Name: Chris Like
Position: Applications Programmer
Start Year: 2011
How did your life path bring you to Event 360?
I grew up in Maryland and moved to Chicago for my undergrad. After getting my degree in Music/Urban Studies, I moved to the south-west side of Chicago, where I started working for a community organizing group. After a few years of managing their volunteers, email marketing, digital fundraising campaigns, local network, website, CRM systems, and registration platform, I needed to move on to something more established and well-defined. I picked Event 360 because I value the work that non -profits do and I love supporting their mission in tangible, technical ways. The best contribution I can make is to help our clients meet their goals without them needing to become experts in every technical detail.
What delights you about your current position?
I love working from home and accomplishing things from my own office. I spend most of my time building engaging web experiences for people from all over the country. The most rewarding part is when I get to work on an event where I also worked on their website. Everyone I see on the event will most-likely have seen and interacted with things that I built, and it’s wonderful to see the end-result of all my effort.
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
Whitewater-rafting guide.
When you have 30 minutes of free time, how do you fill the time?
It doesn’t happen often, but I love curling up with a book or hiking out into the wilderness.
What is something you learned in the last week?
By the time your toddler tells you that her tummy hurts, you’ve already missed the window to fix it.
What was the last experience that made you a stronger person?
About three weeks ago, a school bus van hit black ice on the road in front of my house. It rolled off into a ditch and took out an electrical pole. I was the first person on the scene and was able to help get the only child passenger safely out of the vehicle. Thankfully everyone was wearing their seatbelts, and the EMTs were able to help remove the driver who was not badly injured. This was one of the first times where I had the opportunity to run toward a crash or disaster rather than away from it, and it left me feeling stronger about myself and my ability to help.
If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Why?
Kermit-the-Frog. He is surrounded by friends who enjoy breaking out into song with him at any time of day, any situation. He shows emotional vulnerability and bravery simultaneously, and he always approaches conflict from a level-headed and diplomatic perspective.
What is your most memorable event experience?
A few years ago, I was working an overnight shift for one of our multi-day events, which usually means cleaning, keeping track of vendors, and interfacing with security guards…not supposed to be exciting. This night, however, we had a very brief, very strong rainstorm blow through. Many of our participants were sleeping in tents onsite, but there were some who had opted for a hotel at the last minute, and while we knew they weren’t going to be on site with us, there were several pup-tents that had been “helpfully” set up with nobody staying in them, or weighing them down in the wind. Said tents quickly blew off into the night (or other tents), zooming over mud patches and a local freeway, which made retrieval difficult, but memorable. Thankfully I was able to locate, disassemble, and contain the errant tents in the wind and rain safely, but I’d rather not repeat the experience.
What would you do (for a career) if you weren’t doing this?
I would love to learn to design and install residential solar systems. I love the combination of physical work with technical know-how and planet-forward thinking.
On event, what three things are we guaranteed to find in your bag or on your person?
Gloves, zip ties, and a sharpie.
One word to describe Event 360?
Transformational.
