Diving Back In

Posted by Aaron Parkening on April 29, 2019

In my early career, I was a webmaster, building the web when Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer 4 were the cutting edge. What started as a hobby in college turned into fun and challenging positions in Silicon Valley companies like Alexa Internet and The Internet Archive, where I helped build the Wayback Machine.

Eventually, I founded a website development and consulting company with my partner, Eileen Webb, and we built websites for non-profit, small business, and municipal clients that include the Quaker United Nations Office, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, and The Climate Group. As we took on bigger projects, I combined my web building experience with my love of organizing to shift towards managing project teams. I’ve spent the last seven years leading diverse teams of designers, developers, strategists, and researchers to build ambitious digital tools for clients like Marriott, New York University, and Vox Media.

These projects were fun and rewarding, but I missed actively building the web with my own hands. The tools that power the web have become much more complex in the last decade, so I enrolled at the Flatiron School to develop a rock solid foundation in modern web programming. The labs have already been great, and I can feel my skills improving through pair programming, group sessions, and 1:1 meetings with faculty.

By the end of this program, I’d like to find a role with a small or medium-sized remote team creating digital tools for progressive organizations. I’ve always loved working with smart teams that are excited about what they’re building, and I’m excited to dive back in.