Stephanie Skinner is the President and Communications Chair of the Open Door Education Foundation. As president she oversees all of the activities of the Open Door and plans and reviews the dissemination of information on the work of the Foundation.

Stephanie was raised in an educational environment; both parents teach the sciences at Yale University. As a result, she became enthralled with learning and the exchange of ideas.

Stephanie graduated with a B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College. With that practical degree, she went to Iowa to build grain elevators for a year. She also learned welding, carpentry, and, most importantly, how to survive in any environment, regardless of past experience.

After her early career in construction, she worked in a variety of publishing environments that focused on scientific journals, newspapers, consumer and business magazines, and even books and videos. She spent many years at Inc. Publishing, launched a biotech magazine, and in 1994 started a publishing consulting business with partner, Jim Wolken. Within a few years of startup, Skinner James Communications was named the agency of record for the New England Revolution (a MLS franchise) and the Massachusetts Office of Business Development.

The agency staff worked with a wide range of clients. They nurtured their ability to understand the goals and concerns of the client and the client's customers, recognizing this skill was the necessary ingredient for their success as a marketing and consulting company.

In 1996, using Stephanie's publishing background and with the help of a strategic industry investor, Skinner James Communications launched Contract Professional magazine, designed to serve the information needs of the independent IT professional. Stephanie's company realized that the computing industry was flooded with technical magazines that were valuable only as long as the technology was useful. They felt that what had been ignored was the information needs of the extraordinary talent who reinvented themselves regularly to meet the challenges of the ever-changing computer revolution. Building on this base, Skinner James Communications launched Purple Squirrel in 2000 to serve the needs of ignored IT staffing and services. Then in 2001, they launched the Talent Economy to reach the IT strategists at corporations who hire and integrate IT and talent into their organizations. As a result, New Work Media was born.

Who opened doors for me: My teachers who forgave me for being more interested in function than form; my parents who let me figure it out on my own; countless skilled and patient professionals who taught me everything from how to read a spreadsheet to how to weld; and most of all, our clients and investors who let us learn on the job and taught us to love this industry.

Why I work for Open Door: I believe opportunity, such as participating in Open Door, produces freedom and joy.

When I'm not working for Open Door: I cook, read, walk, garden, and become overwhelmed by the variety of talent, tapped and untapped, in the world.

My greatest happiness: Being with those I love