About Me
It’s all in the personal details.
Taking a detour on a trip to visit Pawnee City Hall in Pasadena, CA.
Public Service
I’m a government nerd who has watched too many episodes of Parks & Recreation. I found my passion for public service at age 14 when I started serving on my Mayor’s Youth Council and the AZ Governor’s Youth Commission during high school. I helped other young Arizonans learn how they could serve their communities and learned about the inner workings of government.
Working on a prototype of one of my early “websites”.
Technology
I’m a technologist who cares deeply about its effects on the world. When I was a kid, you would be hard-pressed to find me not tinkering on my computer—which grew into a lifelong pursuit of trying to understand how technology works. Today, I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Media Arts & Sciences from Wellesley College, where I pursued coursework at the intersections of computer science, human-computer interaction, and the history and theory of the internet.
Practicing color theory during one of my first printmaking courses.
Creativity
I’m crafty—both with words and with art projects. Whether I’m word-smithing a pun or working with a 19th-century printing press, I love engaging my right brain whenever I can. I’m a former host of “Coffee and Crafts” creativity hours for Girls Night In’s Lounge community, am always scouring Etsy for a new beginners kit, and can often be found wandering the halls of an art museum for hours on end.
Bio
I am the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Coding it Forward, a 501(c)3 nonprofit for early-career technologists creating new pathways into public interest technology.
I joined the Coding it Forward team in 2017 as part of the first-ever cohort of Civic Digital Fellows at the U.S. Census Bureau. Ever since, I’ve played an active role in Coding it Forward’s growth and joined as the organization’s first full-time employee in December 2018.
As Executive Director, I oversee Coding it Forward’s operations and growth—scaling the organization from a few dozen students to a network of over 10,000 young technologists and establishing programs that have empowered more than 600 students to serve at over 25 federal, state, and local government offices across the country. In addition, I transformed the organization’s financial strategy to ensure long-term sustainability, by establishing a seven-figure earned revenue stream and building philanthropic partnerships with the Ford Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
Committed to creating access to public service opportunities, I serve as an Advisory Board member for Talent for Good, a unified collection of more than 30 non-profits who are innovators in workforce strategy to address public problems. I regularly share my story to inspire more early-career technologists to pursue public service at conferences, including the Code for America Summit and the Responsible Tech Summit, as well as at university events and hackathons nationwide.
I graduated with Cum Laude honors from Wellesley College in 2018 and hold a B.A. in Media Arts and Sciences (a combination of computer science and studio art). When I’m not dreaming up the future of Coding it Forward, I can be found wandering an art museum or with my nose in a library book.