By Cade Martin

As a kid, I spent many a dinner at a table surrounded by friends of my parents, an eclectic cast of characters — sculptors, writers, painters, creatives. That thread of creative community has remained in our offices, our teams, and our collaborations. But that thread feels thinner in this moment.

So I asked, with the purpose of sharing, and of supporting and caring for this creative community in its current, uncertain reality. I asked what people are doing, how they are feeling, how they are sparking creativity. It feels important to share what we do, when we can’t do all our doing.

Reaching out first to some of the talented people I’ve had the good fortune to profile though the Capitol Communicator portrait series.  It’s my version of a virtual dinner table of sorts. Grab a chair and listen in to my conversation with Maria Rodriguez, President of Vanguard Communications.

Maria, what, if anything, are you doing differently?

 Practically everything! Like everyone else, we are holding all of our meetings, including creative brainstorming sessions, via video calls. I’m unexpectedly finding that my days are more jam-packed because everyone in my life is turning to video calls as a way to keep active and engaged. I’m not just on calls with my Vanguard colleagues and clients, but with my professional organizations, nonprofit boards, friends and family. I’ve already participated in four virtual happy hours! I’m also spending more time exercising and cooking – two things I love to do!

 Are you staying creatively active?

Absolutely. We are holding frequent video calls to stay connected, brainstorm together and share tips for navigating life during COVID-19. We’ve started a chat thread where staff can post pictures of their pets, the view outside their windows, and other things that bring us joy. It’s been a great way to continue to live one of our core values – to be friendly and fun!

 We also have put a list together of projects (should anyone have down time) that will help improve the firm and individual skills, everything from writing new marketing materials to submitting our work for awards programs and participating in training opportunities.

On a personal note, I’ve decided to finally learn to meditate. Check back to see how I do on that!

How are you sparking yourself creatively?

I’m taking two long walks everyday and listening to podcasts. Some are about the current news environment including The Daily, The Women, CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction; but most are evergreen interviews with business leaders about how they built their businesses and pivoted when external circumstances demanded it, such as How I Built This and Skimm’d From the Couch. It’s a great way to keep me thinking creatively about how to enhance what and how we do our work at Vanguard.