Last week I was in Turin, Italy for (deep breath) “The MasterCard Symposium on Financial Inclusion: Clients at the Center presented in partnership with Boulder Microfinance Institute.” And no, I did not choose this name.

After nearly a year at the Foundation, I can’t tell you how great it felt to pull this event off. Feedback was very positive. Attendees and colleagues all commented on how sophisticated the event was in terms of content, look/feel and event experience. If you’re into Financial Inclusion, check out the event conversation on Twitter here.

Score.

At times, it was a bumpy road to get there. Working with an events firm, using social media, digital media promotion, videography, etc, etc. It all took convincing. Even better than putting on a good show however, was seeing my team up their game. The folks on the ground with us in Turin and the team back in Toronto – everyone chipped in and the excitement was palpable.

This week, the Foundation will be releasing its first “learning report” summarizing key learning from the first 4-5 years of work. It’s the content that is most important but this report signals a new editorial voice, a fresh new design and a smart approach to getting this work into the hands of the people in the development community who should know about it. All goodness.

And after the Learning Report? Two words: POTUS and FLOTUS.