Okay, but who are you?

Rocky in a Nutshell

I’m a developer. Maybe a list of my experience will be helpful!

In my life – I’ve built games, apps, websites, and tinkered in automation, integrations and bots.

I like to find projects that stretch my skills in interesting ways. Learning is forever, and continuous growth is my end-goal.

I’ve been in developer communities in Philadelphia, Salem, Portland, and Spokane WA. I’ve spoken at WordPress events and was a host for Mentorship Saturdays(until I had to move).

So in a nutshell – I’m a developer. Oh, and I like chocolate wafers.

Working (Remotely)

>I have been working both remote/at an office of the past 5 years. Contrary to popular believe, working remotely isn’t about waking up and working in your pajamas.

It means **working independently**, being resourceful and problem-solving on my own. With team members all over the world (across the States, in Europe and South-East Asia),  meetings had to be efficient as possible. So asking the right questions and identifying the goal is a priority.

It means **being self-motivated.** To meet the demands of the work, I had to organize the priority of projects on my own, take them as far as I could before I needed help, and do my own research to problem solve.

It means **having strong written communication skills**. From following up with detailed project plans and proposals, to writing SOPs so I can pass my knowledge to the whole team. To improve the clarity of my messages, I took courses on copywriting/blogging and made money as a guest blogger.

It means **being incredibly comfortable with learning all the time**. Tech changes fast, and I have to be on the cutting edge of technology. I’ve learned new programming languages in a few weeks to meet the needs of a project. I go  through a online course every week, and try to finish a new book every two weeks.

If your next statement is: _“Working remotely? You MUST be a weird introvert!”_

Yep! My energy does get drained talking to people. There’s no question there.

But it doesn’t stop me from working with clients directly, participate in speaking events, and hosting meet-ups. Having worked at a comedy club in a previous life — you get used to being uncomfortable. (being on stage and getting no laughs is super awkward.)

Teaching

I’ve always stood by the policy of NEVER being the bottleneck. If you’re the only person who can do a specific task, then you’re hoarding information. Teaching provides that outlet to share information and level up your team.

My experience teaching includes building online courses for Mirasee (fifteen courses in three years), writing documentation and SOPs for internal knowledge, and crafting videos and blog posts to share knowledge.

I am also a volunteer/mentor-in-training at SCORE, a network of expert business mentors with over 300 chapters nationwide.

Past jobs include teaching within the school district and private art schools, and volunteering as a teacher for religious organizations and non-profits.

Speaking

The best educators are also persuasive speakers. Summoning up your collective knowledge on a subject and turning it into a presentation is also a powerful educational tool.

My background working at Helium Comedy Club provided me with a front row seat to learn directly from the masters on stage presence, cadence, mic control and performance. I’m also a part of the local Spokane Valley ToastMasters organization.

I’ve spoken at WordPress events, small meetups, and live webinars streamed around the world.

I’m the host of the Spokane WordPress group and have participated in many speaking events.

External Hobbies

To relax, you might catch me listening to audio books, hiking and biking, or playing video games.

Having experienced failure by the public school system, I give back to non-profits and the community. Past volunteer experience includes the Portland Saturday Academy providing STEM education, the Salem Dream Center providing art education, soup kitchens and food pantries, and working with the Red Cross giving blood and plasma. Current volunteer experience includes teaching workshops on web development and online marketing.