Community Case Studies

"What do you do when you’re not inheriting a community—but building one from scratch inside an existing organization? In this episode of Community Case Studies, host Seth Resler sits down with Elsie Escobar—a longtime leader in podcasting and the Creator Success & Community Manager at Captivate—to explore what it actually looks like to build a community from the ground up. Unlike past guests w...

What if the real value of a membership isn’t the content — but the connection? In this episode of Community Case Studies, host Seth Resler talks with Emily and Alan Braithwaite, founders of Yellow Tuxedo and creators of the Digital Circus community. After pivoting from an outdoor events business during COVID, they began helping small business owners improve their online visibility. What started as...

What if creativity isn’t a “nice-to-have,” but a missing piece of wellness—and community is how you unlock it? In this episode of Community Case Studies: How Belonging Is Really Built, host Seth Resler talks with Meagan Mahaffy, founder of Art Gurl, a Brooklyn-based creative community helping people reconnect with their creativity—and with each other—offline. After a decade working at institutions...

What if the reason your conference feels forgettable isn’t the quality of the speakers—but the lack of real connection between the people in the room? In this episode of Community Case Studies, host Seth Resler talks with Max Evjen, a museum technologist and longtime board member of the Museum Computer Network (MCN), about how one of the oldest professional communities in the museum world has quie...

What happens when a niche inside a niche becomes a thriving global community? When podcast editor Steve Stewart couldn’t find a place to talk shop about post-production, he built one himself—the Podcast Editors Club, which has since grown into the largest and most diverse community of podcast editors in the world. What started as a simple Facebook group for sharing tips has evolved into a thriving...

What if the secret to building a thriving event community started with something as simple as sharing a slice of pie? When event producer Valentina Ruffoni noticed how isolating freelance event work could be, she baked up something new — literally. She founded the PIE Network (People in Events), a global community where event professionals connect, collaborate, and swap ideas over a slice of pie....

What happens when bestselling authors build spaces for readers, not just audiences? International bestselling novelist Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King’s Daughter and The Wicked Sister, joins host Seth Resler to talk about The Back Room—a thriving online community she co-founded for readers and writers. Born out of the pandemic, The Back Room re-creates the intimacy of in-person book events...

How does a community of creatives grow from a college film festival into a global talent network? Vi Andrews, Community Lead at Ideas United, manages a worldwide community of storytellers—photographers, filmmakers, designers, and more—who share a mission to use creativity for social impact. What began as Campus Movie Fest at Emory University has evolved into a thriving pipeline that connects emerg...

What happens when a radio station hands the mic to the community it serves? At WYSO, the public radio station in Southwest Ohio, storytelling is a collaborative effort. Through the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices, the station trains local residents—many with no prior media experience—to produce stories that air alongside professional journalism. The result? Programming that truly reflects...

A thriving music scene starts with a strong sense of community—and in Milwaukee, it often starts at the Grace Weber's Music Lab. This arts and music education program serves high school and middle school students, offering more than just lessons—it offers connection. At the heart of the Lab is Britney Freeman-Farr, a.k.a. B-Free, a local artist and educator who now serves as its Director. In this...

What does it actually take to build a real community—not just a social media following or a membership list, but a sense of genuine belonging? In Community Case Studies, we go beyond theory and dive into real-world examples. Each episode spotlights a different group—nonprofits, festivals, clubs, coworking spaces, online forums, and more—and explores how they apply time-tested community-building pr...