Judi Huck

Bio:

I once was a unicorn that rode tigers, but now I'm just a unicorn that helps other unicorns.

I studied econ at a women's college and graduated basically when the market fell apart. I was lucky to find work right out of school - at a social change organization where I felt I had a sense of purpose. After working to build communities through training events and interactive workshops, I moved to NY to take a shot at online community management.

I picked things up pretty quickly and had an awesome year-and-a-half run at the to-do list application Producteev. I always had a strong inclination towards teaching, though, and this summer I worked my ass off on Skillshare teaching SEO and other classes.

And then I got the opportunity of a lifetime. This Thanksgiving, luck struck a third time with my landing a new gig as a community consultant for the London-based company FeverBee. There I'll be helping to run The Pillar Summit, a professional community management training course. Which means I get to help community managers from around the world learn how to become better community managers! According to one friend of mine, the opportunity is both "badass" and "epic."

Now the only thing that would make my life complete is a serendipitous meeting with Ryan Gosling. Ryan, if you're reading this, hey boy. We'd love to have you inspire NY Creative Interns whenever you're free.

(Note: a unicorn is a community manager and a tiger is a startup. Now you know.)

• Title: community consultant
• Age: 28
• Location: Midtown
• Contact: @7huck

A few of your online profiles say that you are an online/offline community builder.  What are the tools of the trade that you use while building communities both online and offline?

Great communities (whether online or off) allow people to develop meaningful connections. Community builders help facilitate those connections, and a good place to start is with a solid programming schedule. This helps community members know what to expect from a community. There's also considerable importance with physical space, which in the case of online communities gets into matters of UI/UX and a platform itself. More often than not, I would say that great communities go beyond the typical social media channels. In fact, it's almost as if they are living, breathing microcosms of their own.

You’re currently following a number of Skillshare classes and taught quite a few yourself.  In your opinion, what makes for a successful Skillshare class? Do you have any advice for those thinking of teaching one themselves for the first time?

A successful Skillshare class is one that covers what's planned and ends on time. ;) A class outline a little rehearsal will do wonders with that! I shared some advice in the following Teacher Tuesdays post. I can't stress this enough - teach what you love. Teach what inspires you, what excites you, what fascinates you. It will show in the way you present your class, and your students will thank you for it. And if you'd like help writing a class description or heck, even marketing your course, I'm happy to assist.

Your new job focuses on helping community managers become better community managers.  Who do you think are great examples of community managers that others should try to emulate?

My list will grow soon, but it currently includes Rich Millington (my boss), Jenn Pedde, Rachel Happe, Mike Handy, Blaise Grimes-Viort, Evan Hamilton, Maria Ogneva and Lauren Vargas. I'm grateful to have people like them who believe in me.