I wanted to add to the chorus of praise and sadness that has followed the unexpected passing of a friend of ACEDS – Kaylee Walstad.
Kaylee was a force in our industry, and I personally benefitted from her kindness and generosity. You may remember that for about four years Kaylee led strategic partnerships and client engagement at ACEDS. And it was during a time that I was going through a professional transition from 20 years of working in law firms to launching my own consulting practice. This was in the wake of publishing Project Management in Electronic Discovery, and I needed to get used to the idea of self-promotion, something I had never really done before.
During that transition, Kaylee would reach out to me and ask me to get involved in presentations, speaking opportunities, and other activities with ACEDS. I would sit in the ACEDS booth at industry conferences, and I began to meet people and make connections that I would not have made otherwise.
The outcome was a flurry of consulting gigs that sustained me and my family during a pivotal time in our lives and my career. Obviously, others played a role in this as well, but a lot of the early inspiration originated with Kaylee’s (and Mary Mack’s) ideas about becoming more involved in ACEDS.
As my friend Doug Austin points out in his moving tribute to her, Kaylee described herself a connector of people, an evangelist, and community builder. She did that and more, and I am personally grateful for the guidance and opportunities she put in front of me.
On behalf of the team here at ACEDS, our sincere condolences to Kaylee’s family and friends.
Rest in peace, friend.
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