Greetings fellow Communities Collaborating for Impact (aka CCI) members!

My name is Kirsti Piirtoniemi and I am the new Community Animator (online facilitator) for this website. I began working with Tamarack in September 2013 and have been learning a lot over the past couple of months - particularly about this unique group we call CCI! Since I’ll be assisting you on your online learning journey going forward, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about myself, share some interesting facts about the CCI community, and give you some tips on how to get the most out of this website.

About Me:
 

• In 2011, I completed a Master’s degree in Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability in Karlskrona, Sweden.  Prior to that, I completed a BA in Collaborative International Development Studies with an emphasis on Gender and post-graduate studies in International Project Management.

• Though I was born in Canada, my last name is Finnish and rather unique. Instead of hyphenating their last names when they got married, my parents decided to put Piirto and Niemi together to create Piirtoniemi. The meaning in English is something like “marker on the peninsula”. The way to pronunce it is “Peer-Toe-Nee-Me”.

• What brings me to this work? My deepest desire is to live in a world where people live in connection with one another and our basic needs are met without causing systematic degradation to the ecological systems that support us.  I think the key ingredients in moving towards this vision are authentic dialogue, education, social ingenuity and innovation, systems change and collaborative leadership.  

What does your vision for humanity look like?

Some interesting facts about the CCI community:
 

• This online community is currently comprised of 875 members who work in a wide variety of sectors across North America and internationally. We gain new members every week and the majority come from the non-profit and municipal worlds. Chances are that if you have a question about your work, there’s someone in this community who can offer great feedback or advice and someone who has a similar question they want answered. Post your questions freely and as often as you’d like in a community post or in a group so that others may engage and learn from it as well.

• The common interest that binds the CCI membership together is the united desire to change the world: one community at a time. Through engaging with each other on this site, we can learn with and from one another about how to address complex community issues and create positive change. This is the key to deepen our learning about ourselves, others, and the work of collaboration and change within communities.  

• This site offers 500+ resources in the form of articles, reports, guidebooks, podcasts, audio seminars, videos, blog posts, links and slideshows. The membership to the site has nearly doubled since December 2012, and this past year the site received over 52,000 page views. On average, about 55% of the site’s monthly visitors are brand new, and our most viewed posts/blog entries usually reach upwards of 300 visitors in the first month they are published.

• Soon, we’ll introduce you to a handful of Tamarack Thought-Leaders who will be referenced regularly in this online space. Their blogs, comments, profiles, and audio seminars are meant to further stimulate your learning. However, please keep in mind that your ideas and contributions to this space are just as essential in generating the rich diversity of perspectives needed to distill experiences into wisdom. In short: always know that your community posts, questions, comments and other contributions are welcome additions to the site. 

How to make the most of this website:
 

• Begin by joining the site and creating a profile. When you join the community you should receive an email from admin(at)tamarackcommunity.ca prompting you to confirm your account activation. If you don’t see this in your inbox, make sure to check your junk or spam folder. When your account is activated, you can log in and begin building your profile. Make sure to include a photo and as much information in the bio section as you are comfortable sharing.
  

Tip: the more the community knows about you, the more likely they are to engage with you and this cultivates the relationship that is necessary for authentic dialogue to transpire.

• Know that when you sign up a member, you have the opportunity to help shape this dynamic learning community. The purpose of this is site is to cultivate a mutually-supportive community of practice and the success of the site ultimately depends on how much energy and creativity our members put into it. We want to hear about your dreams and the triumphs, challenges, and processes that you have experienced while trying to create positive change in your community.
  

Share with us: What’s working? What isn’t? What’s next for your initiative or organization? What have you learned? What questions are arising? Somewhere in your experience you have a great story to tell and an opportunity to initiate stimulating dialogue. To start posting to the community check out this helpful resource: 10 Tips for Writing an Effective Blog.

• Not quite sure how to navigate the site or find what you’re looking for? Use this handy Site Map to figure out what resources you’ll find under the “Home”, “Learn”, “Find”, and “Connect” tabs. You may also want to read our website’s Community Guidelines and check out How to Tailor Your Learning for a better understanding of how to use the site.  If you’re still not able to find what you’re looking for, please email your query to kirsti(at)tamarackcommunity.ca.

I am looking forward to learning more about collaborative leadership, community engagement, and change with all of you and expanding the wealth of knowledge that exists in this online community. I would also love to hear about what brought you to this site, what you hope to get out of it, and any improvements that you'd like to see. Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Joyfully,

Kirsti

Email: kirsti(at)tamarackcommunity.ca