The beginning months of 2025 have brought about a deep concern for me surrounding US’ foreign and economic policy, so I’ve been working to devote time to figure out how I can show up as a friend, citizen, and business owner in what I see as troubling times. Specifically, with the invasion of Ukraine being an important cause that I’m dedicated to supporting, I am working to push more funds towards their defense effort and speak more openly about how to support them with family, friends, and on social media. I’d call this a work in progress, but it feels like a central idea that has shaped the chaotic months that have started the year.

For those that know me, climbing is a huge part of my life and this winter has been no different. I’ve been spending more time in the climbing gym as I’ve been working to train for the upcoming spring + summer climbing seasons. The spring has started to arrive and my weekends are packed full of days outside pushing myself physically on hard climbs. I’m oddly unfocused on what to climb right now as I have a simultaneous excitement for both crack climbing days in the Utah desert (6 hour drive) and clipping bolts on sport climbs in Boulder Canyon (10 minutes from my home). We’ll see what wins out over the coming months!

A couple other recent personal developments:

1. I’ve started learning the drums and taking lessons. The drums are something I’ve loved and admired since I first got into punk + hardcore music at the age of 14, but I’ve always felt I wasn’t musically talented. I’m working to shed that type of thinking, and the drums are something that I thoroughly enjoy. It has been a great process so far and I’m excited to see how it develops over the coming months + years!
2. I’ve happily accepted a position as a board member of a non-profit, the Boulder Climbing Community (BCC). The BCC is the biggest local climbing organization in the US and they’re responsible for climbing stewardship over a large portion of the Colorado front range. I’m stoked to have joined the board and be able to contribute to the organization in a more deep and fulfilling way as we work to preserve and celebrate climbing here in Colorado.

I’m currently based in Kyiv, navigating what we often refer to as “war-life balance”. In these challenging times, work and regular sports activities have become essential pillars of stability for me. I find solace in spending quality time with my family, close friends, and beloved pets - Fitz the cat and Icy the dog.

I’m deeply committed to supporting organizations that resonate with my values. This includes wildlife rehabilitation centers, such as the Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center in Kharkiv, which has rescued over 25,500 bats and is the largest bat research facility in Eastern Europe. I also support various animal shelters and volunteer foundations dedicated to assisting Ukrainian warriors and medics, both on the battlefield and those who have transitioned to veteran status.

Since 2012, I’ve been a regular blood donor. Although health issues have recently put this on hold, I’m eager to resume this vital activity.

While travel isn’t a frequent part of my life these days, I’m incredibly excited about the upcoming Masterpoint offsite meeting this summer, as this will be the first time I meet my amazing team in person!

This recent season of life has been about growth and transitions. Since starting at Masterpoint full-time in December, I’ve really enjoyed the transition to working on multiple client projects and moving quickly alongside the talented Masterpoint team. I feel like it’s a return to my small team/startup roots that I had as a new Ruby on Rails developer 10+ years ago. I appreciate how quickly we can move to start using Cursor, the AI vendors, and get company time to play around with agents frameworks & MCPs.

My wife is finishing up grad school to become a licensed personal therapist and graduates in August. We’ve enjoyed many dinner table conversations delving into counseling theories and practice, and my favorite topic by far is Internal Family Systems (IFS). Having learned over the last 3 years what it takes to hold space for others, I have more respect for those who professionally step into that role for others.

Outside of work, I try to keep up with a couple of fruit trees (apricot, peach, and plum), a strawberry patch, and a small garden I’m about to kick off. I love taking a break to check out the garden and see life teaming up all on its own. It’s refreshing in the midst of working on human derived systems & software to see a bunch of plants come alive all on their own.

Lately, I’ve been appreciating and learning to dance with what life brings and finding joy in the moment, particularly with life getting busier and busier. I also feel an extreme sense of gratefulness for where I am. Even with life getting busier, as I’m naturally curious and adventurous, I’ve been ambitious to want to learn more in technology & work (currently looking into more cloud certifications), as well as doing more things (activities, experiences, etc.) with friends and family in life, so I set a priority on managing my time efficiently.

Badminton, tennis, and pickleball are three main sports I play. I’ve played them for a while now and I’m still continuing to keep up. I’m constantly improving as I play more, but I don’t strive to be the best since to me, sports is not where I’m competitive in, so it serves as a way to hang out and have fun with friends and family, and it certainly has done that well.

I’ve also been trying to be hands on and self sufficient in all aspects of life, most notably recently I changed my car’s battery by myself. I’m not a car enthusiast or anything at all, I simply drive to get to where I need to be, so the only thing I know to do is oil changes. When my battery started to get weak during the winter, I watched some videos and decided to be hands on and replace it myself. It was really satisfying, not even necessary the cost saved or avoiding the hassle of a mechanic, but rather satisfying that I can solve problems self-sufficiently.