Breaking the Ice

I’ve been figuring out how things work for as long as I can remember.

Growing up south of Seattle, I was the kid carefully pulling the family computer apart to understand what was inside and, more importantly, putting it back together so no one noticed. My dad spent his career as a high school teacher, and our household had a quiet ethic I didn’t fully appreciate until much later: be curious, pay attention to detail, and take the work seriously without taking yourself too seriously. By the time I finished studying Digital Arts at Cogswell College, that curiosity had found its professional lane in web design, and from there it evolved into a career building and managing online stores.

I’ve been figuring out how things work for as long as I can remember.

Growing up south of Seattle, I was the kid carefully pulling the family computer apart to understand what was inside and, more importantly, putting it back together so no one noticed. My dad spent his career as a high school teacher, and our household had a quiet ethic I didn’t fully appreciate until much later: be curious, pay attention to detail, and take the work seriously without taking yourself too seriously. By the time I finished studying Digital Arts at Cogswell College, that curiosity had found its professional lane in web design, and from there it evolved into a career building and managing online stores.

That’s been the work for over twenty years now. I’ve helped businesses across a range of industries – luxury accessories, off-road sports, specialty agriculture – build their e-commerce operations from scratch or improve what they already had. The products and customers change, but the approach stays the same: understand who’s shopping, make their experience effortless, and care about the details most people overlook. The variety is genuinely one of my favorite parts of this career. Every store is its own puzzle, and I haven’t gotten tired of solving them.

In 2021, a fire destroyed the apartment building where I’d lived for over twelve years. A young family of three lost their lives that morning. I walked away with my car, the clothes I was wearing, and the personal files I’d had the foresight to keep in the cloud – photos, music, documents that would have been irreplaceable. Losing nearly everything material has a way of making certain things very clear. What you own matters far less than you think. The people in your life matter far more.

The years since have been about rebuilding with more intention than I’d applied to much of anything before. A new home I’ve furnished with real thought and care. Better health. A deeper gratitude for the people and experiences that make up a life. I wouldn’t have chosen the road that got me here, but I’m genuinely grateful for where it’s led.

I’m a lifelong movie lover and always have been – the older and stranger the film, the more likely I am to enjoy it. I’ve been attending more plays and concerts than at any other point in my life, and photography has become a regular creative outlet; I enjoy capturing landscapes and scenes from my travels, and I have a soft spot for panoramic shots that try to take in more than the eye can hold. At home, I recently put together a retro PC running Windows 98 to revisit the flight simulators and adventure games I played as a kid. When I’m working, film and game soundtracks are almost always on in the background – score music helps me focus in a way that anything with lyrics never could.

I’m looking for a company where I can stay and grow – somewhere that values getting things right, cares about the customer experience, and wants someone who brings both deep expertise and genuine enthusiasm for the work. If that’s your organization, I’d love to hear about it.

[Show slideshow]