Getting To Know Wick Davis of The Lupus Foundation of America

 I had the pleasure of interviewing Wick Davis of the Lupus Foundation of America.

What motivates you to continue to drive to the Lupus Foundation of America through all that Washington DC traffic?

Wick Davis Says:  First let me just say that people outside of the DC area have absolutely NO IDEA how awful the traffic is here. It is like nothing I have ever seen, and I’ve lived all over the country. It’s even awful on the weekends. I always chuckle when friends of mine from out of state complain about the traffic where they live. They have no idea. None! That said, my commute into DC isn’t too bad. I either take the bus, which is great, because I can sit and read, or relax, for an hour or so. I’m not sitting in traffic, wishing I was somewhere else. Or, if I don’t take the bus, I catch a ride with a coworker and her husband. Either way, I’m saving on gas, wear ‘n tear on my car … and most importantly, I’m saving my sanity!

What is your job at the Lupus Foundation of America?

Wick Davis Says:  My title is Director, Online Content & Community. So what does that mean? Well, it means a lot of things. I am responsible for all things pertaining to the lupus.org Website. Everything from creating new content when needed, to updating existing content, to maintaining the navigation on the Website; to ensuring the Website’s links are working, to making sure everything is spelled and punctuated correctly. Basically, my role is to make sure that users of our Website have a positive experience. I am also responsible for the Lupus Now magazine Website  and the World Lupus Day Website .

I host the monthly LFA Web chats. I am responsible for some writing content for, and the distribution of, our enewsletters. I write the LFA blog, “On the Road to a Cure,” . I am responsible for the LFA presence in Face book, and to a lesser extent, MySpace. I make sure that LFA PSAs (public service announcements) get posted to YouTube. I monitor the new LFA message boards. And since I have overall knowledge of all of these things, I try to make sure they’re all connected, and that people are aware of these great resources. For example, if we post a new PSA to You Tube, I write about it in the blog, and post it to both Face book and MySpace. Lots of cross promotion! I have to say … the one thing I really enjoy about my job at the LFA (and that I enjoyed while I was at the ADA) is the fact that I get to help people every day. Whether it’s providing timely and accurate information via the Website, or monitoring the LFA message boards, or hosting a Webchat, or writing the LFA blog … I enjoy all of that. I find it personally rewarding.

Does working at the Lupus Foundation of America have a personal connection to you?
Wick Davis Says:  Actually, it does not. Prior to my joining the LFA, I worked at the American Diabetes Association for almost 6 ½ years. A good friend of mine knew I was looking to make a career change and he had seen a position advertised on the lupus Website. He passed along the job posting to me and the rest, as they say, is history. However, after joining the LFA, I came to find out that a good friend of mine in Amsterdam has lupus. So she was excited that I was working for the LFA.

Do you have any pets?

Wick Davis Says:  I have one pet, a cat named Flip. He’s an eight-year-old domestic longhair. He’s great company and he’s pretty vocal. Flip is also my backup alarm clock. He knows my routine, and if I’m not up at a certain time, he head-butts me into consciousness. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to teach Flip the distinction between the weekday and the weekend. So even if I wanted to sleep in, I can’t.

What are your hobbies when you’re not working at the Lupus Foundation of America?

Wick Davis says: I get into all kinds of things. I hang with friends. I love to travel and do so whenever possible. I’m into music and movies. As anyone who reads the LFA blog knows, I am into older movies. Netflix has been awesome, because you can find so many older movies there … things that you cannot rent from Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. I’m into the beach / ocean. I’m into photography and genealogy. I’m into books, reading and writing. I’m an eBay junkie. And I am a collector of original movie posters, some lunch boxes, some old board games (mostly Clue) and a few old toys. My poster collection is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. I now have three original Hitchcock posters. I don’t know if this counts as a hobby, but I’ve recently started going to the gym and I seem to have an affinity for rowing.

What inspires you? What makes you tick?

Wick Davis Says:  Continually being challenged – whether at work or elsewhere – inspires me. Knowing that I work at a job which is ultimately helping others is great. Getting to learn and try new things at my job – like writing for the blog or contacting other people living with lupus via Face book to make them aware of Web chats, public awareness campaigns etc. – I love stuff like that. I want to really tackle the whole social media”thing.” I think there’s so much untapped potential there, from both a public awareness standpoint and a fund-raising standpoint. The challenge is finding the time – and resources – to be able to do it successfully. I’m working on that one! Perhaps if I could be cloned

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