Where did you grow up and what was it like?
I grew up in a small beach town on the border of San Francisco and loved everything about it. I spent most of my days either surfing after school, or spending the weekends in the mountains, snowboarding. My parents raised me with a deep respect and appreciation for the ocean and all its inhabitants; leading me to have a life-long passion for protecting nature and creatures.
Outside of work, what are you irrationally passionate about?
Art! I think art is a physical expression of non-tangible human emotions. I am inspired by the equalizing nature of the art world, giving all people an opportunity to express themselves and their experiences in a way that enhances their lived experience. I grew up being fascinated by cartoons and animation and found that many of those stories shaped my art passion, especially those with gothic influences like Roald Dahl and Tim Burton.
It’s rather common that PMs have uncommon paths into the discipline. Walk us through the process that you went through to get into Product.
I started as a Computer Science major with the intention of becoming an animation engineer. After completing an internship as a Front-End Developer, I found Product and loved the agency I gained over the products being created. After college, I quickly became interested in how technology and design could be used to improve our world for the better. After three years in the industry, I knew I wanted to work in product strategy on ethical technology solutions.
We talk a lot about our jobs being the opportunity to imagine the future and then make it real. What vision do you have for the future and want to make real?
I hope for a future that is rooted in compassion. I believe technology has given us tools to improve our world drastically if we first lead with compassion over profit. The innovation of technology has enabled us to create the tools necessary to equalize our society. I want the future to be a new world where the average person holds equal power and opportunity to make an impact.
Not everything we do works and that’s okay. We learn from those things. What is the least successful product or project you’ve contributed to and what did you learn?
I worked on a product that was a top-down initiative at an enterprise company. The product managers on the project pleaded with leadership to account for a pivot. The research showed that users would not adopt the new technology, but the company insisted it was needed. Halfway through the build, users were brought in for training and immediately rejected the new platform proposal. Just a few weeks later, the build was trashed. It’s never fun to watch months of work not make it to market, but I was excited that we had finally shown that the best solution was not to make one!
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?” (Borrowed from Tim Ferris’ “Tribe of Mentors”)
My favorite failure was the Phillies circa 2007. The youth girls’ softball league I was absolutely terrible, just the worst at that sport, but still insisted on being the pitcher. I lost us every game that I played, but the photos that came from that one season are infamous. So much confidence and so little athleticism. My adult brother has those pictures on his desk to laugh at; my parents covered the fridge; my friends posted them all over the internet. Making that many people laugh for this many years has to be a success, even if I was a MASSIVE failure at softball.
What’s been the most exciting part about joining Sidebench so far?
The most exciting part about joining Sidebench is the community. Sidebench believes in creating products that are responsible, and our partners share that goal. A lot of good can be done with such a large community of people working for the same common goal. I don’t believe you need the investment of the world to make a change. I think even small organizations like ours can inch the world in the right direction.
We love to find people that ADD to our culture vs fit into our existing culture. What are some cultural aspects that you’ve experienced that you hope to bring with you?
I was diagnosed with a chronic illness at 22 years old, after nearly 13 years of fighting for answers. After my diagnosis, my outlook drastically changed, and I learned to advocate for myself. I hope to bring a new perspective on what having a chronic illness can look like. Being ill has long been looked at as a negative for a person’s overall output, but I’d like to prove that my illness has made me a more motivated, compassionate, and knowledgeable person.
Describe your super power or describe what unique skill/perspective you bring to the team here.
My superpower is the perspective I’ve gained from having a chronic illness. I saw how the inclusion of different perspectives could help create a better world for everyone. In realizing this, it became easy to meet everyone around me with a newfound understanding and appreciation.
What skill, practice, behavior, hobby or habits are you currently working on?
A skill I am currently working on is active reading and listening. I often think while processing information, making it easy for me to become lost in the possibilities. I’ve been trying to learn the art of doing only one thing at a time: listening without formulating a response; reading without predicting the outcome; and speaking without practicing in my head first.
Bonus Question: What book, publication, or podcast have you most recommended lately and why?
There are a few too many to choose from, but my top picks for this year are:
- ‘Things Are Against Us’ by Lucy Ellmann
- ‘Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto’ by Tithi Bhattacharya, Cinzia Arruzza, and Nancy Fraser.
- ‘The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma’ by Bessel A. Van Der Kolk, M.D.
This post is also available on Medium, here.
