You have somehow made it to Issue 0 of my newsletter! Congratulations! Or apologies, depending on your perspective! This issue won’t have much substance (nor do I claim that any future issues will either), but I wanted to explain what I’m doing here, who I am, and what you can expect!
First Things first: …Why?
Everyone and their mother has a newsletter these days – why am I throwing yet another into the void?
Because I’m selfish!
Writing helps me think, and writing for even an imaginary audience helps me refine that thinking further. Putting my thoughts into words forces me to put my ideas into concrete terms, and imagining a potential reader forces me to package those terms in such a way that others can follow along.
I’m also hoping it helps me connect with others. My favorite professional experiences have all involved thinking out loud with others. Thinking out loud means that other folks can provide input and feedback, and together, we can come up with even better ideas. I’m hoping that folks might respond to my thoughts with their own thoughts so that, collectively, we can all get smarter.
Second Things Second: Who am I?
I’m Elise Hunley! My professional background has been a bit of journey. After getting a PhD in cognitive psychology, I made the jump to public service in the US federal government, where I worked at the USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service and the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. There, I gained my first experience with using data to guide business decisions and strategy, and I also was given my first taste of Product work as a Scrum Product Owner. Since 2022, I have worked as a product manager in telecom, focusing on broadband strategies to drive adoption, improve revenue, and reduce churn.
It has been a weird ride, but it has been fun – these roles have offered tremendous opportunities to learn from others, and I’m excited for what the future might hold.
I live in Atlanta, GA with my wife, Lauren, and our dog, Marsha. I volunteer at a local farmers market, I’m desperately trying to get back into photography as a hobby, and I adore science fiction novels and well-written nonfiction. I’m a queer, trans woman, and those identities will likely appear in my writing.
Third Things Third: What will I Write About?
Who’s to say, really?
My intention is to focus on professional topics with which I have experience. Some topics that come to mind are: leadership as an individual contributor, growing/repairing teams from within, data storytelling, executive engagement, and being LGBTQ+ in the workplace. These are all topics I care about, and I would love to write about them!
But – I’m not going to pigeonhole my easily distracted self. I’m going to let my brain write what it wants to write about – because, ultimately, my goal here is to have fun.
One important call-out… In professional spaces, folks are often encouraged to position themselves as “thought leaders” or “experts” – I have no interest in doing that here. Do I have good insight on the topics I plan to write on? I think so! But I’m not here to convey special knowledge or anything like that. I am just sharing my personal thoughts, and folks… I absolutely will be wrong at times, and when I’m wrong, I want you to tell me.
Fourth Things Fourth, or Seriously, I Could Keep this Gag Going Forever: What about AI?
Let’s be honest – AI-generated blog posts have proliferated at quite an incredible rate, especially on places like LinkedIn.
To be clear, I’m not anti-AI. I use LLMs at work and personally. But I strongly believe that AI-generated blog posts don’t provide value. There’s enough noise in the world, and I really rather not contribute to that.
So, here’s my commitment for this newsletter: I will not use AI to generate written or visual content for this newsletter, nor will I use it to get feedback on my writing. All hallucinations will be my own.
With that – if any of the above seems like your jam – I invite you to follow along!