Hey all!

I’m Madison and I’ve been interested in making things – whether it’s crafts, websites, back-end software powering payment processing, or even furniture, for as long as I can remember. I also really love spending time with my dog Etta — especially taking her for walks around the city with me.

Speaking of dogs, it was literally my childhood dog that led me to discover my passion for programming and how empowering building things can be. It started when a virtual pet site I joined (I’d describe it as a NeoPets, but with dogs) posted a programming tutorial aimed at members who wanted to create their own virtual pet sites.

Admittedly, it took kid me several days to get the tutorial’s simple log-in form up and running. However it was all worth it: I’ll never forget the first dopamine hit of seeing and being able to use something I’d brought to life from bits and bytes.

From there, and with help of friends who were working on their own websites, I learned: my first programming language, how to write compelling marketing copy, and most importantly that it’s even more satisfying to see other people (even if only a handful) using something you’ve created.

Though, I couldn’t have imagined it then, discovering that single missing bracket in a login script set the stage for my career. Even better, through that career, I discovered how it feels for not just a handful — but millions of people to use something you helped create. I also discovered the camaraderie of working together with other people to build things, and how satisfying it can be to teach people how to build them too.

x0x0, Madison

P.S. Here is my resume 🙂