About Me

I got my start in technology in an unexpected place, while serving in the US Air Force as a C-141 Crew Chief. While I was helping keep those big birds flying, I found myself tinkering with computers in my spare time. Something about technology just clicked with me and tickled my need to dive into the unknown and try new things.

After hanging up my Air Force uniform, I knew I wanted to be in the technology field, but I wanted to start with the basics and learn from the ground up. My first job was running cables and building networks in the Seattle area. From there, I worked my way up to systems administration, learning everything I could get my hands on. It was during this time I got what I consider my big break which was the opportunity to join the Xbox Live team during its early days. Talk about a dream job for someone who loves both gaming and technology! This is where Rednex (gamertag) was born and where I discovered that helping people use technology, and the drive behind simplifying developers lives, made a big impact in the ways that the community at large use, and enjoy, technology. I still remember the day that we launched Xbox Live, sitting there with my co-workers, and people who became family to me, watching the concurrent login number rise to levels we never anticipated. That excitement and sense of achievement is something that has always stuck with me and has been a driving force moving forward.

Experience

I've been lucky enough to work on some pretty cool stuff over the years. From being a military member, to helping launch Xbox Live's gaming platform, to building private cloud systems that enabled healthcare. I've seen technology change in ways that I never imagined. It was during this time that I picked up a patent for making server deployments faster (turns out my Air Force efficiency mindset came in handy in the private sector). However, what really gets me excited is finding ways to make difficult technology more accessible and useful for everyone.

We've all heard the phrase coined by Marc Andreessen that "Software is eating the world". I truly believe this and it's something that I've completely bought into. While I've never been a developer by trade, generally focused on infrastructure, I realized early that developers, the ones that write the software we use every day, have the ability to improve and change our lives. This started with Xbox and the way that we made the writing of video games easier and more efficient, along with the way to monetize their efforts, and continued on into the world of microservices and applications that help make every person's life simpler and more organized. This desire to empower developers and find ways for them to create, innovate, and productize their ideas has been a pushing factor in my career. Technologies like Cloud Foundry, the premise of 12 factor apps, and now the ability to develop and code anywhere have been driving principles of my career. I have this overwhelming belief, that empowering developers and driving the developer experience, is crucial to improving our future.

Current Focus

These days, I'm working in Developer Relations at Coder, where I get to combine my love for technology with helping others. Think of me as a translator between complex tech and the people who use it. I spend my time making sure developers have the tools and knowledge they need to do their best work. After all, I remember what it was like learning this stuff from scratch!

Going from Cloud Foundry to Coder was a natural progression for me. Technology, and the tools we use, change on an almost daily basis. Providing the ability to make those tools and necessary environments portable for developers solves a real need in tech and this is something that Coder does better than anyone else. Added benefit is that I get to go back to my startup roots with a product that solves a real problem that I've seen for years. I can't tell you how great it is to be part of a company that is as jazzed as I am about improving the developer experience and shares my enthusiasm for change.

The one thing that has always stuck with me throughout my career is the community around technology. I've had the pleasure of learning from some of the greatest minds in the industry and the privilege of helping others grow in the same way as me. This industry is one of constant change and improvement and I really believe that what we do helps improve the lives of everyone around us. So if you are interested in learning about something new, or if you believe you have a better way, come talk to me!

Outside of Work

Home is Pueblo, Colorado, where the mountains are my backyard. I live here with my wife, 2 dogs (Zehavit - Golden Retriever & Preacher - Rottweiler), and a cat (Willow) (the cat wasn't my idea, but you compromise for the ones you love!). The house we live in, my wife and I built with our own hands and it's often referred to as "The House that Youtube built". Mistakes were made, but just like in technology, you often learn more from the mistakes than you do the successes. A great example is how, when we built our plans, we didn't fully account for the thickness of the walls, which led us to have some really interesting "character" in our walls after sheetrocking. While this bug ended up being a feature, it did teach me to really think through a problem and consider all the variables while there was opportunity to adjust.

When not geeking out over the latest technology, I am most likely in my shop learning new woodworking techniques. There is something about the smell of sawdust (man glitter!) that is zen for me. I'm just as happy talking woodworking as I am technology and the latest application development/deployment methods, so feel free to reach out on either.

Lastly, I love Magic the Gathering, a game I picked up in the military along with Cribbage, and have just started getting into Warhammer 40K with my best friend. Not going to lie, Warhammer is a complicated game, but learning the strategies and nuances are proving to be a lot of fun (and require a lot of space for the setup!) Just like in technology, all of these hobbies help me improve my problem-solving skills, cause wood, or your Orc opponents, don't always want to accommodate your pre-conceived notions of an outcome. Building things requires the ability to think outside the box and adjust to changing conditions, but in the end, you will have something that you can look at and say, "I did that!"

The best way to predict the future is to help build it.

• Alan Kay