Hi all 
I wanted to introduce myself to the Sia community as your new Grants Program manager:
My name is Rebecca (username @mecsbecs on Discord) and I’ve been in and out of the blockchain space since 2021. My background is in project & community management, and experiential marketing, and as a non-technical person my interest in blockchain has been focused on its practical application and potential to empower individuals and communities.
I was previously in the NEAR ecosystem, first working for the NEAR Foundation as a Community Team Lead then for a couple of projects mainly based on NEAR. While there I helped launch several community funding verticals which resulted in the first instances of community self-governance and funding for creatives, supported the development of Foundation grants streams, and community-lead project development and experiential activations (ex. virtual and in-person events, marketing campaigns, collaborations). I also built core organizational infrastructure for internal team communication, including OKR and KPI reporting.
Namely, I have a pretty long history of building and recording organizational administrative processes for improved communication (internal and external), record-keeping, and accessibility. I’ve even been a grantee a time or two myself. I also like solving problems and working out logistics.
For the past two years, since leaving the NEAR ecosystem, I’ve been working as a freelance project manager, mostly in corporate events. But I felt a need for work that supports a greater mission and allows me to make a positive impact on the world. Enter Sia and the opportunity to work as the Grants Program Manager for the Sia Foundation.
I’m happy to say it’s been a great start. I’ve been getting onboarded over the past month, and have been shadowing my Foundation colleagues who have been managing the program since its inception three years ago. By the end of August I am hoping to graduate to managing the program myself, and thank you in advance for your patience as I get acclimated to the full role.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to let me know in response to this post or anonymously through this survey link your thoughts on the Grants Program and suggestions for improvement. This feedback will be key to making sure it flourishes, and the wider Sia ecosystem with it.
I look forward to getting to know everyone soon! 
Regards,
Rebecca