Jimmy McDermott

I love unblocking other people so that they can do their best work. Sometimes that means coding, other times it means digging through spreadsheets. Tell me how I can help you and I will get it done!

Tell me how it will help students and our users with their work.

If we stick to our north start - unlocking work-based learning for all - everything else will figure itself out. We do that by putting the student and the users first.

Competitive speech in high school (super nerdy, I know) instilled a deep love for winning in me. But, I don't like to win at any cost - I like to win while supporting those around me who are on the same mission. The best part is winning while helping users at the same time!

I can definitely bend my thumbs further than you 🤸

I have a unique genetic condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome that makes my joints extra bendy. Mostly harmless for me but makes for fun party tricks - ask to see my thumbs!

Send more Slack messages than normal

I handle stressful situations by trying to problem-solve, which sometimes translates into "dumping" in a Slack channel/message. I'm working on it, and I promise it's not personal!

That time I sent THREE incorrect emails in a row to thousands of clients 🫣

Running on not enough sleep + the panic of sending the first incorrect email led to a rush to try and fix it... and one more mistake in the process 🙃 The takeaway here is to stop connecting my local machine to production to try and fix something (*hides from Bob*)

Absolutely

Luck has played a huge role in my life. I often think about the fact that my family moved when I was in third grade - it's extremely disconcerting to think about what my life would look like if we hadn't. Same thing for our company - it's hard to nail the right timing, the right market, with the right people. I feel very lucky that my experiences in life eventually led me to Transeo!

Action without intention - a sure-fire way to burn out

Also - slow walkers who WON'T MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!

This movie will make you cry but it's worth it

I am a big proponent of thoughtful, written communication. Not only does it create a history of decisions and context, it also enables everyone to work in a way that works for them. That being said, it is important to me to make myself available to those who need me to help unblock work. I will always make time for the team.

The people I have the opportunity and honor to work with. I love hearing about your work but also your life - tell me about your kids/family/pets/passions/hobbies!

Pepper me with feedback about ways I need to support you better, how I can better align with your work, or anything you think I can improve on. I want to learn.

Slack, Xcode, VS Code, Superhuman

I value conversations with people and teams that work hard and want to produce excellent outcomes. You will always know where you stand with me, because I don't like politics or drama at work. Building something meaningful takes a lot of hard work, and I like to surround myself with people who are excited by that mission and those possibilities.

I work exceptionally hard at whatever task is in front of me, doing my best to run hard towards the most uncomfortable problems with my team.