Wayne Sutton, community lead at Observable and founder of the Icon Project, shares real insights into why building communities and diverse ecosystems starts with empathy, the evolution of communities over the years, how Observable empowers data visualisation creators, breaking the stigma around mental health, and the importance of acting on our passions.
Wayne is a serial entrepreneur, advisor, a leading voice in diversity and inclusion, avid motorcycle rider, and a community pro. Among others, he is the founder of the Icon Project (addressing mental health and professional development needs for Black and Brown Men in Tech), a co-founder of Change Catalyst (a program for building inclusive tech ecosystems), and the community lead at Observable (a collaborative data platform).
In our conversation, he shares his experience on how communities evolved over the years, why building communities and diverse ecosystems starts with empathy, insights into how Observable empowers data visualisation creators, breaking the stigma around mental health, and the importance of acting on our passions. I loved doing this interview and I’m really excited for you to join us in this real and insightful conversation!
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⭐️ Highlights, inspiration, and key learnings:
- Platforms and humans have evolved, but community activities haven’t changed much in 15 years
- The key to building collaborative platforms and communities is empathy
- You don’t need to build a social media platform to add social features
- Diverse and inclusive ecosystems are based on listening, collaboration, and representation
- Being a community builder and taking care of mental health should be simultaneous dialogues
- Connect to your hobbies, passions, and what you love. And do it often
- Moments in nature, disconnected from the world, helps put things into perspective
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