Creative technologist in Philadelphia — teaching, music, design, and code, one lens, not four separate things. (Wrote about exactly this if you want the longer version.)
I taught before I coded. Was an Apple Genius before I built software. Bootcamp grad (Resilient Coders), now self-taught deep into the MERN/TanStack/Convex stack. The through-line across all of it: helping people build the thing they actually want to build.
Languages & Frameworks: JavaScript/TypeScript, React, TanStack (Start, Query), Node.js, Express, Swift, SwiftUI, tldraw, Astro, Alpine.js
Data & Backend: Convex, MongoDB, Clerk (auth), vector search & embeddings
AI/ML: AI Engineering, LLM integration (OpenAI/Anthropic/Gemini-style APIs), multimodal & image analysis pipelines, prompt engineering, AI cost monitoring & rate-limiting
Creative/Audio-Visual: p5.js, Meyda.js, Web Audio API
Deployment & Tools: Vercel, Cloudinary, Tailwind CSS
PhilaCon Valley — a Philadelphia tech community for Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+, and underrepresented technologists. By us, for us. Named a 2025 Technical.ly REALlist Innovator for it. Been building it for a while, and I'm not stopping.
Most recently, I was CTO of Ideate Better, Inc., an early-stage AI/SaaS startup — sole engineer, built the entire production architecture from scratch across three interconnected products. Helped close a Bronze Valley accelerator investment after a rigorous diligence process, onboarded and mentored an extern engineering cohort through Code Differently, and turned a live AI infrastructure cost overrun into a lasting cost-control discipline built into production.
In June, I gave a talk at Microsoft's AI Community Conference in NYC — "From Pixels to Meaning: Building an AI Content Pipeline" — on turning unstructured creative content into something a machine can actually reason about. Generated real, unsolicited interest from people in the room.
- djVisualizer — a live-coded, audio-reactive visual system (p5.js, Meyda.js, Web Audio API), performed live at Indy Hall Philadelphia. Probably the clearest single artifact of how I think: music, visuals, and code as the same instrument.
- riffMemo — a modern iOS app rebuilding Apple's discontinued Music Memos, built for musicians to capture and develop ideas the moment they happen — auto tempo/key detection, iCloud sync, native SwiftUI.
- shoppingDebateChromeExtension — three AI personalities (Claude, GPT-4, GPT-3.5) debate your purchase decisions in real time before checkout, streaming token-by-token. Built to make impulse-buying a little harder, not easier.
- website — the actual PhilaCon Valley site (Astro, Tailwind, Alpine.js), open for contribution from first-timers and seasoned developers alike.
- backAgainstTheWall — a full-stack platform extending a short film with reflection prompts and mental-health/financial-wellness resources. MERN stack, built for a real filmmaker's real audience.
Open to Developer Relations, Developer Experience, or founding engineer roles at teams building tools people actually want to use — reach out if that's you. Or if you're in Philly and want to build with a community instead of alone, come find PhilaCon Valley.