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Strategic Influence for Human-Centered Leaders
Tue, Oct 20, 10:00 PM**Tuesday, October 20th, 6:00-8:00 PM EDT** **Presentation & Discussion** **Strategic Influence for Human-Centered Leaders** Presented by Misha Energí **Event Description** As service designers mature into senior leadership, our mandate shifts from advising on customer experience to defending headcount, budget, and bottom-line impact. This transition can feel jarring: leadership politics often seem counter to our core values like empathy and collaboration, while our classic defense, “the work speaks for itself,” no longer holds. To keep growing, we need to evolve how we position our work and our roles, and mastering peer advocacy is a key driver in this shift. But winning support doesn't require a ruthless posture. Nor do we need to abandon our human-centric values. In fact, as service designers, we already hold the tools for strategic leadership; we simply need to redirect our empathy, systems thinking, and co-design methods toward internal dynamics. This interactive session introduces **Strategic Influence for Human-Centered Leaders**: a practical advocacy framework to align user-centric goals, complex stakeholder interests, and our own aspirations. Aimed at senior contributors and team leads who are thinking about “what’s next” in their careers, the session will unpack four leadership personas: **Visionary, Driver, Partner, and Diplomat**. Interactive exercises will show how inspiration, persuasion, collaboration, and consultation come together to reposition service design seniors as valuable business partners. **About Our Speaker** **Misha Energí** Misha Energí is an executive coach, facilitator, and founder of Speak Human Studio. They partner with professionals in tech and media to transform high potential talent into impactful leadership. With almost two decades of advisory experience in organizations like Google, Deloitte, and Cognizant, Misha’s coaching empowers under-represented talent to navigate corporate politics, claim authority, and prevent burnout. Misha’s "full-stack" coaching method combines advanced degrees in psychology with trainings in applied emotional intelligence, and evidence-based adult learning. Beyond their coaching practice, Misha runs The Queens Well (a wellness studio in Ridgewood, Queens), is a professor at Parsons School of Design, and serves as Donor Relations Lead for QARAVAN, an NGO supporting LGBTQ+ refugees. **Agenda** * 6:00-6:30PM Meet & mingle over food and drink * 6:30-7:30PM Presentation * 7:30-8:00PM Discussion & Networking * 8:00PM - ? After-Party **Address** Intuit 51 Astor Place New York, NY 10003 **After-Party**: Cuna Bar The Standard 25 Cooper Sq **Financial Transparency & Scholarships** As a non-profit, we do our best to strike a balance between making our events available to all and ensuring we keep the lights on. For this event, we are charging $10. * If this amount is prohibitive for you to attend this event, please email [Barr](https://www.meetup.com/sdnnyc/members/267573171/)y at sdn.newyorkchapter@gmail.com as we may miss messages on this platform. * If you’d like to **provide** scholarships, please message [Barry](https://www.meetup.com/sdnnyc/members/267573171/) at at sdn.newyorkchapter@gmail.com and he will follow up with you. See you there :) David, Francesco, Yasmin, Lynn, Nicholas, & Barry

Co-Working Session @ Cafe Peanut
Tue, Oct 13, 3:00 PM## Venture Garden Co-Working Sessions **Build independently. Work alongside other builders. Leave with momentum.** Venture Garden is a relaxed co-working session for entrepreneurs, creatives, operators, and curious people building something of their own. There’s no presentation, no pitch deck, and no pressure to network. Bring your laptop, notebook, project, business idea, or unfinished task. Grab a coffee or tea, find a seat, and spend focused time working alongside other people who are doing the same. The idea is simple: **individual work, shared energy.** You might spend the entire session quietly working. You might ask someone for feedback on an idea. You might meet a designer, founder, consultant, developer, or future collaborator at the table next to you. Both are equally encouraged. ### What We’re Doing Each week, Venture Garden works from a different café in Jersey City as part of our **Venture Garden Café Crawl**. We’re exploring the city while creating an informal network of places where builders can regularly meet, work, and connect. During the session, you can work on things like: * Building or growing your business * Developing a new idea or side project * Writing, designing, researching, or planning * Working through pricing, positioning, or customer questions * Applying for opportunities or finding clients * Getting feedback from another builder * Simply getting an important piece of work finished ### What to Expect The format is intentionally simple. **Arrive. Order something. Introduce yourself. Then work.** There may be a quick introduction at the beginning so everyone knows who is in the room and what people are working on, but most of the session is dedicated to **focused individual work**. Conversation is welcome, but nobody is expected to participate in a group discussion. Think of it less like a traditional meetup and more like a **temporary neighborhood workspace filled with interesting people.** ### Who It’s For Founders. Freelancers. Side hustlers. Consultants. Creatives. Remote workers. Small-business owners. People exploring their next idea. You do not need to already have a company. You just need something you want to work on. ### The Venture Garden Idea Venture Garden is building a local community around entrepreneurship, creativity, and action in Jersey City. Some connections may eventually turn into collaborations, businesses, friendships, clients, investments, or new projects. Others may simply be two people sharing a table and getting a productive hour of work done. Both matter. ### What to Bring Bring your laptop, notebook, headphones, charger, and whatever you’re currently building. Order something from the café, settle in, and work alongside us. **Build your thing. Meet good people. Explore Jersey City.** **Individual work. Shared energy. Real momentum.1**

Making Better Bets: A Field Guide to Product Strategy with Andrew Skotzko
Thu, Oct 29, 11:00 PM“Be more strategic” is advice every product leader has heard. But knowing what to actually DO? That's the hard part. Join us for an early look at *[The Strategy Cycle](https://thestrategycycle.com/)*, the new book from product leadership coach [Andrew Skotzko](https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewskotzko), which is a practical guide to turning a messy set of research, goals, stakeholder opinions, and competitive pressure into a real product strategy. Andrew frames strategy as a theory of winning, expressed through a cycle of bets. Plans, roadmaps, and goal lists all have their place, but a real strategy gives them direction and makes planning season suck a lot less. Mind the Product founder Martin Eriksson says the book shows you what to do on Monday morning—and “what to do in week 7 when the strategy is quietly falling apart.” Andrew will walk through the two halves of the cycle: **Craft the strategy.** Start with a two-page strategy sketch, distill what’s really going on in your market, name the challenge that matters most, and define why customers will choose you and keep choosing you. Then turn that into a portfolio of bets with a clear line between what’s in and what’s out. **Live the strategy.** Crafting the strategy is only about 40% of the work. The rest is deploying it, keeping it alive when shiny new things start arriving in week two, and evolving it as you learn. You’ll walk away with: * A practical way to frame strategic choices as bets * A starting template for your own strategy sketch * Tactics for keeping strategy alive after planning season ends This session is built for anyone responsible for setting direction in a fast-moving environment. Bring your hardest strategy questions. **Sponsored by:** * **[Askable:](https://www.askable.com/)** the UX research platform that grounds fast product decisions in real human evidence * **[Pendo:](https://www.pendo.io/)** Product Context for your Apps and AI Agents

Co-Working Session @ Bluestone
Tue, Oct 20, 3:00 PM## Venture Garden Co-Working Sessions **Build independently. Work alongside other builders. Leave with momentum.** Venture Garden is a relaxed co-working session for entrepreneurs, creatives, operators, and curious people building something of their own. There’s no presentation, no pitch deck, and no pressure to network. Bring your laptop, notebook, project, business idea, or unfinished task. Grab a coffee or tea, find a seat, and spend focused time working alongside other people who are doing the same. The idea is simple: **individual work, shared energy.** You might spend the entire session quietly working. You might ask someone for feedback on an idea. You might meet a designer, founder, consultant, developer, or future collaborator at the table next to you. Both are equally encouraged. ### What We’re Doing Each week, Venture Garden works from a different café in Jersey City as part of our **Venture Garden Café Crawl**. We’re exploring the city while creating an informal network of places where builders can regularly meet, work, and connect. During the session, you can work on things like: * Building or growing your business * Developing a new idea or side project * Writing, designing, researching, or planning * Working through pricing, positioning, or customer questions * Applying for opportunities or finding clients * Getting feedback from another builder * Simply getting an important piece of work finished ### What to Expect The format is intentionally simple. **Arrive. Order something. Introduce yourself. Then work.** There may be a quick introduction at the beginning so everyone knows who is in the room and what people are working on, but most of the session is dedicated to **focused individual work**. Conversation is welcome, but nobody is expected to participate in a group discussion. Think of it less like a traditional meetup and more like a **temporary neighborhood workspace filled with interesting people.** ### Who It’s For Founders. Freelancers. Side hustlers. Consultants. Creatives. Remote workers. Small-business owners. People exploring their next idea. You do not need to already have a company. You just need something you want to work on. ### The Venture Garden Idea Venture Garden is building a local community around entrepreneurship, creativity, and action in Jersey City. Some connections may eventually turn into collaborations, businesses, friendships, clients, investments, or new projects. Others may simply be two people sharing a table and getting a productive hour of work done. Both matter. ### What to Bring Bring your laptop, notebook, headphones, charger, and whatever you’re currently building. Order something from the café, settle in, and work alongside us. **Build your thing. Meet good people. Explore Jersey City.** **Individual work. Shared energy. Real momentum.**

Moving Forward NYC: AI & Tech Small Business Relaunch Mixer
Thu, Oct 15, 10:00 PM*Connect with local SMB owners, marketers, and founders to kick off Q3/Q4, share practical ideas, and build high-value connections.* Kick off Q3/Q4 with New Connections, Practical Strategy, and Community! Welcome to the official in-person relaunch of the Moving Forward with AI & Tech: Small Business Community! Whether you’ve been a member of this group for years or you’re joining us for the first time, this is our flagship gathering to meet in person, build meaningful business relationships, and share ideas on how AI and modern technology are helping local businesses scale. Hosted and sponsored by [Moving Forward Small Business](https://movingforwardsmallbusiness.com), this high-energy networking mixer brings together small business owners across all verticals, founders, operators, and marketing professionals in the NYC metro area. **What to Expect** * **High-Impact Networking**: Skip the awkward small talk. We’ll have structured icebreakers and industry-focused nametags so you can meet the right contacts fast. * **The New Community Roadmap**: Get a quick 15-minute look at what’s coming for our community, including upcoming virtual workshops, expert trainings, and tools. * **Call for Member Speakers**: Want to present at one of our future events? We are officially opening up stage spots for members to showcase their expertise, tech hacks, and business success stories. * **Q4 Momentum**: Connect with potential clients, referral partners, and collaborators as everyone gets back to business post-summer. **Event Agenda:** * **6:00 PM – 6:30 PM** \| Arrival & Open Networking Grab your badge, check in, and connect with fellow attendees. * **6:30 PM – 6:45 PM** \| State of the Community & Speaker Announcement A quick welcome from our leadership team, our vision for the group, and how you can apply to present at upcoming events. * **6:45 PM – 7:15 PM** \| Fast\-Track Connections A quick, fun, structured 2-minute rotation game to make sure you meet at least 5 new business owners in the room. * **7:15 PM – 8:00 PM** \| Open Mingling & Wrap\-Up Deepen the conversations you started, take group photos, and exchange contacts. **Who Should Attend?** * Small Business Owners & Founders looking to optimize operations, sales, finance, and marketing using technology. * Marketing Professionals & Consultants serving SMB clients. * Entrepreneurs & Operators hungry for practical strategies and high-value local networking. **RSVP Note:** Space is limited by venue capacity. Please RSVP early to secure your spot on the guest list!

Co-Working Session @ Maxwell Alley
Sat, Oct 17, 3:00 PM## Venture Garden Co-Working Sessions **Build independently. Work alongside other builders. Leave with momentum.** Venture Garden is a relaxed co-working session for entrepreneurs, creatives, operators, and curious people building something of their own. There’s no presentation, no pitch deck, and no pressure to network. Bring your laptop, notebook, project, business idea, or unfinished task. Grab a coffee or tea, find a seat, and spend focused time working alongside other people who are doing the same. The idea is simple: **individual work, shared energy.** You might spend the entire session quietly working. You might ask someone for feedback on an idea. You might meet a designer, founder, consultant, developer, or future collaborator at the table next to you. Both are equally encouraged. ### What We’re Doing Each week, Venture Garden works from a different café in Jersey City as part of our **Venture Garden Café Crawl**. We’re exploring the city while creating an informal network of places where builders can regularly meet, work, and connect. During the session, you can work on things like: * Building or growing your business * Developing a new idea or side project * Writing, designing, researching, or planning * Working through pricing, positioning, or customer questions * Applying for opportunities or finding clients * Getting feedback from another builder * Simply getting an important piece of work finished ### What to Expect The format is intentionally simple. **Arrive. Order something. Introduce yourself. Then work.** There may be a quick introduction at the beginning so everyone knows who is in the room and what people are working on, but most of the session is dedicated to **focused individual work**. Conversation is welcome, but nobody is expected to participate in a group discussion. Think of it less like a traditional meetup and more like a **temporary neighborhood workspace filled with interesting people.** ### Who It’s For Founders. Freelancers. Side hustlers. Consultants. Creatives. Remote workers. Small-business owners. People exploring their next idea. You do not need to already have a company. You just need something you want to work on. ### The Venture Garden Idea Venture Garden is building a local community around entrepreneurship, creativity, and action in Jersey City. Some connections may eventually turn into collaborations, businesses, friendships, clients, investments, or new projects. Others may simply be two people sharing a table and getting a productive hour of work done. Both matter. ### What to Bring Bring your laptop, notebook, headphones, charger, and whatever you’re currently building. Order something from the café, settle in, and work alongside us. **Build your thing. Meet good people. Explore Jersey City.** **Individual work. Shared energy. Real momentum.utler**
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