Category: Working Geek

Working Geek: For Code.org’s Alice Steinglass, writing software can be a kid’s 21st Century ‘voice’

by Lisa Stiffler on August 17, 2018August 17, 2018 at 2:44 pmComment

It’s hardly possible to imagine schools not teaching kids how to write. No essays, no poetry, no reports or creative writing. For Alice Steinglass, president of Code.org, that scenario isn’t… Read More

Working Geek: A star in science ed, astrophysicist Dennis Schatz wants to expand minds

by Lisa Stiffler on August 7, 2018August 7, 2018 at 7:53 am 3 Comments

Dennis Schatz, president-elect of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and senior advisor at the Pacific Science Center, draws inspiration from an encounter that saddened him. Schatz was shooting photos… Read More

Working Geek: F5’s security chief Mike Convertino fights weaponized ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’

by Lisa Stiffler on August 2, 2018August 1, 2018 at 3:36 pm1 Comment

Mike Convertino was not surprised by Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. election through its weaponization of social media, allowing it to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt among voters. And… Read More

Working Geek: Skilljar CEO Sandi Lin taps insights from Amazon to help run her startup

by Lisa Stiffler on July 27, 2018July 27, 2018 at 2:41 pmComment

Sandi Lin left Amazon five years ago to launch her own startup, but her experience at the retail and cloud behemoth made a lasting impact. Lin is CEO and co-founder… Read More

Working Geek: This CenturyLink exec turns family and friends’ feedback into systemic fixes

by Lisa Stiffler on July 18, 2018July 16, 2018 at 3:23 pm1 Comment

As CenturyLink’s vice president of operations for Washington, Sue Anderson bears the responsibility of maintaining the telecommunication company’s voice, internet and video services for the state. Despite her high-pressure role on the… Read More

Working Geek: Unearth co-founder Amy Hutchins on hiring women engineers and the rush of startup life

by Lisa Stiffler on July 11, 2018July 12, 2018 at 9:58 amComment

As chief technology officer for Unearth Technologies, Amy Hutchins thought it would be easy to get women to apply for engineering jobs at her Seattle startup. She wasn’t exactly envisioning… Read More

Working Geek: After decades at Microsoft, Tammy Savage applies big-picture thinking to startup that connects volunteers

by Lisa Stiffler on July 4, 2018July 3, 2018 at 9:48 amComment

When it came to volunteering, Tammy Savage wondered what prevented people from jumping in to help. Was it a failure of leadership? A lack of interest? Or, Savage asked herself,… Read More

Working Geek: From rap fans to immigrant families, Remitly’s Kevin Nakao taps customers for answers

by Lisa Stiffler on July 2, 2018June 29, 2018 at 11:56 am1 Comment

One of Kevin Nakao’s earliest marketing gigs sent him on tour almost 30 years ago with Puff Daddy, Jodeci and Mary J. Blige. He needed to discover how fans were plugging… Read More

Working Geek: How Chris Capossela went from Bill Gates’ speechwriter to Microsoft’s chief marketer

by Lisa Stiffler on June 21, 2018June 21, 2018 at 5:52 pmComment

About six years into his career at Microsoft, one of Chris Capossela’s colleagues suggested that he apply for a very unusual gig: speech writer for then-CEO Bill Gates. His friend… Read More

Working Geek: Lizza Miller believes in the smart use of tech to make people healthier

by Lisa Stiffler on June 7, 2018July 22, 2018 at 9:22 amComment

“I’m still just floored by how little technology is actually used in the entire healthcare market,” said Lizza Miller, co-founder and president of Seattle-based DatStat. More than 20 years ago,… Read More

Working Geek: Long-time techie Raghu Murthi of GoDaddy aims for a big impact in massive markets

by Lisa Stiffler on May 31, 2018May 31, 2018 at 9:19 amComment

Over Raghu Murthi’s career, he’s worked for leading tech companies in key sectors, including hardware-maker Intel, software giant Microsoft and enterprise and consumer behemoth Amazon. Most recently he’s taken the… Read More

Working Geek: HR guru Mikaela Kiner says #MeToo has triggered lasting workplace change

by Lisa Stiffler on May 24, 2018May 24, 2018 at 8:33 pmComment

After nearly 20 years in the HR trenches, Mikaela Kiner is confident that the #MeToo movement has at last triggered a meaningful, irreversible change when it comes to sexual harassment.… Read More

Working Geek: Female Founders Alliance CEO Leslie Feinzaig wants to help women score capital

by Lisa Stiffler on May 18, 2018May 18, 2018 at 1:33 pmComment

Getting pregnant doesn’t usually inspire bold career moves like launching your first startup. But Leslie Feinzaig had a good reason for embracing her inner entrepreneur. “I always wanted to try… Read More

Working Geek: How OpenMarket CEO Jonathan Morgan gets fresh perspectives from employees

by Lisa Stiffler on May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 at 7:47 amComment

As the recently appointed CEO of Seattle’s OpenMarket, Jonathan Morgan travels the globe for all kinds of high-level, big-deal meetings to advance his company, which provides mobile messaging tools that… Read More

Working Geek: Artificial intelligence engineering leader Michael Schmitz loves GitHub, Google Pixel and list making

by Lisa Stiffler on May 3, 2018May 2, 2018 at 5:31 pmComment

For Michael Schmitz, working at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) is arguably the best of all worlds. Schmitz, who is a director of engineering at the Seattle-based organization,… Read More

Working Geek: Privacy chief Ginger Armbruster guards Seattle’s data from surprising threats

by Lisa Stiffler on April 27, 2018April 30, 2018 at 4:42 pm 2 Comments

Open records laws that let people keep an eye on their government are generally seen as a net social good. But with privacy concerns top of mind — see Facebook… Read More

Working Geek: Textio co-founder Jensen Harris taps musical skills to orchestrate harmonious code

by Lisa Stiffler on April 20, 2018April 20, 2018 at 4:11 pmComment

Jensen Harris, co-founder and chief technology officer for Seattle’s Textio, has a passion and talent for classical music — and a music degree from Yale to back it up. But Harris… Read More

Working Geek: iDatalabs CEO Lokesh Dave says startup life actually supports a work-family balance

by Lisa Stiffler on April 12, 2018April 5, 2018 at 4:32 pm 2 Comments

Since college, Lokesh Dave had an itch to start his own tech company. But a Microsoft internship led to a software engineering job, and that cozy bubble proved tough to… Read More

Working Geek: M3 Biotechnology CEO Leen Kawas on shifting from academia to startups

by Lisa Stiffler on April 5, 2018April 18, 2018 at 4:03 pmComment

What do babies and startups have in common? “When you think everything is perfect, the next day something happens,” said Leen Kawas, CEO and president of Seattle’s M3 Biotechnology —… Read More

Working Geek: Nintex CEO Eric Johnson says lemonade, hard knocks, discipline led to success

by Lisa Stiffler on March 29, 2018April 1, 2018 at 3:10 pmComment

Sure, you’ve heard the tales of business execs as youthful capitalists, setting up lemonade stands. But I bet you haven’t heard this twist: When he was an elementary-age entrepreneur, Eric… Read More

Working Geek: Usermind security officer Ted Bardusch on why diverse teams are more functional

by Lisa Stiffler on March 23, 2018March 23, 2018 at 6:57 am 2 Comments

Ted Bardusch remembers the good old days of the 1980s when men and women were more equally represented in the tech field. He sounds wistful when he recalls running engineering teams… Read More

Working Geek: Gensler architect Karen Thomas says Seattle’s the hub of a modern Renaissance

by Lisa Stiffler on March 15, 2018March 14, 2018 at 9:44 amComment

When architect Karen Thomas surveys Seattle’s transformative growth, she sees something even more profound taking place. “What I see happening in Seattle is the closest thing to a modern-day era… Read More

Working Geek: ‘Startup whisperer’ Gillian Muessig shares tips for scoring VC while juggling family life

by Lisa Stiffler on March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 at 4:00 pmComment

Gillian Muessig seems to have acquired more than one life-time’s worth of connections, venture capital experience and insights into how to help women — and really anyone else — succeed… Read More

Working Geek: Bryce Smith, CEO of LevelTen Energy, helps stoke the demand for solar and wind

by Lisa Stiffler on March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 at 8:30 am1 Comment

Microsoft, Amazon, Walmart and other corporations are not only the big dogs in their respective fields, but they also use their size and resources to dominate the use of renewable… Read More

Working Geek: For Avanade’s Pam Maynard, changing time zones is a source of inspiration

by Lisa Stiffler on February 23, 2018February 22, 2018 at 8:41 pmComment

Pam Maynard has some sound advice for globetrotting workers. As president of strategic solutions and innovation for Avanade, a Seattle-based company focused on business technology solutions and managed services provider… Read More

Working Geek: Bryan Mistele, INRIX CEO and traffic expert, has a surefire way to beat congestion

by Lisa Stiffler on February 15, 2018February 15, 2018 at 12:58 pmComment

If your career is focused on transportation and traffic analysis, how are you going to spend your free time? On a boat, of course! When he’s off the clock, Bryan… Read More

Working Geek: Loftium CEO Yifan Zhang defies expectations, eschews workplace egos

by Lisa Stiffler on February 7, 2018February 8, 2018 at 9:15 amComment

Loftium pitched a novel approach to the real estate market last year by offering down payments to home buyers willing to rent out a spare room, and this month the… Read More

Working Geek: CIO Luke Friang’s need for speed keeps pace with Zulily’s quick deals

by Lisa Stiffler on January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 at 10:45 amComment

It’s little surprise that a guy who likes to move fast is helping lead a shopping site that pulses with urgent deals for customers. For seven years, Luke Friang has… Read More

Working Geek: The Climate Corporation’s Brian Zimmer digs helping farmers through digital tools

by Lisa Stiffler on January 26, 2018January 25, 2018 at 5:41 pmComment

With increasing demands to feed the world’s growing human population and the tumult of climate change as a backdrop, farming is a daunting business. There are shifting weather conditions, soil fertility,… Read More

Video

Working Geek: Vehicle Research Institute’s Eric Leonhardt is driven to innovate

by Lisa Stiffler on January 19, 2018January 19, 2018 at 11:54 amComment

We could all be driving electric vehicles or cars that get 100 miles-per-gallon or more if the members of Western Washington University’s Vehicle Research Institute were in charge. Going all… Read More

Working Geek