Hi There! I’ve long thrived at the junction of journalism, culture, design and technology.
I’m available for hire on creative projects remotely, or based in the Southern California area. I primarily am seeking full-time roles in product leadership, with a focus on mission-driven creative organizations.
I’m open to entertaining and exploring all ideas, though, and have been over my whole career: From launching a college on a movie studio and mixing Tiki drinks at mansions to archaeological excavation and cataloging vintage records, I’ve done a lot and love working with great people, first and foremost.
In between my last major role and now, I’ve been researching the latest in LLMs, machine learning, and data science while keeping myself busy with small projects and roles in F&B. I’ve also been researching the local public library system and am working on launching a project alongside a few others to bring awareness to how incredible these public institutions are.
I’m most interested in solving problems of AI, the news, and beyond. The times we live in present new challenges that are solvable with new tools, but we must remember the lessons we’ve already learned.
I consider myself an “M-shaped” engineer-designer-consultant. I’m quick to learn and I love to solve problems. Previously at other companies and institutions, I was a senior WordPress developer, lead graphic designer and an American Sign Language interpreter.
I care a lot about privacy, accessibility, SEO and usability. I love CSS! I absolutely loooove data and infographics, and hope to meet Edward Tufte one day. I also love to have fun (See my most recent project or maybe some of my older stuff!)
I previously worked at XWP as the Head of Product Strategy and Partnerships and am a WordPress Core contributor. I spoke on three continents about how publishers can supercharge their websites, companies build product vision and engineers collaborate for the future. Since 2019, I’ve focused on initiatives around usability and performance and the shift to consolidate processes as businesses went “remote” in increasing fashion, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. I also spent much of 2018 with Google initiatives around PWAs, AMP and WordPress, including storytelling and developer tools.
I’ve worked with media companies of all kinds (from Relativity Media to the Denver Post to the San Francisco Chronicle to Heavy.com and Lowrider Magazine) and education organizations of all sizes. I care the most about storytelling, and bringing access to all—whether that’s the pipeline to publish, or the news someone wants to read, we should produce unfettered
Outside of work, I’ve long loved bike riding centuries, collecting and repairing vintage cameras, and curating vinyl record collections. I’ve academically studied coffee and am still on the quest to find the perfect cup. When I was 17 I published a book of short stories and poetry, and hope to publish another soon.
I studied both journalism and anthropology at San Jose State University and currently reside in Long Beach, California.
Contact
You can email me at leo (at) this website (dot) com. Let’s talk!