, but I thought it was a great introduction to some of the cool stuff our PICnet team works on, and the information is invaluable to me better understanding Joomla and Soapbox. Thanks to PICnet and the NOVA JUG for making this happen! As the newest PICnetter, I am so grateful to be finishing this year working at a company that helps promote non-profits through technology. I have truly enjoyed working with everyone thus far and seeing how our team work really paid off. However, one of the things I’m most looking forward to next year is actually meeting the other PICnetters! Because we have two branches (one in DC and one in San Francisco) as well as employees in Rhode Island and Chicago, I have spoken many times with my fellow co-workers and seen pictures of them, but I have yet to meet them in person. Our annual retreat, to be held sometime next spring, should take care of this problem! Each year, our team gets together from our various cross-country destinations to discuss goals within PICnet, chat about life, and have some sightseeing fun in DC. I’m looking forward to helping plan and attend next year’s retreat to learn more about these PICnetters I’ve only heard via the phone or written via email. Perhaps that sounds dorky, but what can I say? I just love meeting people – especially people I feel I already know so well:) So many of our clients give back to their communities year-round, which we love. And we’ve shared some stories with you this year of our PICnetters giving back through service over the last few months, so it’s only fitting to give a little update on how our team is spreading the holiday spirit.
Although PICnet doesn’t have a direct role in giving back to the community, all of our employees feel a strong sense of sharing what we have with others who are less fortunate. At PICnet, we’re always looking for new talent, and right now we’re on a mission: adding another stellar Project Manager to our team to help deliver the high-quality service our non-profit, association, and congressional clients expect. We’re specifically looking for fun individuals from our non-profit sector with experience in the Web development process (Joomla experience is a huge plus). Our Non-Profit Soapbox platform is a Joomla-based content management system used by non-profits and socially responsible businesses to easily manage their Web communications. We’re looking to keep up with demand by adding the right project management talent to our team. Think you’ve got what it takes? Read on… If your holiday calendar isn’t full yet, we’ve got something to fill it with – PICnet is reinstating Soapbox Tuesdays, a monthly forum held at our offices for Joomla and Soapbox users. We’ll discuss the up and coming, answer your questions, brainstorm, and give feedback where needed. We’re excited to create a space where people can bring their lunch and their questions to chat about how technology is changing the non-profit world. As the year wraps up, it’s time to gear up for last minute changes to your Non-Profit Soapbox and Joomla Web sites. What better way to do this than by sharing some lessons learned with your fellow Non-Profit Soapbox and Joomla! users at PICnet! When: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 We hope to see you there! Click here for more details. This has been an incredible year at PICnet. I mean, if you’re going to take a wild ride, what better way to start it off than by having the US economy nearly collapse? I’ve been humbled by the dedicated work of our PICnetters, clients, and partners that made it possible for PICnet to weather these tough storms. So before we all take off to our Thanksgiving gatherings with friends and family, filling ourselves with turkey or tofu, I wanted to take an opportunity to share my thanks to those that have helped keep the PICnet flag flying high in 2009. Read more » This is the fifth post in our series about the PICnet Team’s volunteer efforts. Who: Project Manager Pradeep Suthram Pradeep has been working for PICnet for several years as a project manager, but still finds lots of time for his community, including his church, and even supporting charities his friends work for as well. But his main project hits close to home: for the last couple of years he has been volunteering for Friends of Prajwala, an organization that works to help victims of sexual trafficking and prostitution in India. As a a native of Hyderabad, India, Pradeep has found a way to help the people from his home country, and has even gotten support from multiple friends and family members. Through Friends of Prajwala, Pradeep has been leading a fundraising effort called The Rebuild Campaign to help build a new shelter near Hyderabad for 600 women and girls who are survivors of sexual assault and trafficking. Growing up, Pradeep witnessed a lot of poverty and wanted to do something about it – he says that trafficked women and girls are some of the most poor people in India, and therefore denied their rights. He has since built a website for The Rebuild Campaign, and helped to raise $16,000 so far through his friends and networks. Pradeep also assists the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA) with website development (using Joomla! of course) and he has helped to organize an international development career fair and hosted seminars on microfinance and technology related to international development. “UNA NCA has helped me to connect with a lot of like-minded ‘do-gooders,’ and learn about some really interesting issues,” says Pradeep. This is the third post in our series about the PICnet Team’s volunteer efforts. Who: Office Manager Julie Dennis
How did Julie get involved with Community Bridges? She had been looking for an organization that empowers women and girls, and after attending a development conference in November of 2008, she approached the Executive Deputy Director about volunteer opportunities and was put to “work” in January 2009. Julie says,”I really like helping these young ladies figure out how to deal with the hardships that they might encounter in 8th grade and especially on through high school. It is great to have a support system of people who care for you, and I think that these mentees know that Community Bridges is there to do just that.” One of Julie’s favorite projects through Community Bridges so far was a Saturday yoga session they held during a unit on positive body image. “It was really cool because we were taught something that we could do to help our bodies (and minds), and it was also a great bonding experience for the mentors and their mentees.” Julie is a mentor once again this semester for a young girl, and she’s looking forward to the special events and activities and spending time with fellow mentors and their mentees. Learn more about Community Bridges. This is the second post in our series about the PICnet Team’s volunteer efforts. Jamie Ozimek contributed to this post. Who: Project Manager Katie Guernsey
At AFTA, Katie serves as a member on the Emerging Leaders Council, and the chair of the Technology and Communications Committee. As a Councilmember, she helps inform the direction that AFTA takes in supporting arts administrators who identify themselves to be “emerging” in their career on a national level. What exactly does that mean? According to Katie, AFTA’s definition of an “Emerging Leader” is someone under 35 years old, or in the field less than five years, but depending on the person, these guidelines can change a little. The Emerging Leaders Council devises programming, networking, and professional development opportunities for their peers under the guise of AFTA’s infrastructure. On a local level, Katie helps to coordinate professional networking opportunities such as the “Creative Conversations.” Some of Katie’s specific duties include maintaining AFTA’s Google Group and overseeing the strategy of how to best serve their constituency through online technologies. This year, she facilitated one of the Emerging Leader Networking Sessions at the Annual Convention. Jamie Ozimek contributed to this blog post. Today marks the first dedicated National Day of Service and Remembrance, on the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. We though it fitting to start our PICnet Volunteer Series today. Every few weeks, we’ll be featuring another PICnet Team Member and his or her service efforts. To read more President Obama’s call for service and the introduction to this series, click here.
When he’s not helping to develop websites for PICnet clients, Kevin takes even more hours out of his day (and night) to volunteer with the Joomla project, as a member of their Development Team. Currently, he is on their Joomla Bug Squad as the co-maintainer of the current release series. To break it down for you, Kevin tests for bugs reported by the community, writes patches, and reviews and commits patches added to the releases. He also serves as a member of the Joomla Security Team, for which he tests for security vulnerabilities in new releases of the open-source CMS and adds the appropriate patches. |
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Julie has only been working as a PICnetter for a few months now, but she has been volunteering since early this year to middle-school girls develop lifeskills through Maryland-based 
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