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Oliver Buchannon
Rachel Elnar

Rachel Elnar is a creative-community builder who designs experiences that turn audiences into communities.


Room Sharing & Pyramid Schemes: How Kevin Berger & Aaron Shurts Saved AIGA Seattle

Room Sharing & Pyramid Schemes: How Kevin Berger & Aaron Shurts Saved AIGA Seattle

Some leaders craft five-year strategic plans. Others accidentally save a chapter through shared hotel rooms, tactical pyramid deployment, and the revolutionary discovery that you can’t recruit members when you’re hemorrhaging money on every single event.

Podcast Episodes

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should: The Problem With Messy Webinars

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should: The Problem With Messy Webinars

Just because your webinar platform can do everything doesn't mean it should. After years of hosting virtual events, I've learned that sometimes the most powerful choice is deciding what to leave out.

Livestreaming

+1

Cheers & Tiers: When AIGA Jacksonville’s Karen & Varick Accidentally Engineered the Perfect Chapter Culture & Had No Idea They Were Doing It

Cheers & Tiers: When AIGA Jacksonville’s Karen & Varick Accidentally Engineered the Perfect Chapter Culture & Had No Idea They Were Doing It

Some leaders plan their legacy. Others stumble into it with a cooler full of beer, a can of Pringles, and an unshakeable belief that work should be fun.

Podcast Episodes

Webinars Aren’t Just Events. They’re Long Sales Conversations.

Webinars Aren’t Just Events. They’re Long Sales Conversations.

And most companies are having them all wrong.

Event Programming

When AIGA Philadelphia’s Kelly Holohan & Michele Cooper Ruled the AIGA World (And Facebook Didn’t Exist)

When AIGA Philadelphia’s Kelly Holohan & Michele Cooper Ruled the AIGA World (And Facebook Didn’t Exist)

The Secret to Design Leadership? Say “Sure, Why Not?” to Strangers.

Podcast Episodes

Letters Alone Mean Nothing: How TypeCon Keeps the Craft and the Community Alive

Letters Alone Mean Nothing: How TypeCon Keeps the Craft and the Community Alive

The most powerful creative communities aren't the biggest ones—they’re the ones where expertise gets passed hand-to-hand like family recipes.

Creative Community

Cheers & Tiers: Seth Johnson & Jenny Price: How AIGA Leadership Changed Everything

Cheers & Tiers: Seth Johnson & Jenny Price: How AIGA Leadership Changed Everything

Why our conversation with Seth Johnson and Jenny Price on Cheers & Tiers is required listening for any designer who's ever wondered if volunteer leadership actually matters

Podcast Episodes

+1

The Behavioral Psychology Behind Virtual Events That Actually Work

The Behavioral Psychology Behind Virtual Events That Actually Work

Why some digital experiences feel like magic (and others feel like watching someone explain how to maneuver Excel pivot tables through a broken headset). Oh, and get the bonus resource: the complete STREAM + Behavioral Psychology quick reference guide.

Event Hosting

+1

Why Community Isn't a Vibe—It’s a Strategy

Why Community Isn't a Vibe—It’s a Strategy

The moment I realized I'd been designing competitive events backwards—and how shifting from audience-first to community-first thinking changed everything about engagement, retention, and lasting impact.

Creative Community

From Poll to Practice  |  Your Event Bottleneck & How to Fix It Without Losing Your Mind

From Poll to Practice | Your Event Bottleneck & How to Fix It Without Losing Your Mind

Which part of your event planning could use a glow-up? You told me where you’re stuck in your event process, and honestly, I felt seen.

Poll Advice

Deep Dive on the Creative Workshop: How We Turned Digital Events from Snore-fest to More-fest

Deep Dive on the Creative Workshop: How We Turned Digital Events from Snore-fest to More-fest

We've all been there—staring at a screen while someone clicks through slides, desperately hoping for something, anything, to break the monotony of yet another "exciting product announcement."

Event Programming

From Poll to Practice  |  Your #1 Goal Just Called and It Wants a Strategy That Works

From Poll to Practice | Your #1 Goal Just Called and It Wants a Strategy That Works

We threw out a poll about your #1 business goal right now. Whether you voted or not, these are the four core challenges that keep coming up in my conversations with creative professionals... and here’s how to tackle each one.

Poll Advice

From Poll to Practice  |  From the Solo Host to Dream Team Leader

From Poll to Practice | From the Solo Host to Dream Team Leader

Who’s on Your Event Dream Team? You shared where you’re at today—here’s how to make the most of your current setup while building toward your next level of ease, flow, and support.

Poll Advice

+1

Host Like a Human Instead of a Corporate Robot

Host Like a Human Instead of a Corporate Robot

Your audience doesn’t want another polished presentation. They want connection, curiosity, and the feeling that they belong somewhere. Time to stop performing and start hosting like a human. Just use my bonus resource: the Human-First Host guide.

Event Hosting

+1

Cheers & Tiers: Season One Wrap-Up: Six Leadership Lessons (And Why Lobsters Make Terrible Leaders)

Cheers & Tiers: Season One Wrap-Up: Six Leadership Lessons (And Why Lobsters Make Terrible Leaders)

Well, folks, we did it. Erik and I somehow managed to wrangle 15 episodes of *Cheers and Tiers: Design Leadership Tales Retold* without completely embarrassing ourselves (though Erik’s story about literally destroying his first album... well, you’ll have to listen for that gem).

Podcast Episodes

From Poll to Practice  |  Your Community Superpower, Unlocked

From Poll to Practice | Your Community Superpower, Unlocked

What kind of community builder are you? After nearly 20 years of hosting everything from intimate design meetups to massive virtual events, I’ve cracked the code on community building. Spoiler alert: there’s no single “right” way, and that's exactly what makes it work.

Poll Advice

+1

Cheers & Tiers: From $350 to $85K: The Kristine Johnson Masterclass in AIGA Leadership

Cheers & Tiers: From $350 to $85K: The Kristine Johnson Masterclass in AIGA Leadership

Or: How to Ask for Money Without Getting Kicked Out of Mountain Retreats

Podcast Episodes

From Poll to Practice  |  Your Webinar Wipeout Fix: A 4-Part Rescue Plan

From Poll to Practice | Your Webinar Wipeout Fix: A 4-Part Rescue Plan

I've been running virtual events since 2013, which means I've made every mistake you're probably worried about making. The good news? Most webinar disasters are completely preventable once you know what to look for.

Poll Advice

+2

Cheers & Tiers: Bernardo Margulis, the Accidental Leader—How Saying Yes to Everything Shaped a Design Career

Cheers & Tiers: Bernardo Margulis, the Accidental Leader—How Saying Yes to Everything Shaped a Design Career

What happens when a fresh graduate gets thrown into AIGA leadership with zero experience and maximum enthusiasm? You get Bernardo Margulis, a designer-turned-engineer-turned-marketing director whose career reads like a masterclass in saying yes to opportunities you're not quite ready for.

Podcast Episodes

+1

Cheers & Tiers: Gage Mitchell Can’t Stop Building AIGA Communities

Cheers & Tiers: Gage Mitchell Can’t Stop Building AIGA Communities

TL;DR: We sat down with the guy who’s basically the Johnny Appleseed of AIGA chapters, and somehow this serial chapter-starter made starting design communities sound easier than assembling IKEA furniture.

Podcast Episodes

A Tale of Two Theaters (And Why One Deserves a Standing Ovation)

A Tale of Two Theaters (And Why One Deserves a Standing Ovation)

Here’s why the magic of live digital experiences can’t be faked, filmed, or focus-grouped into existence.

Livestreaming

+1

The Server’s Guide to Marketing: Why Your Registration Numbers Are Just Empty Tables

The Server’s Guide to Marketing: Why Your Registration Numbers Are Just Empty Tables

Why your $2 tip taught me more about customer success than your conversion funnel ever will.

Customer Experience

+1

Cheers & Tiers: How Victor Davila Leads Five Communities Without Losing His Mind

Cheers & Tiers: How Victor Davila Leads Five Communities Without Losing His Mind

Sometimes you meet someone who’s involved in so many creative communities that you wonder if they’ve secretly figured out how to clone themselves. Enter Victor Davila—Orlando-based illustrator, UCF professor, AIGA national board member, Creative Mornings host, Giant Illustrators founder, and apparently the human equivalent of a Swiss Army knife for design leadership.

Podcast Episodes

Your Customers Want to Belong, Not Just Buy

Your Customers Want to Belong, Not Just Buy

Through community-driven events, I’ve watched businesses soar when they stop treating prospects like sales targets and start treating them like humans craving connection. The difference? Night and day.

Customer Experience

+1

Cheers & Tiers: From Chapter President to Design Champion, a Conversation with Frances Yllana

Cheers & Tiers: From Chapter President to Design Champion, a Conversation with Frances Yllana

There’s something special about podcast conversations that flow so naturally you forget you’re recording. That's exactly what happened when Frances Yllana (pronounced: ill-ee-yana) joined Erik and me on the “Cheers & Tiers” podcast.

Podcast Episodes

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