About
Professional Background
I bring over 25 years of tech experience, enriched by sabbaticals that broadened my perspective.
Database Administration
I began my career as an Oracle DBA and programmer. I worked in a number of industries as both consultant and employee, supporting full life-cycle database development. I especially enjoyed automating processes, visualizing systems, and troubleshooting issues.
Investigations
Early on, I promised myself a sabbatical every 10 years. With my first sabbatical, I graduated top of my class from Seattle Private Investigations School. I took on private investigation gigs, volunteered with public defenders, and secured a six-month contract. During my sabbatical, I refined skills in active listening, investigation, and documentation, which have strengthened my approach to problem-solving and technical tasks in backend engineering and data management. I returned to tech as a DBA/programmer for startups.
Website Designer/Developer Freelance
My second sabbatical began as a dog travel blogger. While learning to build the blog from the ground up, I came across the ‘Don’t Make Me Think’ design principles, which really stuck with me. Volunteering to rebuild a local hospice website led to a freelance web design business. I also volunteered for a startup called Smarticles, gaining hands-on experience with backend development, and winning 2nd place at the Voice 2020 Summit Hackathon was a fun bonus. Along the way, I spent time with Python, R, and Tableau, which sparked my love for transforming data into visualizations that tell a story.
Backend Software Engineer
In late 2021, I joined ChargeNet Stations as their first backend engineer, diving into everything backend—coding in Golang and Python, handling databases, APIs, IaC, and building dashboards and reports. I write the systems for energy management, integrate with third parties, and improve the customer experience. I also brainstorm with the business to reduce costs and wear a bunch of other hats to make things happen.