Member Spotlight |
MEET FORGE MEMBER, Murray Lee Executive Director, Mission to North America
Murray joined Forge several months ago after taking his new role with Mission to North America. Being a fully remote job, Murray knew that he had to have a place to work that was outside of his home and around people! Read below to find out more about Murray, the work he does with MNA, and what he loves most about Forge!
Q: In addition to your job title, tell us a little bit about what you do / what your company does.
A: Mission to North America (MNA) is the Presbyterian Church in America’s national organization that serves our denominational churches in the US and Canada in the areas of church planting and church vitality. As the Executive Coordinator, my job is to integrate vision with action across the organization.
Q: What is your favorite thing about Forge?
A: The people I get to meet! Different from my previous job, this role is completely remote. So unless I am traveling to meet with people, I only talk to people on Zoom. At Forge I get to meet and be around people!
Q: What is your favorite spot/place to work at Forge?
A: My dedicated desk is right next to my wife’s. No better spot at Forge!
Q: What are your favorite tech tools to get your job done or keep your life organized?
A: Airtable is a fantastic tool for tracking projects.
Q: What’s the last show you binge-watched?
A: Kim and I just finished Vikings Valhalla and it was meh…Now, Season 3 of Outer Banks
Q: What’s your ideal weekend in Birmingham?
A: Lazy Saturday morning with a big breakfast, then off to watch our kids play the sports they love! Davenports for dinner!
Member Spotlight |
MEET FORGE’S NEW COMMUNITY MANAGER, VALYNCIA JOHNSON
Read below to learn more about Valyncia!
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself?
A: I am Valyncia Johnson, a Birmingham, AL native. I have over eight years of experience in PR and Management. My portfolio encompasses diverse industries and brands offering visibility, infinity, and connectivity across multicultural audiences.
Q: What do you do at Forge?
A: I am the Community Manager and I am responsible for front and back house operations and management of Forge – including but not limited to brand awareness, communication planning, events with internal and external audiences. I support the Founder and CEO, Kim Lee, in meeting business objectives such as reducing churn and increasing member retention.
Q: What brought you to Forge?
A: I was introduced to Forge in 2019 when I was searching for an office space to do a personal brand shoot. I was immediately attracted to Forge, its offerings, and aesthetic. I saw the post that Forge was in search for their next Community Manager, and I felt that this was a perfect opportunity to merge my work and passion while growing my network.
Q: What are you looking forward to about working at Forge?
A: I am looking forward to serving other entrepreneurs, professionals, and the community through the resources and networking opportunities we offer.
Q: What do you do when you are not working at Forge?
A: When I am not at Forge, I enjoy to spend time with loved ones, travel, and network with others.
Q. If you could choose to do anything for the day, what would you choose to do?
A: If I could choose to do anything for the day, I would probably fly my loved ones to a destination of their choice, and have a family retreat.
Q: What is your favorite thing about Birmingham?
A: My favorite thing about Birmingham is the rich history, its striving for being an incubator for entrepreneurship and tech, and and our restaurant industry.
Member Spotlight |
MEET FORGE’S NEW ASSISTANT COMMUNITY MANAGER, MEREDITH WOODFIN
Read below to learn more about Meredith!
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself?
A: My name is Meredith! I grew up always having karaoke parties. I love iced coffee and having a slow morning.
Q: What do you do at Forge?
A: I do whatever is asked of me! I help maintain and upkeep each space, while also helping with mail amongst other things.
Q: What brought you to Forge?
A: I was ready for change and a friend of mine worked here so I asked her what it was like. Now I’m here!
Q: What are you looking forward to about working at Forge?
A: I look forward to the community at Forge. I love how people who choose to work at Forge have created relationships and enjoy working alongside each other!
Q: What do you do when you are not working at Forge?
A: Outside of Forge, I nanny for a family.
Q: What is your favorite thing about Birmingham?
A: Coming from a small town in Alabama, Birmingham makes me feel like I’m in New York City (yes, I promise I’m aware they are two very different places).
Member Spotlight |
MEET FORGE MEMBER, BRITTANI MEMBER Vice President of Digital Marketing at One Degree Marketing!
Read below to learn more about Brittani!
Q: What’s the last show you binge-watched?
A: The last show I binge-watched was Bridgerton (back to back, both seasons)
Q: Is there a product you can’t live without?
A: I cannot live without my headphones. I love listening to music and audiobooks too much to not have my headphones.
Q: What’s your ideal weekend in Birmingham?
A: I just moved here. So right now my ideal weekend is not having to unpack or organize something in my house. I am getting closer to that goal!
Q: In addition to your job title, tell us a little bit about what you do / what your company does.
A: I am the Vice President of Digital Marketing at One Degree Marketing. We are a full-service marketing firm that provides social media management, digital communications management as well as website design and maintenance!
Q: What is your favorite thing about Forge?
A: My favorite thing about Forge, besides the team and its members, is how close it is to my apartment. I save a ton on gas!
Member Spotlight |
Read more below to learn more about Alex!
Q: What’s the last show you binge-watched?
A: Barry on HBO. I had heard a lot about it and knew it had a star-studded cast but was skeptical at first. Turned out to be a really good show!
Q: Is there a product you can’t live without?
A: My wok and chef’s knife. I make a lot of my meals and learned very quickly that struggling through with poorly made cooking tools I have had for years made cooking much harder.
Q: What’s your ideal weekend in Birmingham?
A: Saturday morning walk with the kids and dogs in Red Mountain Park. Grab lunch & drinks with family and friends at Back Forty. Enjoy a sporting event with the family at Protective (UAB, Stallions, Legion…really any will do).
Sunday (late morning) take the kids to Satellite for chai tea lattes and to play some old-school video games (my kids’ favorite is Rampage on N64). Enjoy an afternoon/evening at City Walk.
Q: In addition to your job title, tell us a little bit about what you do / what your company does.
A: Ernst & Young (EY) is one of the “Big 4” accounting firms, however, I do NOTHING in accounting. I do mainly Sales and Delivery of technology solutions and services to the State government, mostly in the Medicaid and Health & Human Services (think Food Stamps, Welfare, etc.). We just won our first piece of work with the State of Alabama!
Q: What is your favorite thing about Forge?
A: The energy of the people here. I have been a member for 4 years now and have seen some really cool ideas blossom and watched others grow quickly in their careers. That, in addition to the events, causes there to be a lot of positive energy.
Q: What is your favorite spot/place to go to at Forge?
A: The couches during Happy Hour. That’s where real personal & business connections are made. It is one of the few times we are all sitting around without our technology in front of our face, so we get to actually connect.
