What’s Next for Us… (part 2 of 3)
In December I wrote a piece about my new role with NCF, and working to build alliances around key causes in our city. That has been an amazing experience so far. But even then I was working on two other big projects/roles. I can finally share a bit about the second one.
When I stepped out of my role as Executive Director with the UNDERGROUND, I didn’t have a job lined up, or even a plan. Yet, in the weeks that followed that decision and a smooth exit plan, I found myself utterly at peace about my future. Early one morning, I set out on a long prayer walk to try and listen for God’s leading on what might be next. On that walk I felt a strong sense that I was supposed to wait, not hustle for the next thing. I was deeply touched by the Psalmist David’s comforting word, that God “delights in the well-being of his servant.” (Psalm 35:27)
Through no initiative of my own, within a week I was in conversations with the National Christian Foundation (a position of course, I would take) and a relatively new coworking company called COhatch. An Ohio based, mission driven company, COhatch was designing new kinds of shared work environments, ecosystems really; where community members, entrepreneurs, freelancers, start-ups, nonprofits, and larger companies could thrive. In talking with the owners and founder, hearing their vision to expand into markets (like Tampa Bay) throughout the US, my first thought was for the UNDERGROUND.
Coworking was a foundational concept for our network and while we have had one miracle after another in creating our hubs, the process has also been very time consuming, costly, and always temporary. Finding a business solution for new, cutting edge enterprises like the UNDERGROUND, was more than intriguing. The COhatch ethos, I would learn, is not just about creating beautiful and productive shared work environments, but about serving members, connecting people, and balancing work, family and well-being. Their multisite membership approach, their commitment to finding historic spaces and bringing them back to life, tailoring them to the unique vibe of each community, made working with them hard to resist. And as you can guess, I jumped on board.
I have agreed to take the role of market leader for COhatch in Tampa Bay (something I will start in earnest this summer) and I am thrilled about the first three sites to be rolled out this year, West Tampa, St. Petersburg and Lakeland. Here is a story about the St. Pete site.
Both NCF and COhatch have graciously agreed to allow me to split my time and find places of overlap and benefit to both communities. You will no doubt hear more about COhatch from me in the coming weeks, but as promised, I just wanted to share that news that I have been keeping to myself all this time.
