Leading startup teams
Through a career spanning tech and media, I’ve gained deep experience leading teams. I have particular expertise in internal communication, culture change, strategic planning for startups and working with distributed teams. I offer coaching for executives and emerging leaders.
I was most recently VP of Engineering at Daily and before that at ConvertKit. Previously, I was in engineering leadership at Mailchimp. Past roles include Head of Sales & Marketing for 18F, a tech consultancy within the federal government; CEO and co-founder of Lean Startup Productions, a successful media startup; and VP of Programs for indie.vc. I’ve held senior management positions at O’Reilly Media and UBM TechWeb, where I launched and ran profitable media properties. I’m co-author of The Twitter Book, and I’ve been a freelance journalist writing regularly for The New York Times. Earlier in my career, I co-founded a record label with children’s musician Laurie Berkner, and I started Just Food's CSA in NYC program.
I hold an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and a BA from Rutgers University. I split my time between New York and San Francisco. Bonus fact: I was the 21st user of Twitter.
Coaching
As a coach and thought partner, I help executives and emerging leaders level up in effectiveness and job satisfaction. Details here.
Speaking and Workshops
I’ve spoken at dozens of conferences, universities, corporate meetings, workshops and other events, and I often appear as a guest on podcasts. I welcome new opportunities. Topics include:
Scaling management for your stage and size
Leading remote / distributed teams
The surprising role of leaders in addressing harassment and bullying at work (here's a version of this talk at LeadDevNY 2022)
Bringing tech thinking to your non-technical company
Short, fun talks I've given in the Ignite format include:
Writing
Select articles (a few superfaves in bold)
The Secret to Hiring Engineers When You Pay Less than Google, LeadDev
Seven Ways to Help Your Team Connect When You’re Apart, LeadDev
Three Ways to Lead Effectively When You Fire Somebody, LeadDev
Confronting Our Own Racism as White Engineering Managers, LeadDev
Career Ladders Aren't Enough, LeadDev
Harassers Are Nice to Me, and Probably to You, LeadDev (talk on the topic)
I Work on a Treadmill, Better Humans
Remote Work Insights You’ve Never Heard Before, Better Programming
29 Tips for Very Effective Remote Managers and Workers, Better Programming
How to Fail When You're Used to Winning: A Guide for Leaders, Medium
Startups Almost Never Talk About This, But They Should, Medium
Ending Conferences Dominated by White Men, Harvard Business Review
Five Ways White Feminists Can Address Our Own Racism, Huffington Post
Staying Friends When You Don't Have Kids and Your BFFs Do, Dogs and Shoes
Now, Brevity Is the Soul of Office Interaction, New York Times
+ More New York Times articles
Books
The Twitter Book
(O'Reilly Media)Google: The Missing Manual (O'Reilly Media)
Conference Hosting
Co-host, LeadDev Together. December 2021, Online
Panel moderator, LeadDev Live. January 2021, Online
Module co-host, LeadDev Together. October 2020, Online
Co-host, LeadDev Live. April 2020, Online
Co-host with The American Press Institute, Cracking the Code for Effective Product Management: A Summit for Modern Newsrooms. 2015, New York
Co-host, The Lean Startup Conference. 2012 - 2014, San Francisco
Host, Office Optional, a conference for remote and distributed teams. April 2014, San Francisco
GM & Co-chair, Web 2.0 Expo. 2009 - 2011, San Francisco & New York
Organizer, Ignite Lean Startup. May 2011, San Francisco, CA
Chair, Web2Open. April 2009, San Francisco, CA
Co-chair, Web2Open. April 2008, San Francisco, CA
Founder & Chair, Tools of Change for Publishing (TOC). June 2007, San Jose, CA