From the Laptop of the Executive Director
As the first week of 2010 draws to a close, it’s bittersweet to reflect on the year behind us and the future ahead.
The entire ISIS team is currently immersed in getting ready for Sex::Tech 2010 in San Francisco on February 26th-27th. If you haven’t seen the program yet, it’s up at www.sextech.org. We are proud to have sponsors such as the National Institutes of Mental Health and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies.
As a lead-up to the conference, we are partnering with MTV, Funny or Die! and SayNow to host another awesome contest – that includes a premiere video created by Funny or Die! on the first day of Sex::Tech. Keep your eyes on www.SayWhatContest.org, launching January 18th.
ISIS staff were rockstars in 2009, speaking at national conferences such as CDC HIV Prevention, CDC Health Communications, and the National Coalition of STD Directors. I personally had opportunity to go to the White House, visit with President Obama’s new CIO Vivek Kundra in San Francisco, and spend two weeks in Maine as a Pop!Tech Social Innovations Fellow. I also went to China for two weeks as a guest of the Chinese Government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to train NGOs and government workers in effective use of the Internet and mobile technology in HIV prevention efforts.
We are finishing up our Taproot Foundation grant, with two environmental scans and a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) under our belt. The awesome Taproot team has helped to provide direction for ISIS’ continued growth and expansion in 2010.
As an outgrowth of our work with Taproot, Sheoran and I submitted a draft business plan to the Social Impact Exchange for their competition to take successful innovation to scale. [The Social Impact Exchange is part of the Growth Philanthropy Network.] Wish us luck! We will find out on February 15th whether we’re invited to the next stage.
This letter wouldn’t be complete without an acknowledgement that we are losing one of our long-time staff members, Andrew Woodruff, who has given notice in order to take his career in a new direction. Andy started at ISIS three and a half years ago as a Public Health Associate and has grown to be a Program Manager with purpose. Andy has been responsible for developing many of our successful relationships with health departments across the nation, and we will miss his mellow manor and love of Lemon Drops, and his many contributions to the ISIS team. Please join me in wishing Andy the best in his new endeavors.
That’s all for now. See you in February at Sex::Tech.
Best, Deb
