You are invited to share your ideas about work and culture during the following focus group discussions:

Creating Culture and Community

September 16, 2026, from 10-11am
Facilitators: Debra Howell and Laurie Hemmings

Technology powers our work, but people bring it to life!  

Join your IT colleagues for a lively, interactive conversation about how we can build a stronger sense of culture and community across IT at Cornell. Together, we’ll dream up ways to connect, collaborate, celebrate, and bring more fun into our work lives.  

What helps people feel welcomed, valued, and connected? What traditions, activities, or shared experiences would bring us together? And, most importantly, how can we make IT an even better place to work?  

Bring your ideas, your creativity, and your sense of fun. Let’s create an IT community where people don’t just work together; they genuinely enjoy being together. 
 

Pain Point Palooza

October 14, 2026, from 10-11am
Facilitators: Tanya Grove and Erica Ellis 

Air your IT gripes for a good cause! Join fellow team members for a candid conversation about what’s getting in the way of success. Help us uncover our biggest challenges, frustrations, and opportunities for improvement. No issue is too small, and no bottleneck is too big. Come ready to share your experience and help us turn pain points into action plans. 
 

Secret Sauce Session (Best Practices) 

November 17, 2026, from 11am-12noon
Facilitators: Tanya Grove and Sean Walsh

Great ideas deserve to be shared. This focus group is an opportunity for you to share your “secret sauce”, those best practices and proven approaches that have led you and your team to success. Together, we’ll explore what’s working and identify opportunities to scale those successes across the organization, leveraging our collective expertise to elevate service and collaboration across the entire IT function.

What if we... (Magic Wand Discussion) 

December 9, 2026, from 10-11am
Facilitators: Debra Howell and Ashley Percey

Imagine a world with no budget limitations, no technology barriers, and no “We’ve always done it that way.” If anything were possible, what would you change?  What would you create? Join us for a high-energy brainstorming session where we put aside constraints, suspend disbelief, waive our magic wands, and dream big.  Bring your bold ideas, innovative solutions, and ways that we can transform how we work, collaborate, and deliver value. No idea is too ambitious. Today we’re asking, “What if we could say yes?”

Your Voice Matters

All employees in IT jobs are welcome to participate. These sessions offer you a direct voice in building a new, shared culture, as teams that once worked separately now come together under one collaborative umbrella. The Workforce Readiness design team will host these focus groups as part of the Evolve IT initiative.

What to Expect

The focus groups will be held once a month via Zoom. Each session will last about one hour. Sessions will include breakout room discussions and use online tools to collect ideas and feedback in real time.  

Get Involved

Please share your perspectives and help shape the future of our new organization. If you want to participate but cannot attend, please email your feedback to futureofit@cornell.edu and enter the session title in the email subject.

To learn more about the Evolve IT initiative, visit evolve.it.cornell.edu.