About Me
A lifelong maker, learner, and creative problem solver
What Drives Me
I've been building things on the web since I was 12. By 15, I was receiving checks in the mail for Flash animations and website design work—much to my parents' surprise. That early start taught me something invaluable: the joy of bringing ideas to life and solving problems through creativity and code.
Throughout my career, I've remained driven by curiosity and a genuine love of learning. Whether it's mastering new design tools, understanding user behavior, or exploring emerging technologies, I'm energized by learning, being creative, or consuming creative things.
Beyond design and technology, I'm passionate about my family, photography, music, writing, and nature.
A bit more of my story since you're still here...
I grew up in Cowley, Wyoming—population 477—where my uncle gifted us a computer when I was 6 or 7. I promptly "fixed" it by deleting Windows system files. That machine had a 4MB hard drive and ran Norton Commander, teaching me early lessons in both curiosity and consequence.
By the mid-90s, I became what my parents called an "internet pioneer." Online gaming communities needed clan websites, and I taught myself HTML while devouring science fiction novels. In high school, I built the school's first website. During my first year of community college, I transformed the student newspaper into a digital publication.
At university, I served as Assistant Webmaster and managed all publications and web initiatives for the Admissions office, including developing an interactive cost calculator for prospective students. I even found myself helping my digital media professor teach the class on several occasions—a point of smug adolescent pride.
Creating software has always brought me deep satisfaction. Seeing an idea evolve from concept to reality never gets old. After college, I spent time at a video game studio before transitioning into user experience design (then called "interaction design"). This path led me to Amazon, where I spent 14 years (2011-2025) designing products used by millions of customers.
Today, I bring decades of hands-on experience, relentless curiosity, and a maker's mindset to every project. I believe the best work happens when passion meets purpose—and I'm excited to bring both to my next challenge.
Writing Startups x2
I read at least one book every week. In the early 2010s, the kindle and self-published authors inspired me to write my own novel, which I eventually self-published in 2017. I quickly realized how much marketing and content production is required to be a successful author. Both Literrater, and WritingHabit were attempts to solve those problems for authors, but primarily myself. Ironnically, I've written dramatically less given the 5pm-9am time investment a startup requires when you have a full-tiome job.
WritingHabit is my second attempt and is far more successful because I've focused on listening to feedback from authors. Literrater struggled because I focused on my personal tech forward perspective that didn't consider authors deep concerns about data protection and privacy.