Fierce. Nerd. Sorority Woman. Product Manager. Crazy. Techie. Organizer. Derby Girl. Otaku. Sister. Athlete. Daring. Whirlwind. Gamer. Traveler. Adventure Seeker.

Does that sum it up?

Probably not, I suppose.

That’s typical, though. I’ve been DokiDara for quite some time but this is the very first incarnation of my blog. After returning from traipsing the world on sabbatical, in mid 2016 I took on my current endeavor as the Product Manager for Enablement at Xaxis. Previously, I served as the Marketing Communications Manager (Previously Technical Project Manager) at Infragistics, an awesome software (developer tools, if you’re interested!) company. I can yammer along for hours about what I did during my tenure there, but suffice it to say I had my hands in a little bit of everything, from our SEO to our agile management process to our technical and trade events.

Back on topic however, I’d say my penchant for defiance began around the age of 3, when my mother was told by my preschool instructors that I was developmentally challenged because I was uncontrollable in the preschool room. Due to this analysis, they decided to request that I leave their program. Kicked out of preschool? No problem. My amazing and wonderful mother could sense my defiant nature from the start, and she had me tested for smarty-pants preschool and I aced the exams. It’s kind of history from there. I met the DOS prompt to boot windows at age 10 or so (my father worked for Digitial… which became Compaq…. which became HP…) and Math Blaster was my best friend and nemesis. Add in Sailor Moon at 7am before the Middle School bus, which lead to my first Otakon in 2000 and a convention addiction that has yet to cease… Senior year of High School my same wonderful mother told me that Calculus would be too much for me and not to ruin my GPA. So, what then? Of course I took Calculus and of course I passed. Because that’s just how I roll. And of course the story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that my childhood was peppered with every sport imaginable, from ballet (1 class, ugh!), softball (1 season, too slow!), gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, co-ed ultimate frisbee, to finally at 22, joining Roller Derby. Let’s try and defy physical injury now, why not, right? I’ve also traveled to over 25 countries, just to add some spice to an otherwise boring and mundane life.

So take that, blend it together, and you’ve got the DokiDara you see today.

Where is the tech background, you ask? It’s a lifelong sort of thing. I’ve always had that underlying love for learning something new. I attended NCC (props if you’ve been there and done that), html-ed my fair share of sites, and taken a few formal classes on programming throughout the years. I feel so blessed to be have worked for both Infragistics and Xaxis, and having been given the opportunity to truly explore the tech industry from multiple disciplines. It’s my goal to humanize everything I do, connect the technical to the personal, and learn as much as I can along the way. I hope you’ll consider joining me on my adventures!