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Today I have the pleasure of introducing Sasha, Stack Exchange’s newest community manager. Sasha’s diverse academic and professional experience shows her passion for continuous learning and for empowering communities to succeed.

Sasha comes to us from the nonprofit and public service world, most recently working as a community organizer for an urban public library system. She is particularly excited to be in a role where she can translate in-person community building skills into working with virtual communities. Much of Sasha’s focus will be on helping subcommunities come together and grow on Stack Overflow, as the Collectives product continues to evolve.

With an academic background in Linguistics and African American studies, Sasha most recently began studying Computer Science. As you might expect, she’s used Stack Overflow frequently as a resource. She’s never needed to actually ask a question, because she’s always found that someone else had already asked exactly what she needed – often before she had even fully formed the question in her head!

Outside of work and study, Sasha enjoys baking, especially sourdough (her starter is named Karl). She spends a lot of time listening to audiobooks, and is always looking for new sci-fi recommendations. Sasha is also a budding (pun intended) plant mom, and is hoping to be a dog mom in the near future.

In her short time here, Sasha has already impressed the team and we know she’ll be an asset to the Stack Exchange community. Welcome, Sasha!

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    Re "She’s never needed to actually ask a question, because she’s always found that someone else had already asked exactly what she needed": Mission accomplished! Commented Feb 21, 2023 at 21:59
  • "especially sourdough (her starter is named Karl)" what's a starter?
    – starball
    Commented Feb 21, 2023 at 22:10
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    A sourdough/yeast starter. Its like a pet you can eat! (In a socially acceptable way)
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Feb 21, 2023 at 23:16
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    Just curious, why have you been chosen to announce this? Is it random, or based on something? ;) Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 9:21
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    I will be working closely with Sasha, so I get to do her introduction. :)
    – Berthold StaffMod
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 16:11
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    @ShadowWizardChasingStars, we asked Berthold to do it, because Sasha will be assisting on Collectives quite a lot, making Berthold one of her primary coworkers. Also because I like to keep you on your toes and make you wonder. :-)
    – Philippe StaffMod
    Commented Feb 28, 2023 at 13:03

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I'm super excited to be here and looking forward to getting to work with all of you going forward!

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    welcome! looking forward to seeing you around :)
    – starball
    Commented Feb 21, 2023 at 22:09
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    Here's a little scifi story about our microbial allies... 'When the yogurt took over, we all made the same jokes – “Finally, our rulers will have culture,”'whatever.scalzi.com/2010/10/02/…
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 2:27
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    @PM2Ring strikes me as a cautionary tale, never underestimate the power of microorganisms!
    – Sasha StaffMod
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 17:54
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I'm so thrilled that Sasha is joining us! She's a fantastic addition to the team, and will make a huge difference. Welcome aboard!

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A huge welcome to Sasha! I've enjoyed getting to work with her and also getting to know her over this past month. I've decided she's my go to person now if I ever need a book recommendation. She is such a fantastic addition to the team. I'm so glad she's here.

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Your background in literature and linguistics is very impressive in SE's context:

community organizer for an urban public library system

academic background in Linguistics and African American studies

I understand this as you having focused on large scale organization of knowledge and the math underlying human communication (besides anthropology). Having someone with skills in the humanities truly is exciting.

I'm looking forward to the specific influence you bring to the team.

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    I definitely hope to bring a multidisciplinary outlook to my role as a community manager!
    – Sasha StaffMod
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 17:58
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    @Sasha If you ever have free time to spend on SE outside your job, do stop by at Literature - I think you'd enjoy a lot of our content, and we always have unanswered questions waiting for the right expert to come along :-) Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 19:37
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    @bad_coder, I totally agree. Those skills are a large part of why Sasha was perfect for the role. When hiring, I'm usually looking for people who bring us something that we don't have, and she fills the needs we have there beautifully.
    – Philippe StaffMod
    Commented Feb 28, 2023 at 13:00

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