| Stellar - Executive Director Message  A year ago, I started my journey as the CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation. I didn't know what to expect as I stepped through the doors that day. SDF had twenty team members, and I hadn't met them all yet. At 12:15 that afternoon everyone started getting up from their desks and moved to the kitchen. Tomer Weller (now our head of integration) said "hey, Denelle it's lunch time, you should come join us." And I thought, "lunch? lunch together everyday?" I ate lunch alone for years in a conference room with a bowl of tomato soup, a diet coke and my computer. So for the first ten days, I would grab lunch and come back to my desk. I told Tomer that I would eventually join but I needed some time to get used to the idea. I'm a creature of habit.
And now, as I look back on the year, I realize it is the team that has made this year so memorable. We've grown to just over sixty colleagues spread across three continents. Our organization has structure and focus - we built a strategy, solidified our cultural values, built a new mandate and moved the network and the ecosystem forward. We did all of that and still had some fun. We challenge one another, frustrate one another and make one another laugh. This team is the one focused on creating equitable access to the global financial system, and I can say without a doubt that 'we've got this.'
After ten days, I finally jumped in and lunched with the team. It's become my new habit. And now, a year later, it's those lunches that I miss as we "shelter-in-place" in our homes having lunch on our own. What I realize is that while I have been challenged and fulfilled by the work this year, it is the right team, the right personalities, the right commitment, enthusiasm, diversity and creativity that creates the memories and forges the future. I'm grateful to be at SDF and am looking forward to the successes of the next year. Thank you to the entire Stellar community for welcoming me into this role over the past year. I'm thinking of all of you and hoping you are safe and healthy during this time. Denelle | 
