Christopher Benner
Since launching this blog, we have shared with you many of the ways that you can become involved with the Autodesk Community. These include our discussion forums, blogs, Community Conversations webinars, and more. The reasons for getting involved usually start with a need to learn some new skills or solve a problem. Some of the reasons for continuing to be involved may include sharing your own expertise in order to give back, or to build your own reputation.
Whatever the reasons that people get involved in the Community, one of the most significant benefits is the potential to advance in a career. In my own Community story, getting involved led to my being named an Expert Elite in 2012, which led to my promotion to CAD Manager and eventually brought me here to Autodesk as one of your Community Managers.
I am proud to say that we now have 24 Expert Elite alumni who have “joined the mothership,” which is to say that they directly work for Autodesk in various roles. Their passion for helping others in their own journey with Autodesk products and in their industries led them here.
The Expert Elite alumni shown in the collage above, in no particular order, are named below alphabetically.
- Boopathi Sivakumar
- Chris Benner
- Christopher Derdak
- Daniel Kim
- Deepak Maini
- Dmytro Mukhin
- George Roberts
- James Willoughby
- John Holtz
- Jonathan Hand
- Jowenn Lua
- Justin Taylor
- Kenny Cornett
- Kimberly Fuhrman
- Logan Foster
- Louisa Holland
- Matt Wunch
- Paul Munford
- Sam Lucido
- Samir Rezk
- Seth Madore
- Shawn Olson
- Stacey Morykin
- Udo Hübner
Included below are some personal quotes on what becoming an Expert Elite meant to the person, along with a few nice pictures.
Udo Hübner:
“For me becoming an Expert Elite meant to achieve a professional title that is well-known in the CAD scene and being honored by Autodesk for my effort. For my personal career this helped a lot to get the right contacts inside of Autodesk to get support on when and how to apply for a job after my studies and also to get a feeling on how it is to work at Autodesk. Becoming an EE is what I always recommend to every student that thinks of working for us one day and I would do it the same way again!”
James Willoughby:
“I was pretty happy when I passed my certification, but the day I got Expert Elite was even better. It meant a lot to me to be recognised by Autodesk, and of course I got some cool swag out of it too! I was looking for a new job at the time and being able to say I had Expert Elite status was a huge positive. It also definitely helped that I was number 1 on the leader board at the time. “
Jowenn Lua:
“I was proud to be nominated and to become a member of the Autodesk Community Expert Elite. I have also been a speaker at Autodesk University, which gave me more opportunities to give back to the community and try to inspire young engineers to think outside the box and make new things.”
Stacey Morykin:
“Joining the Autodesk team validated my knowledge and efforts within the AEC industry. Connecting with others in the community allowed me to expand my knowledge beyond one product or platform. I’m grateful for the connections maintained and look forward to the ones I have yet to make.”
Deepak Maini:
“From my perspective, it’s a journey… a journey home when I was lost and was looking for help and the community came to my help. It inspired me to help others on their journey as well. As I always say, the best way to thank for the help given to you is to just pass the help on.”
The Expert Elite program celebrated its 10th-anniversary last year at Autodesk University 2022. To learn more about this program and find out how you could possibly become involved, visit the Expert Elite website today. It’s never too late to start sharing and building your knowledge by becoming an active community member.