About Brian

Hello there! I am a web developer and engineering manager living in the midwest. Specifically Dwight, Illinois - a couple of hours south of Chicago out in the cornfields. Currently I manage a team of six software engineers at a company called Red Ventures in their education vertical.

Work Stuff

As an engineering manager my main responsibilities are around leading the team to complete new features and maintenance on our products. Our main product is a web app that a prospective student enters - the app runs them through some questions and based on their responses we suggest to them some schools they can request more information from.

Leadership is my passion. Taking complicated problems and aligning a team of engineers to solve them is what gets me out of bed in the morning. I also love using code to solve problems though. Outside of my day job I have several hobby apps I maintain to make my life better. I also love working with businesses to improve or fix their websites. I love learning about different companies and how they work - and how better websites can make a big impact for them.

Life Stuff

When I'm not at work you might find me hanging out with my kids - especially my seven year old son. The teenager is usually off doing her own thing - to no one's surprise. By far our favorite activities are fishing and camping.

When the kids aren't around you'll probably find me at the cabin at Woodhaven Lakes. It's a private camping community. In early 2023 I had the cabin built and delivered. I spent that summer building the inside out. It's got a living area, office area, and kitchen area. Building websites is one thing - but I also love learning new crafts like plumbing and electrical.

Speaking of learning new crafts I also collect "classic" cars (think late 80s, early 90s). I've currently got an 88 Chevy S10 and a 92 Camaro. These two rigs have taught me so much about mechanics - how things work - especially since they keep breaking down!

In terms of down time when there is no work or activities going on I like to get out for a couple of good walks each day with my dog Bo. I've also got a cat named Oliver. To unwind I love watching football in the fall. I also subscribe to many YouTube channels about how things work (more car stuff typically). Can you tell I'm an engineer at heart?