For the first time, Radius CoWork is adding a kind of “community manager” to the team. Now, we’re not sure if the term “community manager” really makes sense. Communities, especially coworking communities, don’t really need a “manager,” they need a catalyst.

A coworking community is an assembly of professionals who come together with similar purposes but little prior knowledge of one another. Sure, the community manager gives them a tour, signs them up, and makes a key, but that’s a tiny fraction of what matters.

What a community manager really does is cruise the party, ask questions, and watch for what people need whether they tell you or not. A community manager should genuinely care about people, learn what there is to appreciate about each member, and grow in mutual trust.

Once they know the people, they become the catalyst of connections, the enabler of interests, and the spark of energy before turning things over to the members themselves. The community manager is the friend at the party who brought the beer you like, made the playlist of your favorite songs, and tells you, “Yeah! Sure! Let’s organize ping-pong bracket!” They provide the tools members need to thrive.

Of course, they do that for people who are trying to get work done, not party, so it’s more like, “Yeah! Sure! Let’s organize a lunch and learn about building a solid pitch-deck!”

For the first two years, the community managers of Radius were Bill Scholz and Sean Fedorko. They were there each day when the first member arrived and left after the last event. During the startup phase, Radius needed constant construction. We had to build the physical space and the business itself. But now the space and the business have a stable foundation; both will change and grow over time, but Radius doesn’t need two people working around the clock.

What Radius needs now is someone to focus entirely on the members. We’re happy to announce that Aubry Regan will be that community manager. Aubry has been a member of Radius for a year. She has worked on projects for TEDxErie, the Film Society of Northwestern PA, and the Erie County Historical Society. She is warm, witty, and an expert PR and social media manager. She is a listener, a learner, and a story teller. The primary role of a community manager is to understand people, connect them with one another, and tell the world about those people’s work. For that role, it’s hard to find a more natural fit than Aubry. We’re psyched as hell to have her.

So now when you book a tour or arrive for a meeting, Aubry will be there to say, “Hi!” If you’re a member and want to know how to connect to the printer, Aubry (or really any of the long-time members) will be able to help. You can find her around town or reach her at aubry@radiusco.work.

But what about Bill and Sean? They aren’t going far. Both will still be all over town as advocates for coworking and for the work being done by the Radius members. With the addition of a full-time community manager, both Bill and Sean will be going on to NEW projects. In fact, you can already read about Sean’s new chapter here. Bill will have a similar story to tell soon. Oh, they’ll still be working IN Radius, but now they won’t need to spend all their time working ON Radius.

So please join the coworking community in welcoming Aubry Regan to Radius as the new community manager, tummler, story teller, connector, and friend.

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Meet Aubry, the Community Builder