In #DevDC Podcast Episode 11 we have a career journey discussion with Rusty Pickens. This includes talking about leading the implementation of Salesforce for the Obama White House and how cloud first began in the US Government. Today Rusty helps run 580 Strategies to help establish digital practices in all types of organizations. We talk about his journey, his technology passions (which include #DevSecOps, #Agile and Human Center Design ,#HCD) as well as the motivations that brought him to where he is today.

Rusty has managed annual budgets north of $60M and served as a U.S. Department of State Senior Advisor for Digital Platforms. Interestingly he also has a lot of experiences working with startups. He believes supporting such diverse organizations was key to his growth and he encourages others to "pull the parachute rip cord out of Government and do something radically different"!

Rusty is passionate about his community and roots. A proud Chickasaw, he cut his teeth in IT working as a Network Admin for Smokesignals Computer Company (a subsidiary of Chickasaw Nation Industries). Today he helps lead “Agile Academy” which is available through his firm and at East Central University in Oklahoma - where he graduated and serves as a Guest Lecturer. The 580 in 580 Strategies comes from his area code in Southern and Western Oklahoma. Rusty also served as a VP for Out in STEM and Co-Founded Out in National Security.

It is important to Rusty that he help set up the next generation and believes mentorship is key. Contact Rusty if you would like to connect in general or if 580 Strategies' mission to help establish digital practices in your organization is something that interests you!

Greg Nicastro directly reported to the CEO of Veracode where he was charted to help the Application Security company build out an "Innovation Factory". This meant a move from traditional data center to cloud/hybrid cloud and a DevOps transformation. As they moved from Monolith to Microservices, Greg recognized the need to manage cloud costs. Greg helped Veracode become an earlier adopter of Cloud Health for Cloud Cost Management. It was a natural transition for Cloud Health to then bring him on as their Chief Product Officer. 

Greg's mother was a Technology Leader. She told him to get into the "computer business" as he would always have a job - this proved to be true! Greg has a formal technology education. He started his technology career in  Sales - at a time when you needed to be a little more of a "Geek" than you need to be now! He took his technical background and direct experiences with customers to transition to Product Management. In addition to technology skill diversity, he has worked at both multinational organizations as well as started multiple businesses. Greg's passion for technology is clear and today he runs his own Consulting Practice and is an Angel Investor.  

Greg has a strong belief that you win as a team and that leadership must not fail to remember that culture actually eats strategy for breakfast.

Andrew Csontos helped Co-Found what is now Concur Travel and Expense at the age of 27, as a UVA undergrad he moved the School Newspaper online before The Washington Post had a web presence. Today Andrew is the Head of Engineering at Social Tables. He speaks about all of his achieves like you too can have this level of success. He explored multiple disciplines which gave him a diverse foundation to build on. He is a great believer in luck but the harder he works the more luck he has found to have!

Social Tables and now Cvent has an Apprentice Program which is the main funnel for entry level Engineering Talent. Andrew proudly describes his thoughts on hiring. Andrew is a leader who still finds time to keep his hands on the keyboard. He believes feedback is a gift - both entry level up to leadership and leadership down to the individual contributor. With honesty (and a very good nature) Andrew reflects on experiences ranging from being a Co-Founder to working at the likes of Capital One, Concur and SAP and shares with us the skills he learned along the journey.

Ford Prior has given a lot to and received a lot from the Richmond Tech Community. A founding member of multiple technology user groups in Richmond, Ford is currently a leader of the Cloud User Group and even hosts the RVA Tech Podcast where he interviews leaders in the Richmond Area. Ford has a nontechnical undergraduate degree but landed Engineering roles at amazing companies like Snagajob and Capital One. Today he is at CarMax and is a CI/CD Ninja, of sorts :)

We talk not only about what it takes to break into technology but what Ford finds necessary to be successful and happy - which might involve shadow boxing for some folks. Reach out to Ford directly, he is always open to collaborate!

On DevDC Episode 7 we have Johnny Ray Austin the CTO of Till. Till is a DC based startup that is helping all of our communities by transforming the rental experience. Till had to scale tremendously during COVID and is hiring! 

Johnny launched his Software Engineer career at Lockheed Martin. He speaks to how he retooled himself to break into the startup space. 

 We also talk about his passion for helping others better position themselves for the future and how technology can get them there.

How many people are cool enough to openly talk about bombing an interview as well as theoretical physics? I would consider working for him! 

Johnny has served as an Individual Contributor all the way up to CTO. He has worked at the likes of Lockheed Martin, Capital One and Mapbox. He is a Board Member of multiple organizations, including Byte Back which provides a pathway to inclusive tech training which leads to living-wage careers.

Jill Porubovic (affectionately called Jill P) spent the majority of her career in the DMV after loading up her "Flintstones car" and driving to the DC Area leaving her small town in Kansas. With a two year business degree and $150 to her name she worked her way from Help Desk to being a direct report to the CIO of a Fortune 500 Company. Today she runs her own consulting firm based out of Knoxville TN. She talks about her journey and gives us some advice - this includes navigating COVID while supporting a Global Team as well as her thoughts on being a Woman in IT both today and throughout her career. Jill P has an amazing "Zest for Life". Some of it is captured here as she tells stories which include shipping cookies with hand written notes to her team with handwritten notes during the pandemic.

Jared Smith started playing with his Commodore 64 when he was 6 years old. Today he has over 25 years of experience managing Software Engineering as well as Managers of Software Engineers. He shares with us his "7 Habits of Highly-Effective Software Developers" based on his experiences at organizations like Capital One, Red Hat and the Endurance International Group. We also learn about what he is excited about next when it comes to Technology!

Jim Cuff  talks rules he followed in his career, striking life balance for  himself and his team, scaling technology and reflects on his time helping lead the Alexa Division of Amazon.

Jim is a Technology Leader with over three decades working in fields from Security to DevOps to Infrastructure and Machine Learning. Jim currently is the CTO of Cuff Technology Solutions where he helps high-performing engineering and product organizations with Technical and Leadership services. Prior to starting his business he was a Director at Amazon leading a team of Software Engineers and Scientists in Cambridge MA working in the Alexa Information Division. Other experiences range from helping scale Engineering departments of hyper-growth startups (Veracode, Constant Contact) to serving as CIO for a Fortune 1000 company (Iron Mountain).

Mitch Pirtle - A Technology Leader in the DC Area with two decades of experience founding companies and leading Free and Open Source Software projects. His experiences including being a 3x Start Up CTO and 4x Founder/Co-Founder. Mitch was the Director of Software Engineering at Capital One from 2015-2018 where he helped lead Capital One to become branded as a technology company first.