Love me my colleagues

I recently attended an Ask the Specialist Panel hosted by my chapter, NAPO Seattle Area, of my professional society, the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. Always enriching to hear different perspectives, the unique orientations my colleagues have to their passions.

Todd Allan, Structured Space LLC – digital organizing

Linda Deppa, Uncluttered Professional Organizing – photo organizing

Kimberly Mlinar, Tidy Spruce – KonMari Method

Ellen Sklanka, Renewal Organizing – senior organizing

Valerie Green, Pivot Organizing – Moderator (tiny spaces)

Todd Allan, founder of Structured Space LLC, has been an organizer for almost eight years. He started primarily working on residential projects but recognized his love for technology and staying on top of digital clutter. Being Google Cloud-Certified in Google Workspace and an Evernote Certified Consultant, Todd now works with individuals and small businesses on organizing digital information, helping clients roll out Google Workspace, and creating information workflows with Evernote. Todd’s career has spanned several industries and from food production to sales and marketing roles. He’s worked on platforms from Microsoft Small Business Server, Microsoft Office, the Apple ecosystem and all things Google. Todd is driven by helping clients overcome digital clutter and learn innovative ways to communicate and collaborate more effectively.

Linda Deppa is a Certified Professional Organizer with NAPO and a Certified Photo Organizer with The Photo Managers. As a founding member of Uncluttered, a professional organizing company based in the Seattle area, Linda has been an organizer for over 23 years. She and her team use a personal, hands-on approach to help individuals and small businesses bring order and calm to their home and work environments. Linda’s love of photography, passion for the stories they tell, and finding thousands of photos in clients’ homes that deserve to tell their story, led her to The Photo Managers and starting that side of her business in 2016.

Kimberly Mlinar is a home organizer and Certified KonMari Consultant^R, a Washington State resident, with an undergrad degree from the University of Washington and an MBA from the Indian School of Business. She’s worked for several years in tech, managing strategic partnerships with major search engines, including Google and Bing. Home organizing is her passion, and she has been pursuing that passion for the last three+ years.

Ellen Sklanka has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, and more than 20 years experience leading others in being their best selves in their workplace. In her shift to Professional Organizing in 2020, Ellen began serving students of all ages, helping them to create personalized systems for success.

Valerie Green owns Pivot Organizing in Seattle, WA, where she offers home organizing, (specialties include small spaces, creative work, and reuse), productivity coaching, downsizing, and move services. She loves helping people set up structures and systems that help them stay organized long-term. Outside of work, Valerie enjoys fitness, vegetarian cooking, spending time with her three rescue dogs and husband, and dressing up her topiary llama for the holidays.

They all of them got me thinking and laughing with their stories, their generous sharing of their techniques. And there’s power in affirming that, regardless of our specialties, we honor mutual roots of the ethics that guide our actions, the compassion we try to bring to our work, and the common tactics that we use across “genres.”