P2P

2 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | S U M M E R 2 0 2 0 F R O M T H E C E O I last wrote to you in this space in early March of this year. Although the calendar has not even marked 90 days since that column, it feels in some ways like a lifetime ago. So much has changed. As technologists, we are accustomed to change. We lead change. We help others cope with change. But so much of what has happened has created change for us in every facet of our lives – challenging us at work and at home. Through all this change, we have experienced a wide-ranging rollercoaster of emotions – fear, anger uncertainty, stress. However, we also have room for pride and optimism. In looking at what the members of our community have accomplished in the last 90 days, I am filled with pride. In March, almost overnight, we took high-touch, in-person organizations and helped them become productive work from home businesses. We provided the technology and the support that kept our colleagues working. In April, as shelter in place became the rule rather than the exception, we provided technology which connected people who were missing each other – and the office – more every day. We helped people learn to stay connected personally and professionally while they were apart physically. As April turned into May, we began to plan for a return to the office, thinking about how technology could help make that possible. #CreatingTheFutureTogether. Then as May ended, and the US exploded in anger and indignation over injustice, our members stood up for love, compassion, fairness, diversity, inclusion, and equity. So what does this all have to do with our P2P theme of Community Engagement? Everything. Over the past three months, we have heard over and over that "we are all in this together." But that is true only when we choose to engage. When I said I was proud, I was talking about engagement. Our member entities engaging positively in their communities and promoting engagement among team members. Our individual participants engaging in new ways with co-workers, family, friends, faith families, schools – even with themselves. Engaging on behalf of front-line health workers and the victimized. Engaging for social responsibility and against prejudice. ILTA business partners Joy Heath Rush joy@iltanet.org

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