Vanessa, your friendly Learning Lead here. Sad to say that after three years of edupunkery and learning lovebombs, I’m moving on from P2PU.

The past few years have been an embarrassment of riches, and I thank the open community for changing the way I look at the world. Originally I came to P2PU in 2011 as a volunteer. I simply wanted to learn how to run online courses. I found—through working with P2PU, Mozilla and others in the open culture movement—that I could directly participate in designing the technology I used everyday. I could participate, period. I had a voice. A reason to be in the room. All I had to do was step up.

In the afterglow of that breakthrough, I made it my job replicate that spark for others. Each of our communities started from those principles of empowerment, collaboration and play. Those values infused every project, from peers recognizing their skills in others with Badges, to making audio mixes in Play With Your Music, to joining forces with littleBits to build technical literacy.

Looking backwards, I’m unbelievably proud of what we’ve accomplished together. And lucky.

P2PU Memory Lane

P2PU Meetup Brooklyn, 2011

My first DML Grantees Meeting, 2012. Duke University. So MUCH BADGELOVE.

Sketchnote from Badge Alliance Meeting, 2014

“Standup Meeting” Berlin, Summer 2012

Having a ball. littleBits + P2PU Community Call 2015 with Chloe Varelidi

Mozfest 2014 with Erika and Laura Hilliger

What’s Next?

Now I’m called to a different mission: to open financial access for the developing world. I’m elated to join the Stellar Foundation as their Educator, building peer learning communities around financial inclusion. You’ll still see me around the web, spreading the good word of peer learning–now with another hat.

Also super stoked to pass the Learning torch to Grif Peterson, of Unhangout and Learning Creative Learning fame. Grif is an OG Community Organizer and I can’t wait to see what P2PU cooks up with him on the crew. Over to you, Grif.