From Intern to Professsional
As a senior at North Carolina A&T State University, Ezra was invited to join the Global Marketing team as their first intern.
Mike Alber eventually offered the opportunity in the future after a succesful marketing campaign to lead the Community Events at Scaled Agile.
One of Ezra’s first assignments at Scaled Agile set the tone for his entire journey with the company — re-energizing the global SAFe meetup ecosystem. With more than 120 meetup groups across the world, the challenge wasn’t just about “bringing awareness” again. It was about strengthening the presence of SAFe itself — the framework, the products, and the community identity behind it.
Ezra connected directly with organizers across multiple countries, rebuilding excitement around their missions and helping each group align with Scaled Agile’s bigger picture.
This project wasn’t only operational — it was relationship-driven. Ezra built strong bonds with many of the organizers, understanding their goals, challenges, and what they needed to elevate their communities. Those connections became the backbone of the meetup revitalization.
To wrap the initiative, Ezra presented a full breakdown to the company — detailing how he re-engaged organizers, what strategies worked globally, and how the SAFe brand can continue to scale its influence through real community building. The project became a key milestone in his early career, showcasing his ability to activate, connect, and grow global communities from the ground up.
Revamping Global Community
Becoming a SAFe Community Leader
After reinvigorating Scaled Agile’s global meetup network, the next evolution was stepping into the community directly — creating events that pushed SAFe into new spaces and brought fresh energy into the ecosystem.
One of the standout moments came when Ezra co-hosted a meetup event in Washington, D.C. Built on an influencer-driven strategy he had developed alongside his colleagues, the event targeted a key priority for the company: attracting younger and potentially new members to the SAFe community.
Vice President at Scaled Agile, Adam Mattis, organized the SAFe community in North Carolina and encouraged Ezra to take the lead for the D.C. event as well as many other opportunities. Ezra learned community building while being with Adam; It was about proving that thoughtful strategy, authentic community presence, and hands-on leadership could transform how people saw the SAFe brand.
Meetups to Global Summits
Ezra soon became a part of an 8-person team that planned and executed global SAFe Summits — large gatherings that bring together thousands of practitioners, leaders, and community members across international regions. His first summit experience took place in Washington, D.C., where he helped coordinate logistics, engage members, and strengthen relationships he had already built online.
By 2025, Ezra’s role expanded even further. He had the opportunity to help direct exclusive member experiences in Sorrento, Italy — a major milestone that showcased his growth within community strategy and event operations. Across these summits, he played a key role in managing trade show booths, overseeing booth setup and layout, assisting with event registration, and providing hands-on customer support throughout the event.
These in-person experiences became some of the most meaningful moments in Ezra’s journey. Meeting community members face-to-face — people he had previously supported through meetups, online groups, and global engagement — solidified strong relationships and showed the real impact of community-driven work.
From online meetups to international conferences, Ezra’s contributions helped expand the presence of the SAFe brand while building authentic connections across the global community.
A New Standard for Community Experience
During the 2025 SAFe Summit in Sorrento, Italy, Ezra helped lead and design the company’s first-ever private VIP experience for SAFe community members. This wasn’t just another event on the schedule — it became the moment everyone talked about throughout the summit.
Alongside another community manager, Ezra spent several months planning a high-touch, exclusive club-style lounge designed specifically for SAFe’s most active and engaged community leaders.
The success of the VIP lounge didn’t stay in the room. It made such an impact that leadership pushed for it to become an official part of future SAFe Summits — a signature experience that community members now look forward to as a highlight of attending.
The influence didn’t stop there. Because of this elevated event, community members walked away with a stronger sense of purpose for staying active within the SAFe community. Their active status as SAFe experts took on new meaning — no longer just a signal to employers that they were investing in their learning, but also a key to unlock exclusive experiences they genuinely didn’t want to miss.
Record Engagement Conversion:
New Scaled Agile Shorts Straegy
Ezra saw the opportunity to pivot Scaled Agile’s online content toward sharper, high-conversion tactics with a focus on YouTube Shorts. His approach centered on keeping content quick, relatable, and optimized for engagement while driving clear audience action.
In the first few Shorts Ezra created, record-level organic engagement followed almost immediately. Those early videos hit the highest organic interaction the brand had seen to date, and the results shifted the conversation internally.
After those early wins, Ezra’s approach inspired the team to aim toward the same strategy, evolving Scaled Agile’s online presence into something more relatable, faster-moving, and built to convert.
He executed this primarily through YouTube Shorts content planning, strategy frameworks, and creative direction under the Scaled Agile brand.
NEW
The Community Platform’s Next Chapter
Ezra was part of the core team that shifted Scaled Agile’s community platform into a stronger, more connected experience. The process involved meeting with multiple vendors to compare tools, usability, and overall community fit. Ezra led the selection of community ambassadors — organizers and leaders who would guide members through the transition and help shape early engagement in the new space.
Over the months, Ezra and fellow community manager Michelle consistently prepared plans to onboard members, create continuity, and keep organizers energized. That momentum eventually led to the platform being named SAFe Connect.
Throughout his tenure, Ezra, along with Michelle Jimenez, co-hosted monthly virtual events for the community. These sessions were key for keeping members linked in, even while spread across different time zones and countries. The events weren’t massive in production, but they mattered — they created a space where people felt comfortable showing up, asking questions, and learning together.
