My first exposure to software was in 1986 when I went to a summer computer camp and made a Fortran program to navigate a Lego car through a course of Coke cans. The car had two motors, one for steering and one for forward and back. It took two weeks of planning, testing, and bug fixing before it could drive the course on its own. The instructors liked the program enough that they used it to design challenges for other students. I was instantly hooked on this feeling of appreciation.My father was a nuclear physicist. At the peak of his career, the nuclear industry mostly shut down and his work went largely under-appreciated. My mom was a home health social worker for 30 years. She taught me that no matter what your job is, everyone just wants to have someone value their work. I want to help others experience the satisfaction of having their work appreciated as much as possible.I’ve had the opportunity to work with some truly innovative and stellar product development teams at Icarian (acquired by Workstream), Microsoft Windows Mobile, Qpass (acquired by Amdocs), and Zettics (acquired by Ribbon). I’ve also seen these innovative teams really struggle when goals are unclear or communication falls apart.As the founder of Uplevel, I: - Make sure we are reducing the waste and frustration from unclear goals, lots of context switching, too many meetings, and general blockers to shipping products that make customers happy and employees proud.- Oversee a diverse team of superstars, making sure every employee is heard and has clarity in their job.- Talk to prospects and customers every single day making sure we are laser-focused on their needs and maximizing the value we can deliver to them.- Look for innovative ideas in our data, sales, partnerships, or otherwise, that could help us bring our value to more customers fasterOverall, I have one goal - to help everyone feel that great dopamine hit from someone appreciating your work - their own Lego car moment.Who am I, otherwise - Husband of an environmental consultant, father of two strong-willed teenage daughters who also love STEM, and walker of two large female husky dogs. Yes, I live in an 83% female house. Decent at sports requiring strength like running, skiing, and biking, but terrible at all hand-eye coordination activities. Enjoy the ‘behind the wall’ DIY like electrical and plumbing. Triple citizen of the US, Canada, and UK. Have a very large capacity to remember lines from comedy shows and movies including almost every SNL skit since the first in 1975. Confident I can make anyone laugh.