With a passion for ending extreme poverty and a deep understanding of technology, I strive to create useful, effective solutions with the end-user in mind. From aesthetically pleasing designs to intuitive interactions, technology is built to serve people, not the other way around.
At UC at Boulder, I have been privileged to study both global development and technology separately, and then the relationship between the two. Coursework centered around global development topics, how to understand user requirements (particularly requirements of those in developing communities), user-centered design, monitoring and evaluation techniques, and current issues facing the use of technology for human development. I also have had the privilege of learning about learning about the role of technology within industries such as Microfinance and within the arena of law and energy justice.
My experiences at WVU built foundational principles of software engineering that are critical to many aspects of projects that I work on. Along with the coursework I took within the anthropology department, Computer Science helped me understand the importance and benefits of both knowing both how to develop functional software and how people interact with technology.
As a Project Engineer at Inveneo, I work alongside technology partners from around the world to help provide solutions that ultimately lead to greater communication opportunities for people that need it the most, particularly those in disadvantaged communities. Here I have the opportunity and privilege to work in a variety of roles: from software engineer to network engineer, from project designer to teacher/trainer. I also utilize GIS tools to both analyze data and also to clearly communicate project statuses both internally and to external facing clients and partners.
Major Projects
Clients have ranged from various non-profits and local businesses. Work in specific includes content management system development that was typically based off of a Drupal or Wordpress instance. I typically work with local clients in places I have lived which has included the San Francisco Bay Area, Boulder (Colorado), and Morgantown (West Virginia).
I help clients determine the right solution for the relevant context and then execute that design. I also do vector-based logo designs and I have a passion for good, intentional typography. I have made custom PHP-based modules for Drupal instances as well as train clients to be able to organize their data in appropriate ways.
Spending time both working remotely and from the headquarters in Seattle, Washington, I have been privileged to take on a variety of roles and tasks within World Vision. I have been able to continue to utilize and develop my skills in graphic design while developing rich internet applications in JavaScript with the jQuery framework along with PHP. A major point of emphasis of my work has been implementing and creating plugins for content management systems (CMSs), particularly Drupal and Wordpress.
I have had the privilege to be apart of the original World Vision ACT:S team which allowed me to design and develop web strategy for the ACT:S team within World Vision, which focuses on activism around the international issues of child slavery, hunger, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. I have had a major role in developing the web strategy and presence for some of World Vision ACT:S major campaigns such as the ACT:S to End Malaria, the Human Wrong Campaign, and ACT:S for the Horn of Africa.
Consulted the QFund Inc on solutions to allow children in a rural Zambian school to effectively learn how to use computers and popular applications such as Microsoft Office.
I worked on the implementation of three Community Empowerment Centers (CECs) in rural Tanzania. These CECs (think 'telecenters') are hubs for the people of Kingore to access information via the Internet. My work consisted of the following:
With the knowledge I had gained from my experience working with the Tanzania CECs, I compiled a "recipe book" of resources from the Tanzania CEC project, along with other World Vision International CEC projects around the world to more efficiently and effectively build CECs.
This opportunity for a United States Department of Defense contractor consisted of Java-based software development in various web-based applications.