Thank you, Reclaim

Hey everyone, I have an announcement that I need to share–

In the next few weeks, Jack and I are embarking on another military move. This time, we’re headed back up to the Washington DC/Northern VA area, and there’s a lot of change still to come on the horizon. With that in mind, I’ve decided that this is the right time for me to take a step back from Reclaim Hosting. My last official day as Director of Operations will be one week from today on Friday, September 8.

This has been an incredibly difficult decision, and I am very grateful to have spent the last eight years helping build something pretty special at Reclaim Hosting. Working for Reclaim’s mission, to bring affordable web hosting into the classroom while providing the proper support and resources to make it happen, has always felt like such a worthwhile way to spend my time. And I’m so proud that after so long, this mission is still at the core of how Reclaim runs today. 

I am indebted to Jim and Tim for seeing something in 2015 Lauren and providing such a supportive and encouraging space for her to step into her own. The person they hired is not the person I am today, and I owe that largely to the autonomy I’ve had at Reclaim Hosting to find my own voice. My ideas have always been heard and carefully considered. I have been challenged and held accountable. I have been trusted and taken seriously. I cannot express the level of impact that this had on me as a young woman getting started in a new career. 

Those early years at Reclaim were a real launchpad for me. In working closely with Jim, Tim, and many talented folks in the Reclaim community, I learned so much about how the web works, how to spin up servers, and how to troubleshoot advanced application-level issues. I overhauled the main Reclaim website and implemented softwares to help organize the work in front of us. And then I was able to take these new skills and begin sharing them with other beginner learners as well. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to teach, consult, brainstorm, and work alongside so many inspiring people in the higher ed community. 

Building expertise in these areas helped me feel confident to take on larger operational responsibilities at Reclaim: to help oversee company-wide projects, run conferences and training events, and work to improve internal processes. Coming to work each day in Fredericksburg, VA with Meredith, Tim, and Jim’s floating iPad robot during the CoWork/Reclaim Video phase of Reclaim Hosting will forever be such a highlight for me. (It’s not a phase mom, it’s a lifestyle!!) Chris joined soon after and blew us all away pretty quickly, and the idea of true “teams” at Reclaim suddenly began to feel like a reality. 

My later years at Reclaim were largely focused on helping the company grow intentionally while ensuring that the early mission and supportive team culture remained top priority. Being able to coach others at Reclaim and support their own progress has been a real honor. I want to give a massive thank you to Meredith, Chris, Gordon, Goutam, Pilot, Taylor, Amanda, and Noah for giving me the opportunity to work alongside you in these ways. You’ve pushed me to show up to work as the best version of myself, so thank you for that. 

I also want to give a special thank you to my mentors over the last 8 years that have transformed the way I work through challenges, articulate plans, make decisions, and go after big goals. It has been an awesome ride, Reclaim Hosting, and I’ll be looking forward to all that the future holds.

If you want to stay in touch, I’ll still be here on this site, and I plan to continue hanging out on Discord and Mastodon as well. #4life!