Rebecca Alvord

Designer, GE Appliances Rebecca Alvord (née Eakins) is a senior industrial designer on the Brand & Concepts Team at GE Appliances in Louisville, KY.  Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she received her bachelor’s degree in industrial design from Western Washington University in 2006. Alvord has led design on product lines including refrigeration, cooking and dishwashers. She holds several patents. In her most recent role on the Brand & Concepts Team, she is responsible for defining and executing cross product branding initiatives for GE Monogram, and identifying new business opportunities through research and development. Alvord loves design because at its heart because it’s about solving problems and creating beauty. Her design interests include consumer research, trends, materials and processes. When she is not enhancing the consumer experience through appliance design, she is an active volunteer within the national and local design community. In 2013, she led the formation of the IDSA Kentucky Chapter, serving as chair from 2013-2015. She is also a lead organizer for the Louisville Mini Maker Faire.

Activities for Rebecca

Chapter Officer | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023

Secretary / Treasurer, IDSA Louisville Chapter

 

Board of Directors | Chapter Director | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

I truly believe our chapters are the hands and feet of IDSA and I have seen the difference our chapters can make in our local communities. As a chapter chair, I experienced firsthand the challenges chapter officers deal with in planning and organizing relevant content, recruiting chapter members and managing logistics such as newsletters and budget. It’s a tough job!  It is my goal to continue to bring these issues to the IDSA Board and streamline as many processes as we can, using best practices from chapters across the country. IDSA needs to take more of the burden off running a chapter, so that the officers can focus on their members.

As Chapter VP for two years, I have accomplished the following:

  • Conducted research to identify the barriers/frustrations for chapter officers as well as the best practices of successful chapters. Synthesized these into a Chapter Taskforce Report and presented my findings and recommendations to the Board of Directors.
  • Established quarterly chapter officer phone calls to ensure a regular rhythm of information sharing, better alignment with IDSA’s objectives, as well as gaining insight and motivation from each other.
  • Oversaw the creation of a bi-weekly email specifically to chapter officers called chapterUpdate. The goal of this email is to share the great work that our chapters are doing and resources and tips, and to provide timely information updates from IDSA headquarters to chapters.
  • Advocated for clarity in chapter financial reporting as well as in chapters being able to see their cumulative account balance. (Sounds like a no brainer, but it was difficult to implement!) Chapters also now have access to their SEED money at the beginning of the year and get to keep any SEED funds in their account that they don’t spend.
  • Identified the need for more chapter leader mentorship. As a result, I advocated for Board DVPs to have more of a mentorship role with their district officers; we now have a proposal for approval by membership to change the role of DVPs.

I know we still have a lot of work to do to continue improving how IDSA equips our chapter officers and eases the load taken on by volunteers. If elected as your Chapter Director, I want to continue tackling these issues. Some of the goals I specifically will focus on include:

  • Flushing out and overseeing the new roles of the Chapter DVPs as “Super Chairs.” My vision is that the DVP role becomes the go-to resource for district officers. These experienced individuals will help coach and mentor their officers as well as help connect them to regional resources. Improving the onboarding process for chapter officers, including standardized training and toolkits.
  • Shared Chapter Resource Library for purchased assets or member skills such as documentary films, speakers available via remote conferencing, etc. We are currently distributing items via chapterUpdate, but I want to see a website repository set up to which Chapter Officers can contribute.
  • Elevate the role of a chapter officer through awards and recognition at a national level. We need to better recognize and celebrate our hardworking volunteers. This will also help with recruitment of new officers.

It would be an honor to continue serving on the IDSA Board as a voice for the chapters. I see this as an exciting opportunity for me to give back and serve my IDSA community.

 

Speaker | Women in Design Deep Dive | 2017

Inspiring Leadership Workshop

How often in our busy lives, do we take time for personal and small group reflection on how to be a better leader? In accountability groups that will live on after the conference, we’ll discuss challenges that today’s women leaders face as well as anecdotal examples of inspiring leadership. We can all recognize great leadership, but how do we get there? Individually, each participant will focus on a personal challenge that they need to improve and then work through a plan of action with a partner. Prepare to be challenged and to help encourage others to be better leaders.