I'm an engineer trying to tackle society's big problems. I'm a person trying to support society's most vulnerable people. I'm an underrated samba dancer. I only live in cities that start with the letter S.
I travel, rebuilt my taste buds from the ground up, appreciate vistas and will work hard to reach them, am fond of geographical extremes, get indignant from time to time, have a strong desire to be considerate, could be a better spatial thinker, am fantastic at arithmetic, look for meaning in chaos, care about refugees and migrants of all kinds, am a fan of grand gestures, and try to strike a balance between earnestness and dark humor.
Grew up in the suburbs of northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. Organized sports, Southern food, and a loving family.
Studied Computer Science and replaced many of the thoughts in my brain at George Mason University.
Started trying to save the world from climate change at Opower.
Left the east coast of the United States for the first time, hopping a plane to London to explore western Europe. This was the most cliché thing imaginable.
Crossed paths with Clementine at a circus event. The paths never uncrossed from there.
Left my life-long home; moved to San Francisco, California.
Became the Tech Lead for the team that owns the platform for outbound communications at Opower.
Moved to Seattle, Washington for a Summer of bungie jumping, island hopping, pie eating, and water skiing.
Co-founded the Opower Engineering Mentorship Program, helping to establish and guide relationships across the community.
Moved to San Miguel de Allende for a Summer of communing with Mexico. Took a much needed break from work and re-balanced.
Had a front-row ticket to one of the epicenters of the humanitarian crisis of the century, assisting refugees at Keleti Station in Budapest.
Became Architect for the Outbound organization at Opower, guiding the technical vision for 40 engineers across 6 teams.
Decided to hang out forever with Clementine. Planned and built our dream wedding at our parents' home in Utah, which included remodeling a masterpiece of mid-century modern architecture for the occasion.
Moved to Sydney, Australia the day after our wedding, to embark on an era of surf.
From Clementine, my favorite birthday gift of all time: a Monstera Deliciosa named Big Mama, who became one of my most important friends and confidants. The founding of a true love obsession.
Out in western Australia, we roadtripped through the vast desert, dove the remarkable Navy Pier, and swam with humpback whales. With two of our very best friends in the whole wide world.
Started a side project, and co-founded a non-profit, aimed at providing new data infrastructure and tools to help decision makers understand how the criminal justice system is performing.
Returned to the Bay to throw ourselves into criminal justice reform. Sydney remains a critical and long-term part of our lives.
Began full time work at Recidiviz as CTO, starting in earnest the effort to power meaningful reform and reduce mass incarceration.
These are the things I can stumble my way through.
Fresh new things I'm learning or working on.
| STUDYING | Circus art direction |
| READING | The Marshall Project bookshelf |
| SURFING | Learning how to adapt to new waves |
| BUILDING | A non-profit to help improve criminal justice for all |
| EXPLORING | All things gardening |
Malcolm Gladwell said mastery requires 10,000 hours. That's not true, but here's my (estimated) progress anyway.
| Sleeping | 85,000 | |
| Engineering | 14,000 | |
| Eating | 10,900 | |
| Studying | 10,000 | |
| Driving | 4,380 | |
| Basketballing | 1,700 | |
| Baseballing | 1,000 | |
| Aerial hooping | 75 |
These are the ideas I base my actions on.
Empathy deficiency is at the root of all problems. Empathy is the most important thing.
We should measure what we do by how it improves the well-being of the least advantaged members of society.
Those of us with the most privilege have a social duty to help those with less privilege.
People are naturally Good. They want to be good to others and to themselves.
Diversity leads to better decisions, higher quality of life, and stronger organization.
Stigma destroys social cohesion. It dehumanizes and distances us from one another.
Form follows function, but there is intrinsic social value in beauty.
Mentorship within and across communities helps society reinforce its future.
These are the people and works I like, in immutable order.