Founder Fridays Part One: balloons, birthdays and Obama

During the month of July, Alex Rogers is sitting down with our founder, Meg Alexander, to chat about her life, career and how Grae came to be. Check back here at the end of each week as we share her insights on Founder Fridays.

Alex Rogers is an experience designer and community builder based in Oakland, California.

This week, we will hear from Meg on the early experiences that shaped her and how they influence the experiences she creates for others.

Meg (second from the right) at her 4th of July Family Reunion

A: Tomorrow is July 4th. As we both know, holidays are an experience in themselves, do you have a memory of this holiday that stands out?

M: Growing up my extended family had a house on an island in Maine and one year they hosted a 4th of July family reunion at their place. It was a pretty quintessential New England celebration with lobster races, fireworks, and sweatshirts required in the crisp evenings. It defined summer holidays for me.

A: Getting a little deeper into your world of expertise, what is the earliest event that you can remember attending?

M: My earliest memory is going to a hot air balloon festival when I was a toddler. We got up super early in the morning because they take off at sunrise. I still remember there being mist as the dew burned off, and the feeling that this amazing thing was happening in front of me as more balloons than I could count took off into the sky.

Young Meg at one of her famous birthday celebrations

I think it sticks out because it was such a sensory experience. From waking up early, to feeling the sun as it rose, to the smell of the grass, and the colors of the balloons- I can still pretty easily recall the feeling of being there.

A: Rumor has it that you started planning at an early age, tell us more about that..

M: When I was about three years old my grandma would watch me on Friday afternoons, and almost every Friday I would insist that we throw my mom a birthday party. So we’d go to the party store, and get yet another color of streamer, decorate my house, and sing happy birthday to my mom. I’ve actually had interviews in the past where I have been asked when I first started planning events, and responded with “well, when I was three.” It's been a journey.

A: If you could go back to any period of time and be a part of producing a historic event or gathering what would that be for you?

Meg at Obama’s Inauguration

M: This is not so far back, so I feel like it is cheating, but I start to get a little teary eyed thinking about Obama's inauguration. I was able to attend, and definitely not dressed appropriately for the freezing temperatures. I ended up taking an EMT’s advice and went into a Smithsonian to warm up, but I was still able to watch a cross section of the crowd on the mall as it was happening, and to listen to it on the phone by calling my mom who put her phone next to the television. I think that it was a particularly hopeful time in the US. It was palpable in the crowd that gathered, and I still feel lucky to have witnessed and shared in that moment in history.

It’s these kinds of shared experiences that I really want to create. The ones where you can feel momentum building with a group of people, however large. The ones that you're sharing with your mom, or friend, or colleague, or that you meet new people at and know you share a connection, just by having shared that time or space together. The ones that change lives in an instant.

A: We have talked about some events you have experienced or been a part of in your youth - thinking back on these experiences from when you were three to now, what makes an event memorable or meaningful if you had to distill it?

M: The one thing at the core for me is having that shared moment - whatever that might be. Sharing an experience for a moment in time creates a source of connection. These moments live on as memories. The connections can be cultivated into community. But really, it all starts with that shared experience.

Interested in scheduling some time to chat with Meg about her experiences and expertise? Drop us a line.