Attendee Cohorts
Attending together means learning together.
That’s the idea behind conference attendee cohorts—a new concept we’re piloting at EX2020. Cohorts are small groups of 4-8 conference attendees who share something in common, like a role or a vertical industry. With the help of a volunteer facilitator, each cohort gets to know each other, establishes their shared learning goals, and attends and discusses the conference “together” in a private Slack channel. They check in daily, and reconvene at the end of the conference to revisit their learning goals.
Following are our EX2020 cohorts, and links to each cohort’s web page (which includes links to relevant Zoom meetings, Slack channels, cohort rosters, and other resources). Access is limited to each cohort’s members, who can log in with their conference account credentials.
Cohorts
Experienced Managers, facilitated by Jabali Williams and Jenny Shirey
Financial Services UXers, facilitated by Fabian Boehm
Government UXers, facilitated by Brian Hochhalter
Healthcare UXers, facilitated by Kathryn Hautanen
Information Architects and Knowledge Managers, facilitated by Wendy Stengel
Interaction Designers, facilitated by Coby Almond and Changying (‘Z’) Zheng
Junior Managers, facilitated by Louis Spinelli
Random UXers, facilitated by Andrew Heber, Selene De La Cruz and Kristen Ramirez
Software/Technology UXers, facilitated by Cherri Pitts and Kendal Sparks
User Researchers, facilitated by Crystal Morey, DJ Heo, and Ian Wyosnick
FAQ
Sounds interesting. How do I join a cohort?
Cohorts are available to EX2020 ticket holders only, and are closed now (roughly 40% of our attendees have signed up). Assuming our pilot goes well, we will look to make cohorts a regular feature at future Rosenfeld Media conferences.
How much does it cost to join a cohort?
There is no fee for participating in an EX2020 cohort.
How were cohort topics determined?
Our team developed an initial set of topics of interest around job roles, industry verticals, personal identities, and language groups. We asked interested attendees to rate their preferences, and to suggest other topics of interest that weren’t covered in our initial list. We then iteratively revised the topics and matched attendees with those topics.
Who is participating in each cohort?
Each cohort’s participants are EX2020 conference attendees who share a common interest, role, or background, and want to attend the conference, make friends, and learn together.
What’s my role within a cohort?
If you’re participating in a cohort, you’re with peers you’ll want to get to know (and vice versa). And you’ll want to learn with them. Please be an active contributor to the chat discussion, react to the presentations, share relevant articles (you can add them to your cohort’s Gdoc), and be supportive of each other. In two words: show up!
How should I behave in the cohort?
With the kindness and generosity that you’d like others to offer you. Remember that it’s easy to misinterpret what people say in a purely digital environment. Let your facilitator know if you need help or have concerns. And please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct so you know our principles for being together, and procedures if there is a problem.
Who are the cohorts’ facilitators?
Our facilitators are people like you who want to attend EX2020 and who have volunteered to facilitate your cohort. Please help them by being an active and generous participant.
How do I get help?
Post a request in your cohort’s Slack channel, or in the #ex-help Slack channel. Or email enterpriseexperience@rosenfeldmedia.com
What happens after our final wrap up meeting?
We’ll be in touch to find out how your cohort went and how we could improve on the idea. We also plan to keep cohorts’ private Slack channels open indefinitely, so you’ll be able to stay in touch with your cohort.
Thanks for participating in our pilot!
