It is with a bittersweet heart that I announce my departure from my role as Community Leader of Radius CoWork. Radius has been a home and safe haven for me since I joined in 2017, having recently returned home to raise my family. This community helped ease my transition into remote work and build new relationships. It has opened so many doors for me through the endless generosity found amongst one another. When I had the opportunity to step into a staff role in 2020, it was a very easy yes. It’s been an honor to lead this community and I’m so proud of what we have built and accomplished together.

Chris schroeder adds a mural of the radius tagline “connect & create” to the Hq entry way.

Joining Radius as the Community Leader in the fall of 2020 was an interesting time to start a new position to say the least. That first year was mainly spent keeping our community safe while making sure Radius survived. Not only did we survive, we thrived. We improved the space, giving headquarters a much needed renovation and adding a beautiful mural by Chris Schroeder.

As the world opened up, we brought back Lunch & Learns, Happy Hours, and Taco Tuesdays and launched Freelance Week Erie and monthly New Member Meet-ups. We’ve started exploring new services to add to our offerings, like the upcoming virtual mail service. But when I think back on what I am most proud of during my time as Community Leader, it's that we brought in so many fantastic people to enrich our community. You all are my pride and joy, in every sense of the word. The love and support I feel walking in here every morning has carried me through this entire journey.

We view all roles at Radius as residencies. We encourage our staff to pursue projects and passions while providing a community and income to sustain them through that exploratory period. For me, that meant learning how to operate a small business, understanding the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Erie, and how to engage and support a community. Some days have felt like baptism by fire, but overall, being surrounded by a supportive group of peers eased my anxiety and gave me the confidence to push through.

Mayor joseph schember hands jess the declaration proclaiming the week of april 18, 2022 “freelance week erie”

It’s hard to hang around Radius for any amount of time without catching the entrepreneurial bug. I’ve been inspired by watching many of you take ideas and turn them into realities, scale those ideas into full-fledged enterprises, and build up Erie’s economy with a strong backbone of service-based businesses. I found fulfillment in sitting with you and hearing about your successes and challenges, connecting you with resources to help you grow, and cheering you on every step of the way.

All these experiences inspired me to start Chiara Consulting, a business consulting firm providing strategic and operational support to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. I’m looking forward to helping more businesses and organizations thrive by offering fractional Chief of Staff services. Additionally, I will be facilitating the ErieMade Business Academy, a business development program for creative entrepreneurs in Erie county. Applications for the next cohort open on March 15, 2023.

Of course, as a fledgling business, I’ll need the support of a strong community to help me along the way. I’m looking forward to stepping back into the role of Radius member (albeit one with a little more knowledge of how things work around here). My last day as Community Leader will be Mar 31, 2023.

the dream team: sean, amanda, liam, and jess

Sean and I have been planning this departure for months. We brought Liam on in June to provide additional coverage and community support. Jess has stepped into the role of Senior Community Organizer and will be focusing on our programming and outreach efforts. Sean will continue to represent Radius as its founder and owner and represent us in our community partnerships. It will be a time of transition for us, so please be patient and, if you can, pitch in a helping hand if you see the need.

I am so grateful for this experience. Thank you to all our partners for embracing me and supporting Radius. Thank you to our members for making this place so special. And huge thank you to Sean, Jess, and Liam for being the best team I could hope for. I love you all so much. See you around.

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