Software engineer and journalist based in Berlin 🇩🇪

Email / Website / LinkedIn / GitHub / Twitter / DEV

Frontend Engineer @ BRYTER (Dec 2020 - Present)
No-code platform that enables professionals to build interactive applications.

• Founding member of BRYTER's design system team and continued to provide support and extend the component library
• Wrote code in multiple architecture layers, including the application core and integrations with external services
• Implemented a new Vue 3 app using Vite to replace a legacy Vue 2 and Webpack architecture
• Technologies used: Vue, TypeScript, Jest, Testing Library, HTML, CSS, Sass, Vite, Web Components (LitElement).
  
  

Google Season of Docs 2020 | Technical Writer @ GraphQL Foundation (Aug 2020 - Jan 2021)
Google Season of Docs is a program matching experienced technical writers with open source organizations.

• Created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) resource for graphql.org, including all the content and page functionality
• Triaged issues and reviewed pull requests to the GraphQL website
• Wrote internal documentation to improve the contributing experience
• Technologies used: CSS, React, TypeScript, Gatsby, GraphQL.
  
  

Software Engineer @ Meeshkan (Oct 2019 - Sep 2020)
Early-stage startup focused on automated API testing and NLP.

• Built the website and the initial web app that visualized the test reports
• Maintained unmock-js, an open-source fuzz testing library
• Ownership of Meeshkan's documentation and technical blog
• Technologies used: TypeScript, React, Gatsby, Chakra, Next.js, Node.js, GraphQL, REST, Jest, CircleCI, Python.
• Selected open-source work:
  • Jest configuration for the unmock-js runner
  • Property-based testing for JavaScript developers
  • HTTP Mocking Toolkit documentation
    
    

Frontend Engineer @ Blacklane (Mar 2018 - Sep 2019)
Professional chauffeur service available in over 300 cities worldwide.

• Worked in a cross-functional, agile team to rebuild and rebrand the B2C booking experience
• Led an accessibility initiative resulting in the website passing WCAG 2.0 requirements
• Extended and maintained a company-wide design system
• Technologies used: HTML, CSS, JavaScript ES6, React, TypeScript, Storybook, Redux, Next.js, REST, Jest, Mocha, Cypress, TravisCI.
  
  

Technical Writer @ Contentful (Sep 2017 - Feb 2018)
API-first infrastructure to create, manage and distribute content.

• Ownership of Contentful's technical blog
• Wrote developer experience documentation
• Assistance with information architecture and UX writing for the web app
• Technologies used: React, Gatsby, Node.js, GraphQL, REST, Contentful.
• Selected writing:
  • JavaScript SDK guide
  • Node.js example app and courses
  • Concept references: Domain model, Multiple environments
    
    

This section only accounts for work done post-career change.

Acting Editor @ Future of Sex (Apr 2022 - Present)
Online publication that provides insights into how emerging technologies are expanding human sexuality.

• Oversee a team of writers and maintain the editorial focus for futurist publication attracting more than 50,000 monthly visitors and 90,000 monthly page views
• Develop article ideas for writers and edit work for readability, grammar, and accuracy
• Analyze website traffic and social media analytics to improve online reach and ensure optimal SEO performance

Previously worked as a Reporter from Dec 2020 - Apr 2022

• Researched and wrote original stories on sex and technology for sophisticated online audience
• Selected articles:
  • You Can Now Buy Sex Toys from Vending Machines at Berlin’s New Airport
  • Does Having an IUD Make You a Biohacker or a Cyborg?
  • Tech Conference Organizers: Sex Tech Breaks Taboos, Not Codes of Conduct
    
    

Freelance Writer (Mar 2020 - Present)
Regular contributor to Sex for Every Body. Other articles in Autostraddle, Silicon Allee, Curve Magazine, and elsewhere.

Contributing Editor @ FLURT Magazine (Mar 2016 - Sep 2018)
Magazine for socially conscious young people who want to create their own media.

• Wrote over 20 articles for print and web focused on technology and activism
• Edited and curated online-exclusive content
• Selected articles:
  • The War on Sex
  • What to Do if You Get Doxed
  • How Marijuana Can Improve Your Health
    
    

EU Conference Team Member @ Write the Docs (Jul 2019 - Present)
Technology conference focused on documentation systems, tech writing theory, and information delivery.

• Emceed the last in-person event in 2019 and the first virtual event in 2020
• Introduced speakers and faciliated Q&A sessions
  
  

Workshop Lead @ New Devs on the Block (Jul 2019 - Dec 2021)
Free, two-day workshops to help people build their first website.

• Creating a curriculum that covers HTML, CSS and a bit of JavaScript
• Preparing supplemental presentations on topics like accessibility and animations
• Events in Nürnberg and Vienna, now post-poned due to the COVID-19 outbreak
  
  

Web Development Instructor @ ReDI School of Digital Integration (Feb 2017 - Aug 2021)
Non-profit digital school for tech-interested newcomers applying for asylum in Germany.

• Built and continuously developed the course curriculum with a team of 4-8 other instructors
• Led classes to improve student comprehension of React, HTML, CSS and general web design principles
• Mentored students through presentations and job search
• Note: Took a break from teaching in 2019
  
  

Co-Organizer @ QueerJS (Jun 2019 - Dec 2021)
🏳️‍🌈 A meetup for everyone where queer speakers take the stage.

• Selected speakers and scheduling events
• Fostered an inclusive community and enforced the code of conduct
• 🐻 Previously co-organized BerlinJS from May 2018 - May 2020
  
  

• JSHeroes live in Cluj 🇷🇴 (Jun 9, 2022)
  Humanizing Your Documentation
  

• single-threaded Podcast (released on Mar 31, 2021)
  Crying at work
  

Want me to speak at your event?
💖 Check out my website for more information.

Won First Place @ Rainbows End Sex Tech Hackathon (May 2021)
Built Tentilex, a wearable armband that records your hand movement and generates a live 3D-model.

Top Author Recognition @ DEV (2019 - 2020)
Named one of the Top 500 authors in 2019. Also wrote two articles that ranked in the weekly Top 7:

• How to remove condescending language from documentation
• Onboarding a junior developer to your team? Here's 12 tips.
  
  

Won Best Project @ Geek Girl Carrots Berlin Hackathon (Oct 2017)
Created Qarma, an online platform to report and retrieve lost & found objects for travelers abroad.

🇺🇸 English: Native
🇩🇪 German: B1

12-week intensive coding course focused on full-stack JavaScript
SPICED Academy - Berlin, Germany (Apr 2017 - Jun 2017)

Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies
Beloit College - Beloit, Wisconsin, USA (2011 - 2015)

Washington Semester Program for Journalism and New Media
American University - Washington DC, USA (Fall 2014)

International Exchange studying Political Science
Yeditepe Üniversitesi - Istanbul, Turkey (Spring 2013)