Meet The Team: Helen

At ZogCulture, we believe life is better with real personal connections, a caring community, and a sense of play. No one embodies our mission more so than our event facilitators.

Your facilitators are the reason why your event runs so smoothly and you can have a fun, stress-free opportunity to connect with your colleagues. Our Meet The Team series introduces you to some of our event facilitators so you can learn about their diverse backgrounds and unique skillsets.

This week, we're introducing you to Helen Thornton. Our tech leads are responsible for ensuring everything runs smoothly behind your screen and Helen is one of our all-stars. While you may not interact with her much during your event, you can rest easy knowing she has her hands on the controls.

How do you spend your time outside of Zog?

When I am not running things behind a screen, I am running things behind the theater. I work as a freelance Stage Manager primarily for musicals and plays. I am the one who ensures things happen correctly backstage so that the show can go on.

What has been a highlight of your career?

I recently relocated to NYC, where I have been so incredibly lucky to work one show after another.

One of my favorite experiences was working a show during Tinsel: A Global Holiday Celebration at the Lucille Lortel Theater. It was an hourlong show, showcasing the New Year's traditions of Rio de Janeiro. It was truly an incredible way to ring in 2022.

Why do you like working for Zog?

There are a lot of similarities between virtual and live events. Being a tech lead involves a lot of keeping time and organizing breakout rooms to make sure people are where they are suppose to be. That translates right into stage managing!

One of my favorite things about live events is the community. ZogCulture works hard to cultivate community building, not only for our clients, but for the event facilitators as well. Even though most of us have not met in person, we are connected and enjoy coming together to create experiences.

I feel blessed every time I am on a ZogCulture event knowing that everyone on our team has the same goal of putting on a fantastic event.

When have you seen our mission at work?

I once worked an event with participants from all over the country. One team was made up of people who had never met before but by the end of the game they were talking about funny pets antics among other non-work related things. They were having a ball.

When they didn't win the game they hilariously demanded a recount.

Any tips for maintaining connections in a virtual world?

Don't be afraid to reach out to people for a social call outside of the facilitated events. There is a good chance the people you reach out to want to connect as much as you do.

Open a Zoom room, play some random games. Don't be afraid to use the platform outside of work. Try creating a "virtual coffee house" where you play some jazz and everyone sits with their caffeinated beverage to get some work done.

To meet Helen and the rest of the incredible ZogCulture staff, book your next event with ZogCulture by emailing Bryan@ZogCulture.com
Image courtesy of Helen Thornton