EVERYDAY
<Heroes/>

In this episode of the Everyday Heroes podcast, hosts engage with Dave Welch, a childhood tinkerer turned Chief Software Architect at HeroDevs. Dave shares his unique journey from dismantling household appliances to software engineering, highlighting how his destructive curiosity unexpectedly prepared him for a career in tech. He discusses his revelation that software development was the perfect outlet for his experimental nature, allowing him to break things with the safety of restoration. The conversation explores Dave's professional philosophy, how accountability and fair compensation shaped his approach to work.

In this episode of the Everyday Heroes podcast, hosts engage with Aileen Villanueva, an industrial engineer turned frontend developer who's making waves in the JavaScript AI space. Aileen shares her unique journey from engineering to frontend development, highlighting how her strategic location near the US border unexpectedly boosted her tech career. She discusses her revelation that AI development doesn't require learning Python, allowing her to leverage her JavaScript expertise instead. The conversation explores Aileen's teaching philosophy—how educating others serves as her personal learning accountability system. Aileen also opens up about her aspirations beyond tech, including her dream of someday opening a coffee shop.

In this episode of the Everyday Heroes podcast, Hayden Baillio and Wendy Hurst engage with JD Flynn, a notable figure in the Drupal community. JD shares insights from his journey transitioning from a career as a paramedic to becoming a tech developer specialized in Drupal. His story emphasizes the role of community involvement, as JD talks about his contributions to the Drupal community, including patches in Drupal Core, and his ardor for coding which he discovered by exploring the tech sector. The episode also highlights JD's advocacy for mental health, a deeply personal and impactful topic. JD reflects on his experiences with mental health challenges during his paramedic years and mentions a pivotal encounter with Ed Finkler from OSMI (Open Sourcing Mental Illness). This encounter encouraged JD to seek help and later become an advocate for mental health awareness within the tech industry.

In this episode of the Everyday Heroes podcast, Hayden Baillio and Wendy Hurst welcome Cecelia Martinez McCrea, the lead developer advocate at OutSystems. Cecelia has a rich and varied background, initially studying journalism before moving into finance, where she worked as a licensed broker. Her journey into tech began with a program at Georgia Tech in software engineering, which paved the way for her roles at renowned companies like Ionic, Replay, and Cypress. With her deep involvement in open source advocacy, Cecelia has also made significant contributions to building developer communities and enhancing developer experiences.

In this episode, Hayden Baillio and Wendy Hurst are joined by Alejandro Cuba Ruiz who shares his journey in the tech world. Alejandro, who grew up in Havana, Cuba, has over two decades of experience in front-end development, currently serving as a principal front-end engineer at World Kinect in Miami. He is also a Google Developer Expert and a significant figure in the Angular community, co-organizing the Angular Community meetup and hosting the Angular Dades podcast.

In this episode of the Everyday Heroes podcast, Hayden Baillio and Wendy Hurst welcome AmyJune Hineline, a renowned figure in the tech world renowned for her contributions to the open-source community. AmyJune shares her fascinating journey from working as a hospice nurse to becoming a pivotal figure in the tech industry, especially within the Drupal community. Her transition was fueled by an appreciation for open-source software's ability to aid socio-economically marginalized groups and provide solutions that are accessible to a wider audience.

In this episode of the Everyday Heroes podcast, Hayden Baillio and Wendy Hurst are joined by Hayden Barnes. The episode delves into Hayden Barnes’ journey from practicing law to becoming an influential figure in the open source technology space. Hayden Barnes shares his early fascination with open source, his experience with Linux, and his transition from law to tech. He discusses the creation of Penguin, a bespoke Linux distribution for Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), and highlights the importance of sustainable funding models for open source projects.

In the premiere episode of Everyday <Heroes/>, we sit down with Jordan Harband, our Principal Open Source Architect and TC39 committee member, to explore the intersection of enterprise software maintenance and open source innovation.