Danya Ray is the Alumni Relations Manager at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, an international law firm with 17 offices across the globe.

Danya has set up alumni programs for universities, the tech industry, and law firms. And she has proved that alumni can be an organization’s biggest brand advocates, support business development, and immensely contribute to organizations as boomerang hires.

In this episode, Danya shares how to go about building a corporate alumni program from scratch, and gives insight into ways to weave ‘alumni’ into an organization’s DNA.

She reveals that the quality of member segmentation and targeted communication have the potential to make or break any organization’s alumni efforts.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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Cathryn Ramirez is the Executive Director of Alumni Development & Continuing Education at the Gemological Institute of America - GIA, a nonprofit institute dedicated to research and education in gemology and the jewelry arts.

Since the 1960s, the GIA Alumni Association brings together over 155,000 alumni from across the globe, all of whom are passionate about the gem and jewelry industry.

In this episode, Cathryn speaks about the importance of engaging Alumni for the education providers. It is essential to understand learners’ motivations to be loyal and know what benefits are most valuable to them.

So that educational institutions can do their part to assure that there will be future generations of learners. And that brand ambassadors and advocates can help grow others’ interest in available learning opportunities through word-of-mouth.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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Michele Aggiato is the Head of Community at Vorwerk International, a German family business that sells household and kitchen appliances directly to consumers.

Their Thermomix Community is built on members’ joint love for cooking and food. It dates back to when the first Thermomix appliance was launched back in 1971, and it currently counts over 5 million members across the globe.

In this episode, Michele shares how organizations can best fulfill their customers’ needs by giving them the space and support they need to help each other, through community.

And he gives insight into what motivates community members and shares how Vorwerk International works to deliver just that.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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Susan Tenby is the Director of Global Community at TechSoup, a nonprofit international network of non-governmental organizations that provides technical support and technological tools to other nonprofits.

TechSoup has built a community of more than 1.6 million NGOs around the globe. Its TechSoup Global Network offers highly localized programs and services in 39 languages.

In this episode, Susan speaks about what’s happening when your community isn’t getting any buzz, and how to best engage your users.

And she shares why giving their users space for unstructured exchange benefits TechSoup and members alike.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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Anne Young is the Director for Community Strategy and Engagement at Salesforce.org, a cloud-based software company that builds CRM technology.

Their online community is the “Power of Us Hub,” and was launched in 2013. Today, their community counts 35,000 “Trailblazers or Hubbers”.

In this episode, Anne speaks about why community is and will be an essential aspect of innovative organizations.

And she gives insight into how Salesforce.org engages their community members with traditional and innovative approaches.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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Andrea Legnani is the Global Head of Alumni Relations at Citigroup Inc., a multinational investment bank and financial services corporation.

Their corporate alumni network was founded in 2011 and counts ~ 30,000 alumni.

In this episode, Andrea impresses the importance of data-based decision-making for corporate alumni networks.

And he gives insight into how alumni efforts at Citigroup Inc. present a huge opportunity in today’s fight for top talent.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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Lisa Inserra is the Senior Director for Talent Acquisition at Sodexo, a French food services and facilities management company.

Their corporate alumni network’s name is “Reconnexions”. It was founded in 2008 and counts over 13,400 members.

In this episode, Lisa shares how “Reconnexions” makes it possible for Sodexo to stay in touch with a huge industry-experienced talent pool.

And she gives insight into the additional benefits they gain by never breaking contact with their team members.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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Carolyn Norton is the Head of Alumni Relations at the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Coca-Cola Company

Their alumni network was founded in 1986 and counts over 6,400 members.

In this episode, Carolyn shares why every funding organization should have an alumni network.

And she gives some insight into how to best go about it.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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For this first episode of The Building Community Podcast, Simone takes the mystery out of community.

She digs deep into the 7W as she sheds the light on the Why, Who, What, How, by Whom, When, and Where of Community.

Listen in to MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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The Building Community Podcast brings the magic of community to organizations across the globe.

Season 1 focuses on “Connecting with Connectors”.

This is where your host Simone chats with industry experts from all over the world. About how they use community and build people networks to advance corporate goals, in a variety of sectors.

Listen in and get valuable insights and tools. To MAKE YOUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE.

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