For days short of a decade, I was privileged to work and play alongside Kaylee Walstad—in the physical world, in our legal tech and EDRM community, and in the many virtual spaces we co-created. Her absence is palpable, but her spirit remains vibrantly present, guiding us in what I intuitively feel is the dawning of a quantum era of connection and innovation.

Kaylee poured her infinite love into her family—Ashlee & Kate, Al & Maddie, Kari, Milo, and Queen Bean—and also into me, our shared stewardship of EDRM, and the broader community and professional family she nurtured. She shone her bright light on others, helping them find clarity and courage on their paths. One lesson she leaves me with is the importance of receiving love as openly as we give it—something she modeled with every call, gift, and heartfelt note.

Kaylee often spoke of life’s signals as “green lights” or “red lights.” We navigated decisions by watching for those signs—trimming our sails, pausing, or moving full speed ahead. When we stepped away from our prior organization, unsure of what was next, we distributed business cards as the International Women of Mystery to our conference friends.  Within a couple of short weeks, the opportunity to acquire EDRM came in a cascade of green lights. Kaylee called it our “Cinderella Story.”

Though she never sought the spotlight, Kaylee was the heart and bright light of EDRM. I carried the CEO and on-camera role, but she was always the strategist, the steady voice, and the spark. She loved being underestimated—it gave her an edge—and together we built the pulse of a community, building that momentum conference by conference, project by project, conversation by conversation at ever higher octaves. Often it felt like a mind-meld. Even now, I hear her voice guiding my conversations.

During COVID, Kaylee reminded me that people would remember how we made them feel, not just what we did. That became our brand and our legacy as we gathered: the EDRM Global Advisory Council, the EDRM Project Trustees, the EDRM Community Support Call, the Illumination Zone on the EDRM Global Podcast Network, our EDRM Global Webinar Channel, our EDRM JD Supra Channel, our EDRM Global Newswire, our virtual island conference, Sheila Grela’s Virtual Lunch with Leaders, collaborations with ComplexDiscovery and eDiscovery Today for surveys and webinars, and our EDRM Trusted Partner Network who provided support to make it happen—all grounded in Kaylee’s belief that clients, colleagues, and humans deserve empathy and respect.

Brett Burney mentioned Kaylee’s love of over-the-top superlatives. Before Kaylee joined ZyLAB where we first met, I had tried to convince Jan Scholtes and Annelore van der Lint not to use the culturally Dutch exclamation points—“US attorneys don’t like them,” I said. I was so wrong. Kaylee taught me that living in exclamation points is far more joyful than living with legal deadpan periods. The nicknames she gave—Very Special Master Ball, Tommy G, Shanny-Shan, Sir Greets and my own, Queen of E —let you feel her love.

There is still so much of Kaylee’s essence to ground here on earth—so others may recognize their own light and love, especially in these times.

To that end, Holley Robinson working with her dad and my rock, Rob Robinson of ComplexDiscovery OÜ spent their weekend creating a structure to capture and memorialize tributes to Kaylee on the EDRM site, the site you are reading now.

Erika Kilborn and Stephanie Clerkin are designing a survey to help us understand and honor the magic Kaylee brought—not only memorable moments, but life-changing impact. For those she touched, we invite you to share: What problem did she help with? What did she offer or do? What was the impact?

We need Kaylee’s essence and light as we step into 2026, and we need the community she so intentionally built—our #AllAreWelcome EDRM family. She chose legal. She chose eDiscovery. She chose us. Now it is our turn to choose each other, to carry her legacy forward.

Gates are open!

Please save the date for Kaylee’s Virtual Celebration of Life on September 10, 2025 at 6PM Eastern.  If you are not subscribed to our EDRM Newsletter list, send us a note at info@edrm.net to be included.