The first time I got in any real trouble at school was when I hacked an Apple II to act like Joshua from the movie WarGames. When the teacher approached the computer, it asked her if she wanted to play a game.

And while Ms. McGuire was none too pleased, I quite enjoyed it. It sparked an intense curiosity in technology that led me down many paths and finally to a professional passion for coding.

I graduated with a journalism/radio degree from Emerson College in Boston back when the internet was still reasonable and went on to spend 10 or so years as a newspaper reporter, editor, and even an art director, which isn't bad for someone who can't draw. But the technology bug wouldn't let me be, so I joined a tech start-up working in the public broadcasting space. We worked with some amazing folks, including our friends at NPR's Car Talk, Public Radio International, and most of the best public broadcasting stations in the country.

In 2006 I left the east coast for a new life here in Portland, OR, and joined One Economy Corp, a global nonprofit dedicated to bringing broadband and computers into the homes of those living on lower incomes. When we shut the lights off for the last time, I was vice president of media.

That work pushed me toward continuing my career in the nonprofit space, and the next stop on my journey was NTEN.

I now develop sites, tools, and apps, like Tech Accelerate and our soon-to-be-launched website rebuild. I work across many technologies, including Javascript (React / Next.js), PHP and WordPress, Salesforce's various technologies, and more. So I bring a pretty diverse skill set to the team, not to mention a fairly out-of-tune sense of humor, a positive attitude on odd-numbered months (except for May), and an amazing ability to muck things up pretty bad y'all. It's a perfect fit.

I wake up most days feeling like I'm the luckiest person alive.

Some days I sleep in.