Episode 37: Tech and Children's Book Maven Becky Benishek

Episode 37 of the Mavens Do It Better Podcast features Becky Benishek. Becky is a three time recipient of the Microsoft MVP award, is a one of a kind conference speaker and is the author of the following children’s books: The Squeezor is Coming!What’s At the End of Your Nose?Dr. Guinea Pig George and Hush, Mouse!  -coming soon. She is also a engagement and technology strategist for the Crisis Prevention Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Becky and Heather caught up virtually from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Marina del Rey, California.  

Listen in as Becky, and Heather talk about: 

  • Being a writer her entire life and the power of setting an intention to publish her first Children’s Book while enjoying some strawberry mead. Complete tips and tricks on book publishing having been both self-published and now with a publishing company.  

  • Becky’s start in IT and career working in both technology and marketing, currently training nurses, teachers, security guards techniques to keep children and adults safe for the Crisis Prevention Institute, an international training organization that specializes in the safe management of disruptive and assaultive behavior located in Wisconsin. 

  • The serendipity of a collaboration with each of her children’s books illustrators – one of the books becoming a coloring book from black and white drawings that she loved and developing characters through words becoming drawings and full-fledged on the page characters.  

To follow Becky: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Website – Becky Benishek | MVP Listing | Crisis Prevention Institute 

Becky is a 3rd-year Microsoft Office Apps & Services MVP. At the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI), she directs strategy and engagement for Microsoft Teams, CPI's Yammer Home Network, and their Yammer External Network for customers. She also designs SharePoint Team Sites and other SPO pages because it's fun. 

She's presented at Microsoft Ignite and MVP Community Meetups, participated in numerous podcasts and interviews, and mentors Yammer admins around the world. Becky also writes tech-based articles on LinkedIn, Medium, and the Microsoft Tech Community. 

Becky has published three children’s books so far: “What’s At the End of Your Nose?”, “Dr. Guinea Pig George,” and "The Squeezor is Coming!" A fourth book, "Hush, Mouse!" is coming out in June 2019. She's working on young adult and adult fiction, poetry, sci-fi stories, and song-writing as well. 

Becky also has an extensive Lego collection and a working Commodore 64. She is married with guinea pigs. 

Mavens Do It Better original theme music composed by Jesse Case with voice over by Julia Francis.

Cook

Heather Cook is an award-winning marketing maven, technology entrepreneur and an epic connector that brings many worlds together. She has extensive experience marketing products and services for Enterprise businesses, startups and emerging markets. Heather builds plans and processes that are nimble, human and different. She is an adept storyteller and is passionate about growth for both employees and the corporate bottom-line. Heather hails from the arts and the bulk of her career has been working with the largest technology companies in the world (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, NetApp, Hewlett Packard, and Dell). Her nineteen years of experience working at technology companies and building global high-tech marketing strategy has driven millions of dollars of revenue and multiple award-winning campaigns. She has led global marketing teams for many technology companies including AvePoint, IT Unity & KnowledgeLake. Heather was a part of the original Microsoft SharePoint Marketing team. During her tenure, she helped launch multiple versions of the product, build the SharePoint Partner Ecosystem and conceived of and produced the first three Microsoft SharePoint Conferences. Creative Maven has produced thousands of global marketing campaigns and events. Currently CM is focusing on go to market strategies for Microsoft and its partners as well as a new site sister site launching in 2015 called Marketingfixer.com. Heather also serves as Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Content Panda, an innovative technology startup looking to actively disrupt how content is delivered inside software.