To Our Beloved Norica by

Five Reasons I Love Norica

jocelyn_noyaquintana — 2021-02-02 13:27:55 UTC

1. I love how you always are the calm in any storm. You can have waves crashing on all sides, and you still know how to seemingly effortlessly push forward.
2. I love your humility and grace
3. I admire you as a mother, and I love how your face lights up every time you talk about your children.
4. I love how you make all people feel welcome and appreciated whenever they are around you.
5. I love your boldness in your work. I so admire all that you have built after five years of leading the Global Conference.

Happy Anniversary, Norica!
Thank you for being you. <3

5 Appreciations for Norica

thaisa_tirado — 2021-02-02 15:23:47 UTC

Happy Anniversary Norica! Cannot believe it's already been 5 years.

1. I appreciate your energy - every space I am in with you feels so positive and open.

2. I appreciate your humor - it's always such a fun time on calls with you. Your bring levity into all spaces.

3. I appreciate your desire to learn and grow. You're always willing to hear feedback and open to developing yourself and others.

4. I appreciate your kindness. You always lead from a place of empathy and understanding of others.

5. I appreciate your innovativeness and organization. You truly have pushed us to think outside of the box around the Global Conference - and you keep that machine going along with your team.

NORICA

2021-02-02 15:36:19 UTC

N--Never---You never lose your focus, even when you face the "surprises" that come with planning a massive conference :)
O- Open--Not only are you open in conversations, but your smile also opens
R-Responsive--I appreciate how you seek and act on feedback from others.
I-Innovative--Not only are you innovating when it comes to GC, but you foster that in others
C-Caring--I can feel the care you have for those around you.
A- And--not only because your name is 6 letters long but you are moving into your 6th year. I hope we are lucky enough to have you at Teach For All for many years to come!

XO,

Jamie

5 Reasons Norica is Awesome

dorafigueiredo1 — 2021-02-02 15:51:38 UTC

1. Your dancing! No matter where we are or what's playing, you find a way to move & inspire others to do so too.
2. Your patience. If we found ourselves locked in a conference room somewhere, I know you'd be the one to keep everyone calm to find our way out.
3. Your balance. You never make a decision by yourself. You want all sides to feed in before moving forward with something.
4. Your willingness. You don't say "no" or "we can't" when it really matters. You always find a way.
5. Your growth mindset. Your ability to reflect and change course when needed is wonderful.

Happy 5 YOS, and cheers to many more!

5 Gratitudes!

2021-02-02 17:47:43 UTC

1. Poise & Balance - holding so many perspectives all at the same time and somehow managing to map the path forward
2. Fun - you always find the humour in situations and make space for laughter and smiles
3. Relationships - you prioritize developing strong working relationships
4. Learning - your orientation to learning, openness to feedback and humility
5. Gratitude & Recognition - you never forget to thank people and show them appreciation. It's inspiring!
It's a pleasure to work with you! Thank you :) Lucy x

A Norica Haiku

2021-02-02 22:04:20 UTC

You listen. You rock.
You are the eye of the storm.
You give us all power.

--Steven

Celebrating YOU!

Beccariel — 2021-02-02 23:01:22 UTC

1) Authentic and open- Norica, you share so much of yourself with all of us and all who have participating in GCs past. I always appreciate your openness and the permission it give me and others to do the same.

2) All about team- From retreating in an Air B&B in Sofia to pulling off amazing in person and now a virtual GC, you operate in a way that values all those on the team: listening, evolving, bringing clarity.

3) You bring the fun! Maybe this means dancing in a club in Bogota or perhaps just enjoying a conversation together over WhatsApp. It’s always a joy to be in your presence virtually or in person!

4) Amazing mother- I’ve felt privileged to get a glimpse in to you motherhood journey through stories and photos and WhatsApp’s chains and voice memos of advice (when babies don’t sleep!). You are honest when things are tough but always find your way through in an incredibly strong and admirable way. I only wish we still only lived blocks from one another ❤️

5) ever evolving! How I love this about you! From taking the GC to new levels and in new directions in small and large ways to your personal journey building you home and tending your garden. Now, an evolution in your professional journey! I am so excited for you and appreciate your friendship and collaboration now and always.

Congrats on 5 years, Norica!

Love,
Becca

5 things I love about you

radha_ruparell — 2021-02-02 23:12:22 UTC

1. Your openness
2. Your mad crazy skills at bringing so many perspectives together and having people feel included along the way
3. Your humility
4. Our honest chats about life, work, relationships, growing up... i feel like i could say anything to you!
5. You are so kind and thoughtful

As I'm writing this, I realize I miss you! Let's find more time to connect :-)

Hugs,
Radha

A Noricacrostic Poem...

globallearninglab — 2021-02-02 23:39:00 UTC

N - Nurturing (The love for your children is almost another presence in your home - so warm and inviting...)
O - Open-hearted (From our first conversation, you've made me feel like I *belong*, and I've seen you gift this to others.)
R - Rest (Thank you for picking me up at the airport and giving me a warm bed to nap when I fly into Brussels!)
I - Innovative (Always learning, growing, building from what came before.)
C - Cheerful (I can only fathom the complexity of running a global conference year after year, yet you hold on the joy-potential in each one through all the bumps along the way.)
A - Adventurer (Remembering flying right up to Everest?!)

<3 Laurelin

Celebrating NORICA! <3

2021-02-03 00:31:18 UTC

5 things I love about Norica

1) Committed- You joined us from Teach For Belgium so deeply committed to the mission. It shows through in how you interact with your colleagues and the network at large in your work today!

2) Laser Focused- You have led on our largest recurring in person event to date- the unforgettable GLOBAL CONFERENCE! Coordinating the ever growing list of objectives and contributors is no small feat! And let's face it more than one full time job :) The pace may slow post conference but you dedicate each day on how to make the event 'our house', 'our reunion' bigger and better year on year.

3) Heartfelt- From your stories about your little ones on calls to your openings at conferences and your insta stories gearing us up for virtual fun- when you speak you speak from the heart and I genuinely enjoy hearing from you!

4) Truly Collaborative- You are a true model within the global org never shying away from rallying up talent across teams and collaborating for progress and org wide achievement. You've encouraged me to do this so much more.

5) Supportive- You are of incredible support to all those you work with protecting needs and wants of individuals.

We are so lucky to have had you on staff for these pst 5 years and look forward to many more years of the fun, crazy energy you bring to this important work.
I am so grateful- thank you.
Whitney

5 Norica-isms that I love best!

2021-02-03 01:04:20 UTC

Happy anniversary Norica! It will always be one of my 2020 highlights that I got to work with and know you more!

1. Your warmth, kindness, humour and joy light up every room - I always look forward to calls and time with you!
2. The clarity and steadiness you bring to complexity leaves me in constant awe!
3. Your ability to bring people together and bring out their strengths always is something I deeply admire.
4. Your wisdom and honesty - I learn so much from you each time!
5. And most of all... your authenticity and commitment to learning. Thank you for being such a wonderful, generous, loving presence on our small team and bigger global one. We'll miss you but we'll see you around the 'village'!
Love, Rachel

Why Norica is Amazing

2021-02-03 01:44:36 UTC

1. You hold a million things in your head and are so good at navigating ambiguity - watching you run the GC was like watching an artist at work!
2. Your warmth and light - it's something you emanate so naturally :)
3. Your openness and candor - I still remember our conversation before I joined and how willing you were to share!
4. Your drive and determination, no matter how crazy things may seem.
5. Your support, empathy and reaching out - it's so heartening to be the receiver of it.

Happy happy 5 years!!

Steph

5 things that I am grateful for

2021-02-03 06:14:28 UTC

1. Your willingness to wrangle with the messy and the complex by listening to others
2. Your humility even after pulling off an incredible GC every year I have been here :)
3. Your openness to share about your family and making space for others to feel comfortable to bring in their whole lives
4. Your "get shit done" mode
5. Your adaptability is something I want to get more of when I grow up :)

Lots of love Norica! Congratulations on the 5 years

Archana

5 things I love about Norica

2021-02-03 13:10:57 UTC

1. Authenticity - you always bring all of who you are (which is awesome!). You are never trying to be someone for anyone else - just you, showing up with clarity, openness, and genuine curiosity.
2. Expansive - I was trying to think of another word for openness, since I used it above, but I think expansive actually describes you better. You have an amazing ability to both have strong opinions and also be incredibly open, expanding the realm of possibilities to include new learnings and new ideas at every point of the journey, whether personally, for the GC, or anything else you are working on.
3. Balance - you seem the find the balance between efficiency and inclusivity every time! You have to move forward, make decisions and get things done, but it never feels as though you are steamrolling - rather making sure to get opinions where necessary and make decisions when and where you can.
4. Fun and funny - It is fun to spend time with you, hearing stories from home, behind the scenes stories from the GC. You always make time for a little humor and fun amidst the madness.
5. Humility - you do all of this and more with such humility!

Happy 5 years!!
Ashley

5 C's of Norica

wendy326 — 2021-02-03 15:03:31 UTC

Dear Norica, I love being with you and working with you for so many reasons but I'll try to boil it down into 5 C's -- because you're Compassionate, Caring, Creative, Committed, and Constantly Learning! I'm so grateful for all our Collaboration over these last 5 years as we worked together to orient our network towards the Collective leadership we need, and I'm so looking forward to the coming 5 years of scheming with you to channel more of the world's Capital towards putting our network on a still stronger trajectory. With so much love and Care,
Wendy

5 Things I Appreciate

sosamantha — 2021-02-03 15:10:32 UTC

1) Your patience!! I have no idea how you put up with so much nonsense from so many people (this strongly includes me). As the Amazon Queen told Wonder Woman, "the world does not deserve you."
2) You are so talented at listening to an idea and then burrowing into it to pull out the most important pieces to move forward
3) Even during the thick of GC planning, you make time to join other calls and updates (I see you!!) in order to provide support to others and learn from them. I so admire that! You don't withdraw in times of stress.
4) You are wildly generous with your time and insights. You are a rare person in that you never make others feel like they are "bugging" you when asking for help or support.
5) You are obviously a beast at getting enormous, complex, ambitious things off the ground. Not everyone can say that.

Happy anniversary, dear one!
Samantha W.

5 words to describe Norica!

2021-02-03 20:30:16 UTC

-Creative
-Thoughtful
-Courageous
-Reflective
-Compelling

Thank you for all that you do and for being so wonderful!

Warm wishes,
Rebecca H

5 reasons to love Norica!

deborah_levine — 2021-02-03 21:56:34 UTC

1. Shining under ridiculous amounts of pressure is your superpower
2. You never lose your sense of humor (see #1)
3. You go out of your way to recognize the contributions of your colleagues, and to thank them for simply doing their job
4. Your sense of possibility is off the charts
5. You're just plain lovely, inside & out

Happy, happy 5 years Norica! I'm so, so grateful to know and work with you. Here's to the next 5 (and more)!

xo
deb

5 amazing things about Norica

2021-02-04 00:30:36 UTC

1) You can hold space for people to share ideas incredibly well.
2) You take feedback better than anyone I know... and act on it immediately.
3) You are so open to perspectives.
4) You can adapt to any circumstances.
5) You are a real collective leader!

Happy 5 years and congrats on your new role!

Best,
darrin

5 things I admire about Norica

2021-02-04 01:06:00 UTC

1) Your incredible ability to take a huge amount of input and competing feedback and make sense of it all, chart a powerful path forward and weave gold as a result

2) How you're always smiling and laughing and your positivity helps you navigate through challenge and pulls everyone else around you up with you

3) How generous you are with your praise and love for those around you

4) How you love to be behind the scenes making the magic happen with zero ego and no need for the limelight - in total humility. How you really let me own the GC with total trust when I covered your maternity leave is a perfect example of this

5) How versatile you are - as soon as you told me about your new role, my instant reaction was "of course! Norica will be amazing at this! Lucky GD team!

Huge congratulations on your fifth anniversary - and here's to many more!

Hugs,
Phil

5 things I love about you!

2021-02-04 04:32:09 UTC

1) Your superpower to make each person feel heard, valuable and appreciated! This love and positivity has made me always want to go above and beyond for you!
2) Your ability to see (and paint!) the entire ocean, while ensuring that each drop of water is exactly where it needs to be, doing exactly what it must!
3) You get shit done! And you support others to get shit done!
4) You take risks, are brave, are open, adventurous and creative!
5)And you do it all with grace, thoughtfulness, joy and laughter!

Working with you on GCs is one the highlights of my year, and I look forward to lots and lots more!!

Thank you for being <3

Lots ad lots of love and hugs, (and of course Happy 5 YoS!)

Sanaya

Norica - Here are 5 things I deeply respect about you and your contribution to TFAll...

katherineonorato — 2021-02-05 22:39:19 UTC

1. What you have created and made possible in terms of creating a global conversation through the annual experience of a Global Conference - you have transformed that experience for our network
2. Your curiosity, engagement, and listening when you are in conversation with me or others
3. Your sharing of your journey as a parent, and how this directs and shapes what you do professionally
4. Your creativity and innovation in the face of a multitud of ideas and feedback
5. Your vulnerability and open energy, as exemplified in our triad in the recent DEI learning forum

With love and respect, Katherine