Last December, the DPPC bid good bye and good luck to Anisa Raoof from Kidoinfo. After a decade at work on the popular parenting resource, Anisa was moving on to different projects. Thankfully, Kidoinfo continues in the hands of Susan Gale and will continue to be a partner in our family programming.
We sat down with Susan to learn more about her and what she has planned for Kidoinfo.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you were doing before you became the new face of Kidoinfo.
Thanks for the opportunity to talk with your audience! I grew up in Rhode Island. I moved to upstate New York after college but, like so many, was drawn back home about 20 years ago. I’ve worked in journalism, marketing, and communications for 20+ years, doing everything from advertising for international companies to fundraising for non-profits in Rhode Island and New York State.
In 2015 I founded Rhode Island Parent Magazine and in 2017, it went all online. Around the same time, Anisa Raoof of Kidoinfo put out a message that she was ready to move on after a decade of working on the website she founded. She and I got together and determined that our visions were very similar, and I took over Kidoinfo, moving everything else I had done under the Kidoinfo name.
In addition, my partner Lisa and I have raised two children who are 16 and 19 now. Our daughter is in college at Salve Regina University in Newport and our son attends school in Cranston. They are the source of my inspiration and drive to make Kidoinfo the best parenting resource possible.
What has the transition been like for you taking over Kidoinfo from Anisa?
I had some pretty big shoes to fill from Anisa! It’s taken me some time to begin to get a handle on it all. There are technical issues from having so much content and two websites becoming one, which we have been working diligently on. I’ve given Kidoinfo.com an updated look and put our focus into several major areas. These include our family events calendar, articles by local experts, our weekly e-newsletter, and continuing to sponsor great events like those by DPPC. In addition, we are developing new KidoGuides which help parents find whatever they need from camps to schools. I see Kidoinfo.com as an information resource that makes parents’ lives easier and connects them more to the community.
What have you learned about the Rhode Island community through Kidoinfo?
I confirmed what I believed – that there is a ton of things going on for families all over Rhode Island and that it’s really hard to keep up with it all! I’ve also learned how many people there are in Rhode Island who truly care about children and are working in all corners of the state to help them. I’ve done everything from attending a Safety Day at a local school for children with special needs to attending press conferences by Kids Count, which researches data on RI’s kids to help influence legislation that benefits children.
Do you have any big plans for Kidoinfo’s future?
We want to grow Kidoinfo.com as an information resource for parents so a great deal of our focus right now is updating the website, calendar, and creating new KidoGuides for parents. We have added new fun features. For instance, we feature animals from Roger Williams Park Zoo’s new rainforest exhibit and are having a local children’s book author interview other local authors. I hope that this will help RI parents to read books written by local authors to their kids. For the future, I’d like to continue to grow our support of the community. I’d love to do a Special Needs Fair where parents could meet people from organizations that can help them. I also plan to get back into doing giveaways on the site. Being a writer at heart, I especially like to encourage reading and writing so I envision future website aspects and events in that area. We’d love to hear from anyone who has ideas for Kidoinfo.com. I can be reached at susan@kidoinfo.com.
What are you most excited for in our 2018 programming season?
I am very excited to continue the partnership with the Downtown Providence Parks Conservatory for Kidoinfo Play in the Park on Tuesdays and Kidoinfo Storytime + Art in the Park on Thursdays in Burnside Park. I’m most excited to see the kid’s faces as they learn and have fun at these events. In the end, the kids are always what makes our work worthwhile.
2018 Family Programming:
Downtown Farmer’s Market & Kidoinfo Play in the Park, Tuesdays 3 – 6pm
Kidoinfo Storytime + Art in the Park, Thursdays 10:30 – 12:30
Imagination Center is open: Tuesday & Thursday, 11 – 6 & Wednesday, 11 – 2