SocialButterfly.

Continuing my weekly “Blogger Neighborhood Series” in honor of the great Mr. Rogers, who called us to “Get to know our neighbor,” I welcome Stacey Monk from Epic Change, who continues to leave me inspired.

Stacey is an amazing writer, showing both her contagious passion and gracious, sincere personality through every word, so I’ll let her tell you about her journey, mission and how she’s gotten to where she is…

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Blog Name:

The Epic Change Blog

Blog Topics:

The Epic Change Blog is a diary of our experiment in social entrepreneurship and an organization I recently founded called Epic Change. We started it just after we received our 501c3 determination last September, and we blog whatever we’ve experienced on the journey since then, including:

• our social media and storytelling efforts,
• updates from Mama Lucy, the founder of the school we’re helping to rebuild in Tanzania,
• anecdotal stories about our trips and stories of the children at the school like Gideon & Glory,
• the inspirations for our work, and
• our feelings about the social entrepreneurship experience.

We try to give a complete, transparent picture of what we’re working on so that our supporters can feel engaged in what we’re doing, and so other folks can learn from our mistakes and successes. We also try to provide regular opportunities on our blog for folks to get involved. Last week, for instance, to celebrate National Volunteer Week, we provided daily opportunities for our readers to perform 10-minute volunteer activities.

About the Author:

I’m a nerd, a recovering military brat, a perpetual nomad and a total sap. I believe the world is what we make it. I started my career managing a performing arts series, moved into public sector consulting for Deloitte, then worked in IT strategy & change leadership at Genentech and, finally, launched a small change management consulting firm called Funken Consulting. Last year, I left for Africa, came back, stopped working for money & founded Epic Change, a nonprofit that “helps hopeful people in need tell their epic true stories to acquire the resources they need to create change in their communities.” I have a BA in Philosophy and a grad degree in performing arts management from the public policy school at Carnegie Mellon. I like to think that artsy background helps me be more creative in my approach to social change. You can check out my street cred on LinkedIn.

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why?

I’d live where Hope, Audacity, Authenticity, & Gratitude intersect because I know I’d like the other people who live there. [This is my favorite quote of the week!]

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor?

Any man who can sing. For today, let’s say John Mayer. His song Say is stuck on my brain. Or maybe Josh Groban. His voice makes me feel like I’m in the presence of an angel.

If you were in charge of the planning the neighborhood’s block party, what entertainment would you plan?

Ditto, previous question. Or I’d plan a performance by a dance troupe that I love like Alvin Ailey or Momix. Or we’d dance ourselves, which might be the most fun. Despite my chubbiness, I love to dance. I’m certified to teach ZUMBA and Shake Your Soul.

If you customized your own license plate, what would it say and why?

FEARNOT, URHOPE or THANKU

What would you gift to a new neighbor as the perfect welcoming gift?

Blueberry Pie. Despite 1950s connotations, pies = love.

What’s your favorite blog post and why?

I’d like to point to something brilliant by someone else, because I’ve taken so much as inspiration. Right now, today, though, I’m really wrapped up in what’s unfolding as a result of my recent, totally random, guest post on the Go Big Always blog of Jive CMO Sam Lawrence. I met him totally randomly on Twitter, and last Wednesday after midnight, when he was tweeting that he didn’t feel like posting to his uber-popular marketing blog, I offered to take his place. He, probably in jest, wrote back “Go for it ;)” and I did. That single post has led to a flurry of others, including one on ZDNet, a tweet by @Scobleizer, and a connection to social media giant Jeremiah Owyang, as well as a drastic increase in the number of people interested in our cause. So for today, the Go Big Always post is surely my fave, despite the fact that it begins with a reference to feces.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging?

Be authentic.

Past Blogger Neighbors Include:

• Osocio @ Osocio nominated by SocialButterfly
• Beth Kanter @ Beth’s Blog nominated by SocialButterfly
• Beth Dunn @ Small Dots nominated by Beth Kanter
• Len Edgerly @ LenEdgerly.com nominated by Beth Dunn
• …and now, Stacey Monk @ Epic Change nominated by the Twitter-verse

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This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.

Please forgive my delay in posting. I had to defend my thesis, travel from DC to KC to Columbia and get all my paperwork together in the past 5 days! However, Len is a great sport and was nominated by our previous neighbor Beth Dunn, over at Small Dots. Read below to learn more about the newest addition to the blogger neighborhood!

Blog Name: LenEdgerly.com

Blog Topics: Arts, technology, politics, travels.

About the Author: Len Edgerly lives in Denver and Cambridge, Mass., and is retired from careers in journalism and the natural gas industry. He podcasts every Wednesday, alternating between the Audio Pod Chronicles and the Video Pod Chronicles, both available at iTunes and from links on his blog. He is a board member of the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs. He enjoys giving presentations to arts groups and introduce them in non-technical terms to the wonders of the Internet and why they should be playing around with things like Twitter, podcasting and Qik. He is a Kindle enthusiast, an avid photographer, and an Obama volunteer.

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why? Easy Street, and I already live there, it seems. I’m very fortunate since age 45 to have been able to work hard at what I love, without having to worry about finances.

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor? The poet W.S. Merwin.

If you customized your own license plate, what would it say and why? In fact, I do have a customized license plate. It reads TLFC. My wife, exasperated with all my spiritual striving in Zen and elsewhere once asked me, “Why don’t you ever just take life as it #$%*& comes?” This struck me as an inspired formulation for a good life, something we could agree on, thus the plate. Please don’t tell the state of Colorado Motor Vehicles Department, though. On the form applying for the plate I said the letters stood for “Take Life as it Fully Comes.” Either way, I like it.

What would you gift to a new neighbor as the perfect welcoming gift? A fresh bag of coffee beans.

What’s your favorite blog post and why? “La Belle Grammaire,” one of the posts I labored long and hard to write in French three years ago when my wife and I spent two months at L’Institut de francais, near Cannes.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging? Twitter is hell on my blogging habit. [You can follow Len @LenEdgerly.]

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This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.