The Nonessential: Recent Episodes
Christine Keller
A nonessential worker navigating through life after the 2020 pandemic and documenting fellow nonessential workers and their experiences.
Instagram @The.Nonessential
How does a small city cultural festival and conference thrive, let alone survive a pandemic? Ben Wilkes sat down with me to discuss how the Cities Rising Project based in Charlottesville, Virginia switched gears from a live in person festival and conference to a virtual platform over 2020 and how they are moving forward into 2021. Tune in to find out how sponsorship, engagement and overall production has changed for them and how they are still able to capture their audience in the virtual world. We talk about the importance of team interaction while working from home, and how sometimes the best collaborations happen when you are your teammates have a non-business mid-day chat.
Tynisha is a 9th Grade English Teacher based in Queens, New York. This week we talk about virtual learning in an underserved community, the Black Lives Matter movement, parenting an infant during a pandemic, Covid scares, mental health and so much more. Join us as two old friends catch up on the past year, discuss diversity and how our time with the Disney College Program opened our eyes to new cultures.
Jessica sits down with me this week to go over the world of recruitment. She is a recruiter for Walt Disney World in sunny Orlando Florida and gives me some tips and tricks for getting your resume on the desk of a recruiter. She is an amazing human who was gracious enough to spend some time with me even though she is busy with running her own small business and living an active lifestyle. Tune in to hear all about how she is staying busy, her love for The Walt Disney Company and how the Cast Members are strengthening their community by giving back to those in need.
Two former Walt Disney World event team members reminisce about life before Covid. This week my guest is the amazing Casey Bishop. Casey is the Assistant Special Events Manager for the Denver Broncos and she is also my former Walt Disney World teammate. Join us this week as we discuss our former lives as members of the Disney Catered Events Team, her current role and how it has transformed over the past year, and our shared love for all things Marvel.
Anne Wiltzer is the revenue manager at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and she also happens to be one of my very best friends of over 20 years. This week we talk about working from home, how Los Angeles (Hollywood specifically) looked during the pandemic, and go over her first hand experiences and thoughts about Black Lives Matter and the election.
Brittany Kane sits down with me for a much needed friend catch up after being apart for 9 months. She is funny, smart, creative, independent and strong. I loved hearing about her art, the launch of her website, her thoughts on 2020 and all of the in-between. For more information on available prints and merchandise visit brittanykaneart.com
Check out this week's episode featuring the uplifting and motivational Sunny Jenkins. She is a fitness coach at Orange Theory, a certified nutrition coach and a wellness advocate. Sunny and I discuss how fitness helped reign in her anxiety, her switch from hospitality to fitness, honing in on your your "why" and finding that motivation to move forward and accomplish goals. She is positive, helpful and honest - you don't want to miss it!
For more information on Sunny check her out on Instagram @StrongandSunny
Jen and Andrew sit down with me this week to chat about what it has been like working in a hotel during a pandemic. After being furloughed in March they were brought back in June to assist in the reopening of the hotel. Jen is the Director of Outlets and Andrew is an Assistant Front Office Manager. Tune in to see how the hotel is operating differently, and their personal outlooks on 2020 and the remainder of 2021.
Angela sits down with me to discuss starting a new business during the pandemic, her thoughts on returning to events, the lack of representation for hospitality workers in the media and one obsession that we have in common, Walt Disney World.
This week I am sitting down with my good friend and former boss Alyssa. We will be looking at the beginning of the pandemic through her eyes as a hotel operations manager, her new found job outside of hospitality, mental health and her long distance relationship.
I got to do my first interview with my best friend from work - Kaycee Giroue! Tune in to see how she is navigating 2020, and what she misses about being a part of a large events team.
Tune in to my first episode as I introduce myself and give you my first hand experience from the beginning of the pandemic to now.