Underserved

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 064, Killing the Monolith Apr 11, 2022

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Episode #064 features Ahmer Khan of athenahealth. After watching four friends fail their first Computer Science course, Ahmer figured he had to try it. Following a stint in rain-soaked Seattle, he came back to put down roots at Raytheon. He opened people's eyes there to new technologies, embracing other cultures, and appreciating diversity. The one constant theme in his career has been seeking out and destroying monoliths - a unique calling that he carries on today! Ahmer's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmer1781/ Patriot Missiles https://www.raytheonmissilesanddefense.com/what-we-do/counter-uas/sensors/global-patriot-solutions The most famous monolith https://2001.fandom.com/wiki/Monolith athenahealth https://www.athenahealth.com/

Ep. 063, Mentor Me to IT Apr 04, 2022

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Season 6 of Underserved kicks off with Daniel Goldenberg. While many kids in high school were biding their time, Daniel was finishing a CCNA curriculum and working for a local MSP. User empathy and customer focus he learned there served him well later in his career as a Director of IT and Security. We also talk about the best brisket in Texas and the sports scene at Syracuse. Dan's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsgoldenberg/ Lockpicking https://toool.us/ Dan's Texas BBQ Favorites:

Brisket- https://franklinbbq.com/
Beef Rib- https://www.labarbecue.com/
Turkey/Sausage- https://www.blacksbbq.com/
Sunday BBQ- https://www.valentinastexmexbbq.com/

Ep. 062, Hop On The Startup Train Dec 27, 2021

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We finish off Season 5 with Doug Morgan, Senior Director of Development at Alteryx. Doug took his CS chops from high school and Georgia Tech out to the west coast. After learning on the company dime, he took his own company through an acquisition and has run several engineering organizations since. We discuss the upside of a Division I sports school, the pain of the pivot, and rising early for rare beer.

hopOn Acquisition https://medium.com/@lola.com/blade-travel-acquires-hopon-a2036c502655
Zipcar New Product Doug mentioned https://www.flexcar.com/
Alteryx Product Area Doug owns https://www.alteryx.com/input/blog/introducing-alteryx-machine-learning
https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/pliny-the-younger/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasmorgan/
https://www.gatech.edu/

Ep. 061, One Hand Up, One Hand Down Dec 20, 2021

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Lifelong Texan Lance Sleeper joins us for Episode #061. Lance studied journalism in school but always tinkered with computers growing up. After a motorsports PR gig evaporated, Lance found himself the most tech-savvy person at a mortgage company. His career focused on security from that point forward, exposing him to several different industries. We talk about airline IT, the importance of diversity and inclusiveness in security, Texas BBQ, and what it's like to wear the zebra stripes in football games. Links:

Ep. 060, Online Whiskey Blinds Dec 13, 2021

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Episode #060 of Underserved features Conrad Morgan. Conrad started out building PCs when they were still a luxury item. His first foray into the technology industry was working with process control hardware, but a decision to work in an Amazon warehouse around the holidays led him to a career in large-scale e-commerce. We talk about labor management systems, automating your way out of a job, and live streaming whiskey blinds.

Ep. 059, Step Down to Step Up Dec 06, 2021

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In Episode #059 we talk with Chris Sullivan. A former Navy submariner, Chris leveraged the GI bill and his curiosity about software development into a career tying together power and programming. We talk about what it's like being on a nuclear sub, doing Homer Simpson's job and then trying to improve it, and the business of sanctions compliance.

Ep. 058, VP of Electricity Nov 29, 2021

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John Arsneault started full-time in the IT industry while still in high school. Wellington Management was rapidly becoming more dependent on computers and John defaulted into desktop support for hundreds of people. After seeing the potential of software companies at a VC firm, John dreamed of equity and opportunity at a startup. It took a couple of tries to get that right and to balance the demands of work and life, but now John is both a law firm CIO and a successful venture investor himself. Hear about John's journey in episode #058 of Underserved, out now!

Ep. 057, An Engineer's Engineering Manager Nov 22, 2021

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Erik Dasque is our guest on Episode #057. We talk about the winding road from "the West Virginia of France" to becoming a software VP in the United States. By always staying hands-on-keyboard and coding a bit in his free time, Erik has earned himself the moniker of "an engineer's engineering manager." We cover the role of a "Repair CTO", what to do when layoffs are in the investment thesis, and having to play code cop as an open-source project manager.

Ep. 056, A Solid Foundation Nov 15, 2021

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Episode #056 features Josh West, founder of Foundation.io. Josh is passionate about the foundation of software development - how do we make it easy and productive and FUN to be a software developer at a given company? How do we get developers writing code quickly instead of burning weeks on ramp-up and development environment setup tasks? (hint: Kubernetes!) A company where it is hard to "get up to speed" is at a disadvantage in a hot job market for developers. Also discussed - developer conferences ranging from HOPE to Bose to KuCon, and Scotch/bourbon budget picks (are there any left?)

Ep. 055, Classroom Relationship Management Nov 08, 2021

Show notes

Chris Hull is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Otus, a Chicago-based edtech company. After 13 years as an educator, Chris wanted to minimize the chaos of disconnected edtech tools for K-12 administrators, educators, students, and their families. We talk about his humble beginnings gaming, how hating education until college made him want to teach, and how his new company helps educators bridge the gap between subjects and years at schools (think SalesForce Accounts, Contact, and Activities for the classroom).

Otus: www.otus.com
NSSD112 (where I taught) https://www.nssd112.org/
Obsidian (note taking application I use): https://obsidian.md/
Happiness Advantage (book I am reading) https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Psychology-Performance/dp/0307591549
Tavour (go to site for ordering beer) https://www.tavour.com/gifts?gclid=Cj0KCQjwqp-LBhDQARIsAO0a6aL0rERr51uB48ajPm3fS7nfGGMMo4_kXv--vsnVCTJXgJ1XIg0kYAIaAo9cEALw_wcB

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