How Portland is connecting community needs with community solutions via Switchboard #Covid_19

To help the Portland business community adapt to the coronavirus outbreak, @biz4pdx launched a Switchboard where businesses can ask for and offer help and resources: bbpdx.switchboardhq.com

Overwhelmed with requests for spinning up Switchboard for emergency responses. 1. Yes, I understand what we have built is really useful r n. 2. As a 🦓, we intentionally chose to bootstrap/🚫VC so our solution would stay around 3. If you'd like help us scale relief reach out

Just posted on Switchboard what I can offer in these times: bbpdx.switchboardhq.com Post your ask or an something you can offer and let's try to do our best to help lift each other up. #PDX @biz4pdx PIE 🦓 Zebras Unite 🦓

Our current turnaround for launching new Switchboards is 1-2 business days. If members of your community have an immediate need for a way to connect with and help each other, please get in touch: switchboardhq.com/schedule-demo

As colleges and universities ask students to leave campus, not everyone has a place to go: npr.org/2020/03/17/816…

Students need community. Students want connection. Balance your social media strategy beyond announcements & information. Set up new groups/platforms beyond the main campus channels for interaction, engagement, and heck maybe even entertainment! #highered #hesm

"Stephen and Chris, meet Mara, owner of a platform kinda built for societal collapse." I wish I had this foresight to use this as our "Market Size" slide when I was pitching. 😭 If your community is in pain, we are here for you. An example: pdxstartups.switchboardhq.com

Helping students meet their needs in a time of crisis is the right thing to do. It’s also the best way to earn their trust: hechingerreport.org/in-dark-days-o…

"In this crisis, we are seeing what 'essential work' looks like, and it is precisely the work we have systematically undervalued for centuries. It is caring work, reproductive work, logistics work." progressive.org/covid-19/a-bet…

“Like it or not, this wave of acute economic hardship is going to force career readiness and outcomes into the equation even further.” hechingerreport.org/stripped-of-gr…

"For recent college graduates, the job market in 2020 is shaping up to become one of the worst in recent memory.” hechingerreport.org/stripped-of-gr…

Last week, analyst Sarah wrote about analyzing the alumni conversation with insight on how to engage them. hubs.ly/H0pnvzR0 EverTrue is also sharing ideas for engaging alumni, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. hubs.ly/H0pnsb80

Colleges and universities are freezing or cutting spending for career services offices right when students need the most: hechingerreport.org/as-recession-d…

“As the coronavirus crisis settles in, students—many of whom take out huge loans to finance their degrees—are wondering how to justify spending $70,000 a year on Zoom classes.” marketwatch.com/story/the-coro…

Oh happy day! Read all about the thrilling news of the Hearken/Switchboard merger, what’s in store for my next chapter, the heroic journey of my muse, collaborator and inspiration, Jennifer Brandel & the company’s new leadership under the extraordinary @ChelseaHaring

Here’s the press release announcing the Switchboard & Hearken merger. It is a history making Ze (Zepeda) Bra (Brandel) 🦓 achievement made possible by our 💫 teams, the 🦓 Zebras Unite 🦓 movement & countless supporters. Here’s to cooperation! wearehearken.com/merger/

Hey Hearken is HIRING. We're looking for full stack engineers to work on our Switchboard platform. Know of an engineer who will thrive in a low-ego, majority-women environment? We'd love for them to apply! wearehearken.com/careers/