The Cohere community has been growing by leaps and bounds over the last few months. In addition to welcoming several new community members to our ranks, we have also added a new community manager and a new community cultivator. These are the individuals to talk to if you have questions about how things work, a great idea or an event, or if there’s something that needs finding or fixing.
Are you looking for an open, welcoming, and productive group of people to spend time with? Sign up for a tour of Cohere, today!
Ellen O’Neill — Community Manager
Ellen, our newest community manager, has been a member of Cohere for several years. She leads the community with a unique blend of liveliness and serenity, bringing joy and balance in the form of yoga workshops, creative potlucks, and a quick reply when issues arise.
It’s a beautiful morning for a work sprint! — Ellen
Ellen is typically in the building from 9 am to 1 pm Mondays through Thursdays. She spends the majority of her time working at her desk across from the fireplace in the main coworking space, except when she’s handling member requests, enjoying breaks on our outdoor patio, or taking a walk through the neighborhood.
Passionate about bicycling and bicycle safety, Ellen loves to ride her bike on the trails, gravel roads, and bike paths around town and is a Bicycle Ambassador for the City. Ellen is not only a fantastic community manager and Bicycle Ambassador, but she is also the phenomenal artist responsible for Noted by Ellen. At Noted by Ellen, she offers both creative illustrations for anything from invitations to full-length books as well as graphic recordings, where she draws a visual map of a meeting or presentation live—as the event is occurring.
She looks forward to seeing who comes in each day, especially when our members gather for special events. In fact, getting to know our members is her favorite part of the job! If you want to delight Ellen by saying hi or you have a question about Cohere, you can either contact her on Slack or drop by her desk.
Renee Becher — Community Cultivator
Renee Becher is our newest cultivator, signing on in July just before flying off to another country for a little while. She’s usually around mornings and early afternoons a few days a week, though which specific days may change here and there. When she’s in the office, you’ll usually find her working away and sipping Macha at her reserved desk by the sliding glass doors upstairs, but she also enjoys getting a little sunshine on our wonderful patio.
Working at Cohere gives me that community, alone-but-together feeling, which is perfect for me as an extroverted introvert. — Renee
When Renee needs a break from her computer, she has a few go-to escapes. One of her favorite ways to relax is to dive into a good book, but she also finds joy in anything Lord of the Rings related and likes to get outside to take a walk once in a while. Occasionally, her walks take her in the direction of CSU where she makes a hobby of pestering her partner, a grad student at the university.
Her passion for books and reading extends into her career as well. She recently launched an online bookstore and author program chock full of resources and tips for writers who are looking to get their next book on The Crowded Bookshelf.
Renee treasures the fact that the community respects and nurtures the needs of its members, whether that happens to be the need to chat or the need to be insanely productive. She’s looking forward to attending events and getting to know the members better, so be sure to introduce yourself when you see her!
Penny Leigh Sebring — Community Cultivator
Penny Leigh Sebring has been with Cohere for a little over three years now. She’s a writer who usually rolls into the office in the late afternoon and is often here happily working away long after everyone else has gone home for the day. You may also encounter her roaming about the place if you come in on the weekends.
Writing about myself in the third person is weird. — Penny
Penny has a reserved desk in the basement workspace, but has a tendency to wander. You may find her puttering around in the kitchen, talking on the phone outside, reading on one of the couches, trekking up and down the stairs because she forgot something again, or, occasionally, at her desk. When she needs to both relax and get some fresh air, she takes a walk nearby.
Her favorite thing about working at Cohere, hands down, is the community. Penny credits the open and welcoming community at Cohere not only with increasing her overall productivity but also with enhancing just about every aspect of her life. In fact, it’s been so helpful that her youngest, a freshman at CSU, also joined as a member.
Check out some of Penny Leigh Sebring’s nonfiction writing on the Cohere Community blog. If you prefer speculative fiction, visit her website at www.pennyleigh.com. There you can read her recently completed audience-directed story about a blind woman navigating the apocalypse with her companion animal Xipilli, a harpy eagle.
Andy Brown — Community Cultivator
Andy Brown has been with Cohere for a little over three years as well. He’s a multitalented individual who not only volunteers as an EMR for the Glacier View Fire District, but he also works to ensure that everyone is technologically connected, even those in rural areas, and is a talented artist, specializing in depictions of landscape, historical buildings, and the human figure.
Mission accomplished — Andy
Andy comes down from his mountain home to join us about two to three days a week. You’ll often find him downstairs at one of the coveted desk spots, but he may also be at one of the desks upstairs, working on the couch by the kitchen, or replacing light bulbs and putting up shelves. When it’s time to relax, Andy wanders through Old Town where he can enjoy the people and places that inhabit the downtown area, especially the historical buildings.
Cohere not only provides him with a place to get things done, but it also offers him a safe and welcoming landing spot when he comes in to town to run errands or to attend a group art session. He frequently attends events here at Cohere and even hosts our lively late afternoon Happy Hours every month or two.
If you want to catch a glimpse of Andy’s artistic stylings, follow his Instagram account @artsci. You’ll encounter beautiful art pieces, stunning images of a small Colorado mountain town, and wonderful family photos.
Now that you know a little bit more about the people of Cohere, book a free tour to learn more about the space itself.
About the Author: Cohere member Penny Leigh Sebring is an experienced freelance writer, neophyte speculative fiction author, and a gatherer of information and imaginary friends.
Featured image by Dakota Corbin on Unsplash