Summary
I am a full-stack Web designer and developer with almost 20 years of experience. I am extremely experienced in both front-end and back-end development, database design and implementation, and UI/UX and graphic design. My primary languages are PHP and (more frequently these days) Javascript/Node, and I’m very experienced with jQuery, Bootstrap, and the new Meteor framework, as well as WordPress design and development.
I’ve built everything from personal WordPress sites to high-profile publishing platforms, but I find my greatest value for clients and employers is my ability to singlehandedly take a project from the concept stage to MVP (minimum viable project). This is particularly valuable for early stage/pre-funding startups, where building a full development team can often be difficult given budgetary constraints. My great value is that I’m a generalist with an extremely broad set of skills and experiences; I’ve done everything for clients from architecting web applications to designing brand concepts to copywriting to composing music for crowdfunding videos.
I am also a Pulitzer-nominated writer and author, and my nonfiction book An American Vampire In Juarez was an Amazon travel bestseller (briefly). I’m somewhat well-known as a futurist and advocate for the disadvantaged and marginalized, and I have delivered talks and lectured on technology and its impact on the human condition for events like the Chaos Communications Congress in Berlin, TriConf in Richland, WA and the Ignite and Inspire series of talks in Las Vegas. I’m also recognized as an early pioneer in crowdfunding.
History
Maidly | CTO 2013 Built online maid service scheduling app using Meteor (based on Node/MongoDB backend). Responsible for all aspects of development, from deployment to bug testing to creating efficient scheduling algorithm to check availability of cleaners for appointments, as well as integrating Stripe credit card payment system.
Openfire | CTO 2013
Created crowdfunding platform for socially valuable projects in PHP/MySQL, using WePay credit card processing. I was the sole developer on the project, which began in January 2013 and went into public beta during SxSW in mid-March. Responsible for all aspects of design, development and deployment, as well as logo design.
NSFWCorp | Technical lead
2011 – 2013
NSFWCorp was an online magazine founded by Paul Carr, for which I built a bespoke publishing platform in PHP/MySQL, including content management system, subscription management/payment, and internal accounting system for handling writer payment. Also handled multiple redesigns of UI/UX, primarily using Bootstrap, including media playback for podcasting, etc. Also wrote articles and produced/co-hosted NSFWCorp podcasts.
MedWeb | Frontend/UI Developer 2009-2010
Worked as frontend developer on patient management system for military hospitals in active war zones. Duties including translating wireframes into working HTML/JS UIs; updating legacy Perl/PostgresSQL code; developing a Flash/Flex-based teleconferencing system for field doctors; working around legacy military hardware/software to provide cutting-edge UI solutions.
Mperia | Frontend designer/developer 2003-2006
Created online independent music store for micropayments company Bitpass.com as a showcase for their platform, which allowed musicians to sell their work directly to fans without having a record label. Responsible for concept, branding, frontend design and development (including creation of an early Flash-based player widget that allowed fans/bands to put playlists on their own social network profiles and pages), and evangelism to artists/fans.
Freelance work 1998-current
Worked on a wide variety of projects for numerous clients, doing everything from generative Flash animations to personal brand sites to intranet web app development.
Technical Proficiencies
- Meteor is a Node.js-based frontend/backend framework with a focus in real-time data which I am a big fan of and advocate for. I have successfully used it in several projects, including an open-source timebank app which I’m currently developing (GitHub repo).
- Node/MongoDB
- PHP (LAMP stack) – I’ve been working with PHP since 1998 and, though I’ve recently preferred to work in Node/Meteor, I am still an extremely experienced full-stack PHP/MySQL developer.
- Frontend Javascript/jQuery
- HTML/CSS
- Photoshop/Illustrator/Creative Suite – I have been working with Photoshop since 1993, doing both on-screen and print design/pre-press, and it’s one of the few things I absolutely consider myself an expert in. I’m also extremely experienced with Illustrator and I’ve done a good amount of work with Premiere and AfterEffects as well.
- WordPress – I have worked with WordPress since its debut in 2004, including custom theme coding/development and plugin development.