Long Story Short: I Found My Place Between Code and Community

Taylor Swift once said, “Sometimes walking out is one thing that will find you the right thing.” That’s probably what happened to me. During my engineering days, all I ever wanted was to be a backend engineer, write code all day, use dark mode for IDEs, and sip coffee. And it all happened, I started as a software developer focused on shipping features, debugging all night, and building new features again. However, something felt incomplete, and being part of developer relations changed that.

From software developer to developer relations (DevRel): how it started

I was always an educator, into public speaking, and into building ideas and strategies. And as part of the Developer Relations team, I get to turn all that into work. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to wear multiple hats: community engineer, content creator, strategist, and workshop builder. And now I get to do code, community, and content, everything together.

What made me stay in the community was the feeling of “Oh, that’s exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for guiding me.” That sense of connection and appreciation motivates me, and I want to foster the same feeling in others. Once someone said this, and this became my calling. Hence, I enjoy being here, closer to the community.

My technical journey: Java, Spring Boot, and beyond

Over the years, I’ve written technical content, led hands-on workshops, produced YouTube videos, and contributed as a guest author and MongoDB Champion. My technical home base is Java, and frameworks like Quarkus and Spring Boot have always held a special place in my heart. And it’s been with me since my undergraduate days and has never left. Along the way in my engineering journey, another technology that prompted a deep dive was containers; topics such as Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD, and GitOps all piqued my interest. I have since earned recognition as a MongoDB Champion for my contributions to the community over the years.

Why I’m joining Okta: identity, security, and AI

And now? I’m joining Okta. When I first thought about Okta, I thought of authentication, two-factor, and login flows. All important. But the more I dug in, the more I realized Okta is at the center of something much bigger. Identity is quietly becoming the foundation of how AI systems are trusted, accessed, and governed. That intersection of security, identity, and AI is where I want to be, and I couldn’t be more excited to explore it with all of you. While I am learning about Okta and its products, I am excited to discuss what the community is building with AI and Okta, and how we can help you on your journey.

Beyond my resume

When I’m not working on code or community projects, I’m at the gym. I’ve pursued this passion religiously for the past five years, always powering through my workouts with Taylor Swift tracks. I train hard, largely so I can enjoy all the desserts the world has to offer! I’ve fallen in love with weightlifting and am proud to say I can deadlift 200 lbs. Beyond the gym, I’m always chasing the perfect sunset and scouting for the next great sweet treat.

I am looking forward to building and breaking things on purpose. I’m excited to connect with you on LinkedIn and GitHub, and figure it all out together.

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