OpenSpace

Just updated our Facebook page! Check out the new look and give us a Like!

We want to hear from you! In the interest of building up ourOpenSpace community, we are looking to start some conversations about how best to encourage the spirit of coworking at OpenSpace. Let us pick your brain- what are you most excited about as an OpenSpace member?

Each week there will be a new question up for discussion, posted on the fridge in the kitchen. You can leave us any ideas you may have, no matter how big or small! Feel free to build and play off of other people’s comments- collaboration in action!

Have an idea for a topic? Let us know!

We have a new, more efficient printer! Help us be more environmentally friendly by printing in black and white- when you go to print, just choose OpenSpace P2055dn as your default OpenSpace printer.

- To connect for Macs: Add “OpenSpace P2055dn” to your printer list

- To connect for PCs: Visit hp.com and download the necessary drivers for HP LaserJet P2055dn

If you still need color, OpenSpace Color CP3525 is available as an alternative. Follow the same steps above to add this printer.

Hebah Fisher
Program Director, Community Investment Collaborative

THE WHO

Less than a year out of school and Hebah Fisher is already hard at work to bring positive change in Charlottesville. Hebah graduated from the University of Virginia in 2011 as part of the inaugural class of the Global Development Studies major, with a concentration in microfinance. While in undergrad, Hebah was a leader with SEED (Student Entrepreneurs for Economic Development), which provides consulting to NGOs and social entrepreneurs on microfinance and sustainable development. Hebah is now using that background in microfinance to help start the Community Investment Collaborative (CIC), the brainchild of Cville Coffee owner Toan Nguyen. The CIC is a newly created non-profit to promote microenterprise development in Charlottesville. Through business training, microloans, and mentoring, CIC aims to encourage entrepreneurship among small businesses and low to moderate-income entrepreneurs who might not otherwise have access to traditional training or funding. Aspiring entrepreneurs participate in their 16-week business training course, and at the end training graduates can apply for a microloan to start their business, up to $35,000, after which on-going mentoring and a peer-support network keep the spirit of entrepreneurship going strong. As CIC’s first (and only!) full-time employee, it’s Hebah’s job to make sure all the pieces fit, but she says she loves the opportunity to test the theories she’s studied. The first CIC course is scheduled to launch this April, and CIC will also be featured during the Innovation portion of the upcoming Charlottesville TomTom Founders Fest.

THE WHY OPENSPACE

Hebah first came to OpenSpace through one of our Pitch Nights, loved the concept, and then kept coming back. A frequenter of coffee shops, she still enjoys Cville Coffee and Para Coffee, but it’s the opportunity to make friends and ask questions that keeps her hooked on OpenSpace. The ability to scribble on the walls in the work studios, as well as the steady stream of coffee and Twizzlers, is also a bonus!

WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW

Hebah is really into kickboxing! She was first introduced to the sport while in high school in Bahrain, and now she practices next door at ACAC. She loves the rhythmical sounds of hitting the bag. “It’s a lot like dancing,” she says.

Photo Credit: Jen Fariello