Leadership

Curriculum & Teaching | Scrum | Event Management | Coaching & Mentoring | Wood Badge

Curriculum Development & Teaching

  • I’ve developed and facilitated beginning web development classes, for children and adults, ranging from one hour to one semester long. It’s amazing to take a room full of people who have never written any sort of code or markup before, and have them build their own website in sixty minutes.
  • I’ve been told I have a talent for explaining things in the simplest way possible without making my students feel like they’re being talked down to. It’s probably the best compliment I’ve ever been given.
  • I’ve spent years volunteering with scout organizations, which means I’ve spent countless hours of my life preparing meeting plans, gathering supplies, and teaching any number of off-the-wall things.
  • Teaching isn’t just for formal classrooms: I consider facilitating meetings, one-on-ones, conference talks, and presentations to be teaching opportunities as well.
  • One of my favorite things to do is teach how to teach! You can view my talk, Teaching Skills For Technical Experts, on YouTube.
    • (Please excuse the part during Q+A where I completely forgot what the word “pedagogy” means. Stir Trek 2019 was the first time I ever gave the talk, and my brain shut off at the end. Oops! I’m still embarrassed.)

Agile & Scrum

  • I served as a(n uncertified) scrum master for a year on a project team, and it almost made me want to switch over to being a scrum master full time! They were a really great and talented team who needed an occasional push to get their morale up and their motivation going… we had a lot of fun, and they put out a killer product at the end of the project. (PS – ask me about the pajama pants!)
    • That team did not have a product owner for some time, and I found myself taking on some of the PO role as well.
  • My favorite Scrum ceremony is standup/the daily scrum. I like it because it keeps everyone on the dev team informed of what their teammates are doing, identifies when someone is getting bogged down and needs assistance, and provides a daily opportunity to get small bits of needed information or quick questions answered. In other words: standups prevent meetings, and I love preventing meetings.

Event Planning & Facilitation

  • I was part of the original organizing committee for the Hyland Women in Tech conference. Twice a year, we welcomed 100 women into the Hyland R&D building to network, learn, and try out new skills. You can check out this article I wrote about one of our conferences to see what the events were like.
    • Over the course of my time with the conference, I had the opportunity to be involved in selecting talks, finding keynote speakers, recruiting and assigning volunteers, planning and teaching workshops, and running day-of logistics. It was a lot of work (and a lot of fun)!
    • One of my first conference talks was written for Hyland WiT, and I wish I had more opportunities to give it! It’s called I Failed My First Tech Job Interview (So You Don’t Have To), and details everything I did wrong during my first (disastrous) tech interview.
  • Every year from 2016-2022, I took on the responsibility of planning enough meetings, events, and outings for an entire den of Scouts (and parents!) to make it through all the requirements in their Cub Scout handbook and earn their rank badge. In 2022, I took on the responsibility of doing this on a larger scale, for the entire Pack.

Coaching & Mentoring

  • When I started my technology career in 2015, one of my very first goals was to “turn around and help the next person I could up the ladder” — to use what little experience I had to help someone with no experience at all.
  • Through the miracle of the Web (including social media, blogs, Facebook, and LinkedIn) I’ve had several people considering career changes reach out to me for guidance, and I try my best to give honest help to each one. I showcase my very clearly non-tech MA and BA so that people can see career change is possible.
  • As my career has progressed, I’ve found that I love coaching junior developers. It’s great to help them set challenging (but attainable!) career and project goals and provide feedback as they work to meet those goals. It’s also really valuable for me to hear their questions because providing answers solidifies my own knowledge–and when I don’t have an explanation, we both get to learn something new working together to find the answer!


Wood Badge Professional Leadership Course

  • In July & August 2021, I attended a Wood Badge professional leadership course through the Boy Scouts of America Lake Erie Council (course number C4-440-21).
  • Wood Badge is an advanced, national leadership course open only to Scouting volunteers and professionals. The purpose of Wood Badge is to develop skilled leaders who can strengthen Scouting units in achieving the mission of the Boy Scouts of America.
  • In 2023, I was invited back to staff Wood Badge course 9-440-23 as a Troop Guide, responsible for mentoring a group of participants through the course.
  • In 2024, I was invited back again for course 9-440-24, working as a Scribe responsible for course communications and all printed course materials.