I began programming computers at the age of 10 with very keen interest, so it was predictable that I would ultimately attend university to study software development and build my career in that direction.

For many years, my interest was purely in software engineering, however, during my 11-year position at Manheim Retail Services, I became increasingly interested in data management and performance, becoming an accidental DBA and later their data team manager.

After the birth of my child, I left Manheim in 2010 to become a freelance software and data engineer and have since enjoyed many years of contracting across a wide range of varied projects. This work has exposed me to a diverse range of technologies, projects, and systems, significantly broadening my technical expertise and shaping my approach to solution architecture, providing me with a deeper understanding of the full project life cycle from ideation through planning for long term maintenance.

Throughout my career, I have maintained a strong interest in application software, emerging database technologies, data transformation and analysis, and integration with cloud platforms. My focus is now on data engineering and analysis and I am particularly fond of Microsoft Fabric and Databricks.

More recently, I have been exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence as a tool for development, automation, information gathering, and stakeholder communication.