We are proud to announce the latest additions to the DrupalCon staff; Neil Kent and Megan Sanicki. Neil and Megan come to us with strong backgrounds in event management and fundraising. Their expertise and skill set will help bring the Drupal Association and DrupalCon to the next level in our development. As Drupal grows, the Drupal Association fosters and supports that growth through events like DrupalCon and other projects for the Drupal community and industry.

We are proud to announce the latest additions to the DrupalCon staff; Neil Kent and Megan Sanicki. Neil and Megan come to us with strong backgrounds in event management and fundraising. Their expertise and skill set will help bring the Drupal Association and DrupalCon to the next level in our development. As Drupal grows, the Drupal Association fosters and supports that growth through events like DrupalCon and other projects for the Drupal community and industry.

Please help me welcome aboard Neil and Megan!

Neil Kent, Events Manager

Neil comes to the Drupal Association with the blessing of Groundswell. Groundswell is the event management company that takes care of many of the logistics and groundwork that go into DrupalCon North America. Thanks to his experience at Groundswell and working with the Drupal Association on previous DrupalCons, Neil has been able to fit in very quickly and leverage his strong relationship with his former colleagues at Groundswell.

Neil has been producing moments in time since 1989. Beginning with a sold-out, nationwide, AppleTalk seminar series, Neil moved on to major Apple developer and executive conferences and trade shows, and large-scale summits and parties for both corporations and software development communities.

Neil is working hard on DrupalCon Chicago as well as DrupalCon London and wrapping up financials from DrupalCon Copenhagen. He is also working on tools and documentation to make it easier for the Drupal Association and local teams to produce DrupalCons.

Megan Sanicki, Sponsor Wrangler (Fundraising Manager)

Megan made her presence known to the Drupal Association through her amazing networking skills. One day near the end of our hiring phase a message popped up on my Skype asking if I knew a candidate named Megan. She wasn't on my roster but after a little bit of digging her resume emerged from under the pile of nearly 100 other applicants. As it turns out Megan had applied but her resume was somehow missed. Using her own personal network she reached out to one person who knew another person, who knew someone, who knew someone, and after several more levels a note popped up on my Skype. Megan and I talked and after interviewing with several board members Megan turned out to be a perfect fit.

Megan combines her love of software sales and community service in her position as the Sponsor Wrangler. Megan fosters the business community and raises capitol that is re-invested to meet the Drupal communities' needs. That includes managing relationships with new, existing and potential sponsors of DrupalCons.

With one person to manage these relationships across all DrupalCons, the Drupal Association will be able to better meet the needs and expectations of our donors, and make their engagement with the Drupal Association much more fluid and continuous than it has been in the past.

The Drupal Association is excited to bring Neil and Megan on to our team and are looking forward to better supporting the growth of the Drupal community through their efforts and the projects of the Drupal Association that their work enables.

While enjoying DrupalCon Chicago please take a moment to stop by and say hi to Neil and Megan.

(Thank you Bevan Rudge for helping me with my busy schedule and drafting this blog post. You rock!)