A look back, a look ahead

As the new year is here, I want to take a quick look back at the whirlwind that was 2022. As with most years, there were ups and downs. I’m not going to dwell on the downs but will say I’m extremely thankful for my tribe (you know who you are), and most importantly for the relationship with my wife. Having a partnership where you know you have each other’s backs is priceless.

This past year I accomplished something I wasn’t sure was possible for me: landing a full-time role at Microsoft. I had been working for a few years in a vendor capacity as a Program and Community Manager on the Windows Insider Engineering team. Truly grateful for the opportunities I had there, as well as the mentorship provided by everyone on the team. I sincerely believe this helped me accomplish my goal.

In January of 2022, I moved over into the accessibility space to help out on the Accessibility Technical Team. I will say that not having a deep understanding of the space was a bit scary at first, but I quickly dove in and with the help from an incredible team got up to speed. Yes, changing career direction is uncomfortable, but is not impossible. Hit me up on Twitter if you want to learn more about how I changed direction.

So now we’re in 2023 and I’m going to continue to push myself out of my comfort zone. How you may ask. First, I’m starting with this site. The goal is to do 1-2 posts a month to start. This can be anything from a personal story from my Navy days to something technical going on in the accessibility world currently. No limits. The main goal is to share my personal life experiences in the hope that at least one person either gains some knowledge, becomes motivated, or if nothing else, simply smiles. Feel free to leave comments, ask me questions, or share with others.

Ok 2023…let’s do this!