Connecting as One at the IT Community Picnic

Yesterday, over 300 IT staff—in central and distributed roles from near and far—gathered at Lighthouse Point Park to enjoy networking, lawn games, refreshments, and more. 

The picnic provided a unique opportunity for colleagues to connect and establish new relationships. Ania Lighty, Advancement Systems Specialist, expressed her delight at “meeting coworkers who had flown in for the event” and was pleasantly surprised by “the sheer size of the Yale IT community,” evident in the impressive turnout of the picnic.

For Dale Hendrickson, Senior Director, Library Information Technology, the picnic offered a rare chance to “see everybody in the same place at the same time, in an informal atmosphere where people can talk about other things than work.” Hendrickson valued getting to know his colleagues more personally and seeing them unwind in a relaxed environment.  

In addition to casual conversations, IT Senior Leadership Team (SLT) members, including Frank Mathew, Associate CIO for Enterprise Applications, and Jeremy Rosenberg, Chief Information Security Officer, embraced the moment by line dancing, “Electric Sliding,” and riding the carousel. Meanwhile, Tristen Lawrence, Software Engineer 1, Cloud Technologies, found joy in “throwing the football, having drinks, and enjoying ice cream” with coworkers. The beach-side venue and summer swag, including a travel cooler and beach mat, were also a big hit with partygoers.

The picnic proved to be a resounding success in creating a collective atmosphere of relaxation, appreciation, and genuine connection. Michael van Emmenes, one of the members of the nearly ten-person committee responsible for organizing the event, was pleased with how it “fostered a strong sense of unity” and allowed colleagues to “come together to have fun, share food, and unwind.” 

John Barden and fellow Senior Leadership Team members (SLT) would like to thank the committee for their contributions to the event, which promoted a sense of One IT at Yale. The committee consisted of Kaila Carroll, Katie Cullen, Tedd Darash, Naomi Erwich, Rollande Greyson (Roe), Mark Manton, Frank Mathew, Debbie Michelson, Cheri Ross, Kathy Swanson, and Michael van Emmenes.

Also overheard at this event:

• “I liked attending multiple recognition events this week and meeting my remote co-workers for the first time.” 
  -Magger Galvan, HCMS Solutions Architect
• “It’s great to see people from ITS I haven’t seen in years and enjoy time together off campus.” 
  -Heidi Glasgow, IT Support Specialist
• “Everyone seems relaxed, and when you get together in an atmosphere like this, it builds camaraderie.” 
  -Kathy Sperry, IT Support Specialist
• “We’re connecting with our teams, which is really good. We’re seeing faces we haven’t seen in years.” 
  -John Guidone, Information Security Engineer 3
• “It’s great to see everybody together. Some of the people on my team haven’t attended an event in ten years and have really enjoyed themselves.” 
  -Tim Sheets, IT Director, Network Engineering & Operations