Hi wildlabbers, 

Ooof, this is going to be a difficult one to write. It's a message I have left to truly the last possible moment because it will be so hard to find the right words. 

But today has been my final day with WILDLABS. 

I could write something lovely here about impact, achievement - the size of the community, the events, the funding and all of the amazing programmes we've built. I have loved building this community, working with my team, and having the space to create things that could help with the challenges you've told us about. I am so, so thankful for all the incredible friends and collaborators I've worked with and all that we've done together. 

But the thing I am most proud of, and what I will think of most often from these past ten years is the feeling of being in our community. That when our community came together - in our events, in workshops, in meetups, in forums - it had a particular wildlabs feeling. That people were kind, welcoming, collaborative.. and real. And that we were able to stay like this even as we grew to 10,000 members. No matter how stressful or hard this work was, spending time with our community has always been the source of inspiration and restoration for me and our team, and I hope this feeling, this community, is a legacy that continues long after I move into my next chapter. 

Looking forward, I don't have a shiny, exciting announcement to make about what's next for me. I'm taking some time, resting, working on my narrowboat and planning a long journey. I'm thinking about this next year as a bit of a sabbatical - I am not ready for a new big role, rather, I'll be picking up consulting opportunities and getting involved in projects that interest me and give me the most excuse to learn, read or meet new people. If you could use my advice or want to work together... or just want a chat, pop me a message. I'm curious to see what enters if I leave an open space. 

It has been such an enormous privilege to have worked with WILDLABS, I am so proud of what we have created together and will continue to cheer for my team and this community even though I'll be doing it from the sidelines now. I will be popping along to the next variety hour to say a final goodbye, so hopefully I will see some of you there. 

Thank you, and farewell! I'll see you all very soon. 

Steph