A decade ago, my career journey in software began by fixing a family friend’s WordPress website for $500. Since then, I’ve tackled dozens of technical projects and had the fortune to meet some truly remarkable individuals along the way.

To date, my professional experiences have spanned collaborations with startups, large corporations, and academic institutions. Alongside these endeavors, I’ve launched several projects, each with its own set of challenges and successes. Unlike many of these past projects, WS isn’t a standalone business. Rather, it’s a strategic approach to prevent myself from becoming overwhelmed as my career evolves and involves more complex projects with a greater number of stakeholders, naturally leading to more delays, which my ADHD gets impatient while waiting for the next thing to do.

At its core, WS functions as a holding entity for the various projects in involved with. I’m drawn to concepts of worker self-management, and WS is designed to facilitate organization and collaboration around emerging opportunities, not just for me but for a broader community. Essentially, I view WS as a network hub—a community of like-minded individuals and collaborators.

Currently, I’m dedicating most of my efforts to an AI project with the Transformations Community and completing my undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Whenever possible, I’m reaching out to past clients, friends, and other contacts to engage in meaningful conversations about their work and sharing these reflections on this website. I’m also exploring the dynamics of hosting in-person events and other forms of community engagement through the Transformations Community, with the aim of integrating these experiences into WS.

The Story Behind the Name

The name Western Symbolic was chosen to serve as a broad umbrella for all my endeavors, embodying the spirit of anything I might work on. From a young age, I’ve been fascinated by the American West—its dramatic landscapes and rich mythology have captivated me, even acknowledging the complex moral implications of the cowboys and pioneers.

Moreover, the term “symbolics” resonates with me on a deeper level. It reflects not only the rich history of computing—a pivotal aspect of my life—but also signifies an underutilized synonym for the study of symbols, including symbology and semiotics. This term captures the essence of design, computers, art, and storytelling, all of which made me feel like it was a name I wouldn’t want to change constantly when I registered it with the Colorado Department of State.