Meet the Unsplash team:
‘Meet the Unsplash team’ is a series of interviews with members of the Unsplash team, giving an insight into the people behind the platform.
Tell us about yourself
I’m Steph, and I’m one of the co-founders at Unsplash. I lead the Partnerships and Community team. I live in Montreal, only a short walk from Unsplash’s HQ in Old Montreal.
I graduated from university with a degree in Actuarial Mathematics and Finance, which is a field that deals heavily with risk analysis. Actuaries provide statistical probabilities of future events occurring — you usually see them working in financial markets or pension funds.
After graduating, I worked at a life insurance firm for a little over a year. It was an interesting experience, but not one I can say I particularly enjoyed. I always had an itch to work on something different; more creative. Something that would allow me to solve problems in a unique way, without conforming to traditional ways.
So in 2012,
and I quit our jobs to start our own company together. We met in 2013, and through a few twists and turns, Unsplash was born.A day at Unsplash
A day at Unsplash is never the same. Because I lead the Partnerships and Community side, I spend time sharing Unsplash with some of the most influential and creative partners in the world. This includes partners who are looking to integrate with Unsplash’s API, or who want to use Unsplash’s platform to share their product with our community of millions of influential creatives worldwide.
Lucky for me, I also get to spend a lot of time with both Andrew and Annie from the Community team. We work on projects that help nurture and grow Unsplash’s global community of over 90k+ contributors.
My day-to-day allows me to work with most of the Unsplash team, but I primarily spend more time with Mikael (co-founder), Luke (co-founder), Annie (community), Andrew (community), Kirill (designer), and Deluvio (designer).
⚙️ Tools used
My toolbox consists of Trello (for project management), Slack (for communicating), Dropbox Paper (for documenting and scoping), and the Be Focused app (to break up my tasks into smaller 25-min intervals).
🗺 Location
You would usually find me at the Unsplash HQ in Montreal. But when I’m not there, I’m either working from home with Mikael (we’re married!) and our chow chow, Nala, or meeting with partners in New York and San Francisco.
🎧 What do you like to listen to while you work?
It really depends on the day, and what I’m working on.
For creative work, I’m into Bon Iver, Dustin Tebbutt, Sleeping At Last, Nathan Ball, Vance Joy, A R I Z O N A.
For quicker tasks, I’m into Kanye, Eminem, Dr. Dre.
🥑 Favourite working snack?
I’m not the foodie-type, so you’ll find me eating similar meals more or less everyday. As long as it’s healthy, and doesn’t contain dairy or meat, I’m happy.
Here are some of my go-to’s:
Morning:
- Decaf coffee, with oat milk
- 2 scrambled eggs with grilled onion, grilled portobello mushroom, half an avocado, and a side salad
- Vegan Protein shake with Spirulina (on days I’m working out)
Lunch:
- A salad with grilled mixed mushroom, a handful of kale, and a hard-boiled egg.
- A chickpeas soup with vegetables.
- A salmon fillet with a side order of grilled or steamed vegetables.
Snacks:
- Dark chocolate
- Beanitos
- Pegan Thin Protein Bars
- Chai tea, with steamed oat milk
🚲 What do you do when you aren’t working on Unsplash?
I love the outdoors and being active. One of my favourite things I enjoy doing with Mikael is discovering a city’s hidden gems — those unusual attractions or quirky sites. We can spend hours bike riding through the city and exploring the different shops, architecture, restaurants, and history.
When we’re not on an adventure, we’re cross-training 3x a week, playing soccer, and spending time with family and friends.
🔎 Find Stephanie at…
Unsplash
Slack @steph-admin
Twitter
Instagram
Medium
