Our Column Five team is made up of some very unique people, coming from all walks of life. They’re creative, well-rounded, and work extremely hard. Each week, we profile one fascinating staff member to introduce you to the people behind the scenes of our work.
Kaede Holland
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Started June 2011
Operations Manager turned Salesforce Consultant
Who are you?
I’m Kaede. Sounds like ‘Katie’ with a ‘d.’ My name means “maple” in Japanese, but my parents didn’t name me after a tree. They saw Akira Kurosawa’s movie, Ran, while I was in utero. I was named after Lady Kaede, a character from the film. She is a supremely evil ninja chick. We don’t have much in common.
Sand or snow?
I like sand a lot. It is especially great if you look at it under a microscope. Google “sand really close up,” and check it out. Snow is good, too.
How do you occupy your time when you’re not in the office?
Some things I do when I’m not working: play outside, slackline, walk around, do headstands, discover my new favorite song, be with people I love, hike, watch sunsets, look for/think about cetaceans, make food bowls, look at plants and trees, talk to my nephew about dinosaurs (Did you know the velociraptor could jump 25 miles high? They can’t. He’s 5), think about space, lay in the sand, read good books (right now: a book of letters between Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin. It’s called “A Literate Passion,” and it’s really so good).
What are the top 5 things on your bucket list?
Bucket list concept is weird to me. If you have 5 things you have to do before you die, I think you should go do them right now.
“The trouble is, you think you have time.” —Buddha
Instead, we’ll do top 2 things I want to accomplish all the time every day forever. Equal in importance:
1.) Contribute to the happiness of others.
2.) Not hurt people or things.
What would you title the soundtrack to your life, and what artists would
it feature?
It would be titled All the Good Things. It would have music from The National, Max Richter, The Grateful Dead, Other Lives, Tycho, Ryan Adams, Explosions in the Sky, Alt-j, Efterklang, My Morning Jacket, Fiona Apple, The Middle East, Father John Misty, Grizzly Bear, The Counting Crows (but only sometimes and when no one else is listening). Or, Jason Bentley could curate.
We asked Kaede to showcase some of her favorite C5 projects. Here’s what she’d like to show you.
Oceans Initiative—The Secret to a Sound Ocean
Column Five—The Value of Data Visualization
The Enlightened Happy Hour—An Interactive Guide to What You’re Sipping
GOOD—Funding the Final Frontier: The Future of Nasa
Google—Think Quarterly: Happy Planet Index
Kaede also sent us some pictures of things she loves:
“This is me like a rainbow at the Exploratorium.”
“This is me slacklining at the Wedge.”
“This is why I’m not a graphic designer.”
Wow, that’s cool! I loved the video of information graphics….and the picture of you on the slack line. Wish you were here…we don’t have much sand, but we do have snow! C5 looks like a great place with lots of creative people!