I was born in Biarritz, France (born there because my mom was 9 months pregnant and vacationing) and raised in Berlin, Germany to an American mother and German father. I grew up speaking German and English and this was reinforced by attending the John-F-Kennedy German-American bi-lingual school where half the teachers were Americans and the other half German. I loved riding my skateboard and bike around Berlin but also played soccer and basketball.
I moved to the U.S. in 1995, moving with my Mom and brother to Santa Fe, New Mexico. None of us had ever lived there before but my mother liked New Mexico for it's natural beauty and art scene. 2 years later I moved to Las Vegas to attend UNLV and have been in Las Vegas ever since. Initially went to UNLV for a degree in Fine Art but wanted to have something that combined art with something more technical so I switched majors to Marketing and then Management Information System, which is ultimately what I got my degree in. During that time I really got into programming and web development, which is a really fun and exciting field to be in.
I started working for Zappos.com in 2005, previously working as a freelance web developer. Bringing my passion for web standards, effective user experiences and new technologies, I helped build and grow the Zappos Front-End Development team, which is responsible for all forward facing code for the Zappos sites. In 2010, I moved to head up the User Experience team at Zappos still working closely with the Front-End Development team. In 2011, I was asked to head up the Mobile team at Zappos, which develops the iPhone, iPad, Android apps and Mobile Web site.
I'm also engaged to a wonderful girl, Lianna, and we're constantly planning our next travels and adventures together.