Community AMA: Ian Porter, Slack Spotlight Awards Visionary Winner

Slack Community HQ
Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 5:00 PM (EDT)

About this event

⏰ It’s time for another Ask Me Anything session–this time with community member Ian Porter, Slack’s Visionary Award Winner for 2022.

Team America Relief’s technology lead, Ian Porter, recognized the opportunity to fundamentally transform the operation’s impact in Afghanistan by using Slack to help hundreds of Afghan refugees find safe passage out of harm’s way.

In August of 2021, as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, the U.S. military airlifted thousands of its troops and citizens out of Kabul, along with Afghan allies eager to leave the country before an all-but-certain takeover by the Taliban. During those tumultuous days, and over the many months since, Afghan citizens took extraordinary risks to find safe passage out of the country.

As a U.S. military veteran himself who had served in Afghanistan alongside local interpreters who were now at risk, Porter felt compelled to act. So he joined Team America Relief (TAR), an ad hoc network of civilian and veteran volunteers with a shared mission: “To provide timely and relevant information and coordinate resources to responsibly transition people at risk out of crisis.”

Porter used Slack in his day job as a product manager and knew the collaboration platform would be an effective digital HQ for the TAR team. As the organization’s volunteer workspace admin, he envisioned a digital response center that would bring teams, tools and partners together so they could swiftly triage cases and source solutions.

Porter’s vision quickly became a reality, and within 24 hours of its first formal meeting, TAR had established a modern emergency response center within Slack. TAR quickly scaled its operations, from initially supporting just 14 families to hundreds, and then thousands, of Afghans. 

  • ❓Would you like to hear more about how Ian created a modern emergency response center within Slack in his work with TAR?
  • 🏡 Or his tips for living your best work-from-anywhere life?
  • 👨‍💻 Curious about his day to day as an IBMer, or 🫡 his previous experience in the Marines?
Ian is here to answer your questions!

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Join us in the Slack workspace for an ask-me-anything after Slack Frontiers

👉 How it will work

  • If you aren't already in the community workspace, you'll need to join us in Slack (check your event registration email for access).
  • Once you're in the workspace, join #slack-ama.
  • Click on the blue lightning bolt in the message composer. It's on the left of the input box.
  • Select the "Ask AMA question" workflow. This will open a dialog box where you can add your question and send to the queue to be answered.
  • Your question will be approved and then will post into the AMA channel.
  • The team will answer the question in the thread.

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About the Slack Community HQ chapter

This community is open to people from any industry and background who have an interest in the Slack platform. We can't wait to meet you!

Gentle Reminder

All attendees are expected to behave respectfully and appropriately, including during casual conversations. By attending or joining the workspace, you agree to follow these expectations. If you (or anyone you notice) feel uncomfortable, please reach out to the organizers. Please review the Code of Conduct before the event.

Speaker

Moderator

  • Elizabeth Kinsey

    Elizabeth Kinsey

    Slack

    Director, Community

    See Bio

When

Wednesday, Jun 22
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM (EDT)

Organizers

  • Elizabeth Kinsey

    Elizabeth Kinsey

    Slack

    Director, Community

    View Profile
  • Jacob Gross

    Jacob Gross

    Slack

    Community Manager, Community Forums

    View Profile