Welcome! And thanks for visiting.

In 2016, with a Master's degree in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language and almost eight years in the teaching field, I decided to transition into a career in software development.

 

Through the process of learning to code, I was delighted to discover the many analogies between learning human languages and learning programming languages, and have since spoken and written extensively on this topic.

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Over the last few years, I've had a ton of fun improving my programming skills, as well as advocating for and supporting folks who are trying to make the transition into technology careers. I truly believe that with sufficient time, motivation, and support from the community, anybody can learn how to code and become a software developer.

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I've also become passionate about applying evidence-based science to help software teams learn, work, and thrive. I've been using my background in second language acquisition, language-learning pedagogy, and classroom-based research to develop innovative workshops, interventions, and curricula that promote technical upskilling and behavior change on software teams.

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I enjoy contributing to the engineering community through writing articles, guesting on podcasts, and giving conference talks. My favorite topics are those that aim to demystify empirical research on software teams for those best equipped to utilize its insights.

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When I'm not doing the above, I'm probably curled up with a book, or learning something new, or (slowly) running up hills in the Colorado Rockies, or combing the beach in Bandon, OR, or working on my golf swing, or beating my husband at ping pong.

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Feel free to get in touch, especially if you need someone to convince you that you, too, can successfully transition into a career in computer programming. If I could do it, you can do it.

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Following are research, presentations, articles, webinars, podcasts and interviews published and hosted externally:

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> Empirical Research

• “My code is shit”: Negative automatic thoughts and outcomes of a behavioral experiment for code review anxiety

• The New Developer: AI Skill Threat, Identity Change & Developer Thriving in the Transition to AI-Assisted Software Development

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> Conference Presentations

• "I Didn't Grow up Speaking Code": GitHub Copilot as a Programming-as-a-Second-Language Tool" (Monki Gras 2024)

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• ​"​​Using a learning-themed retrospective to strengthen your team’s learning culture and reduce learning debt" | LeadDev New York 2023

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• "How a Year in Engineering Leadership Has Made Me a Better Individual Contributor"  | LeadDev SanFran 2022 | Selected for LeadDev's Annual Wrapped Conference where they recast the best of the year's presentations from their four conferences)

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> Articles

• Improve your learning culture with retrospectives

• Close technical skills gaps with a principal learning engineer​

• ​What second language acquisition can teach us about learning to code: Part 1​

• SLA Insights Part 2: Input, Interaction & Output

• SLA Insights Part 3: Noticing and Attitudes

• How Business Can Hone STEM Skills Outside of Academia

• How to Find and Solve Engineering Bottlenecks

• Solving Engineering Bottlenecks Is Key To Increasing Productivity and Delivering Value to Customers

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> Podcasts

• ​Learning to Code and Embracing Failure - All Hands on Tech

• The Definition of Done - Perspectives in Leadership

 

> Webinars

• Science-Backed Ways to Advance Your Tech Career

• Applications of Foreign Language Learning to Coding

 

> Interviews

• Inspiring Women in Tech: Interview with Kristen Foster-Marks

• Women in Tech: “Remember to ask for a lot of help along the way”

• The data engineering leaders need to prioritize

• Create your own talent: build developers from nontech employees

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> Miscellany

• Flow@Flow - Drinking our own Champagne

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