Note to Potential Recruiters and Employers

Hello, and welcome to my homepage!

If you're a potential employer or recruiter and you've found yourself here, you were probably curious about the person behind that fantastic CV that recently crossed your desk. The internet makes armchair detective work a breeze, and after a few minutes on the search engines, you found yourself here.

"Oh my gosh! That woman's a transsexual!", might have been one of your next exclamations...

Personally, I like to think of myself as a collection of interesting and unique traits, of which that is only one. So, as long as you are here, why don't you let me tell you about a few of my other many facets. On that note, I'll start with a few of my professional skills and then move on from there

I was one of those classic computer geek kids that you used to see depicted in movies before the image became passé. I taught myself to program when I was 11 years old. This was done on a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 1, sitting in the lobby of the store over a half dozen weekends or so back in 1976. The store manager didn't mind me hanging around as long as I cleared out when a customer wanted a demo of the thing. Often, if the manager was busy, I was happy to give the demo myself. I guess selling IT products and services was in my blood from the start!

Over the next couple of years I had managed to weasel myself into the local bank's data center where I was able to get lessons on programming COBOL on punch cards. I'm probably one of the last to have learned this skill, but I'm glad I did, if only for the nostalgia of it! By this time I had also learned to code in BASIC, PASCAL, and 6502 Assembler.

I sold my first computer program when I was 15 years old. I had walked into the offices of the local branch of Prudential Bache Securities, and managed a meeting with one of the commodities brokers. I guess he was intrigued by this goofy kid standing in front of his desk, and he hired me on the spot to write a gold trading simulation for him. The next year found me writing another piece of software that was published within the educational marketplace.

About this time, I had formed a relationship with a small Midwestern computer retailer who had agreed to sell me equipment on a cost-plus basis. I went on to resell this kit to customers throughout my hometown. I made a nice little profit from these deals, and my customers received a level of customer support that they couldn't get elsewhere. The only problem was that they needed to wait for me to get out of school before I could come to work!

I continued to flog my skills up through college, and once I was finished with school, my spouse and I immediately started a small consulting business out of our home. Over the next 12 years our business outgrew our home, expanded to a staff of 15 trained professionals, and served businesses throughout the Midwest USA.

During my tenure in the IT industry, I have done just about everything that you could imagine doing with computers. That said, my focus has always been systems analysis and design in a networked environment. Having my roots as a geeky computer punk means that I still like to get my hands dirty. As a result, I always take a very hands-on approach with my designs, and I take full ownership in the success of the projects that I work on.

One trait that does differentiate me from the standard propeller-head (said with full love, affection, and admiration) is that I am also a very social individual. I love interacting with people! I am able to speak intelligently to audiences great and small, and I am able to communicate highly technical concepts in a way that business people can comprehend. This, paired with my wide range of high-level experiences, makes me a very credible resource in the boardroom or the sales meeting.

Ok, ok… enough of the IT talk! What about the rest of me?

Well, I'm married to the same wonderful person who stuck with me through my big change. We've been a couple for over 18 years and she hasn't gotten rid of me yet! We have 5 adult children who all still live in the States. Don't worry about the math of this. If curious, I'll explain over a pint sometime.

My spouse and I are passionate about travel, photography, and other arts and crafts. So far we have visited about 30 different countries and we're looking to expand that list! If interested, you can read about some of our travels by following the "Travel Albums" link to the left of this page. That link is also littered with a bunch of our photos, so you can see that side of us as well. Don't worry, we'll try not to bore you too much!

Together we are also very active in our Catholic faith. Back in the States, the church that we belonged to was very involved in social outreach. To that end, I have personally been involved in hunger and homelessness issues, civil rights activities, and clinical mission trips to Haiti. Here in London, I occasionally speak on diversity and discrimination issues, and have even delivered training to the Met Police. Although these issues are very important to me, I do know when to step down from my soapbox.

I told you above that I'm a very social person. This ain't no joke! Sharon and I have been know to host some smashingly wonderful parties! When we were back home, our 4th of July parties were the event of the season. For some strange reason, they don't go over quite as well here in the UK… ;)

Personally, I enjoy good food, good drink, and live music of a diverse type. You can see some of my favorites if you follow the "Music" link to the right. I also like extreme sports and activities. I've jumped out of planes, dived in the Caribbean, motorcycled across the US, and camped in the tundra of Alaska. I like doing things fully and richly.

While business is important, one of my pet peeves is spoiling a perfectly good meal with endless discussion of bits-n-bytes, throughput, and processing power. I'd much rather get the work done around the conference table, and then speak about music, literature, and the arts when sharing a meal. To this end, I like to engage even my clients and prospects in the occasional non-IT related discussions and activities. Just ask the clients that I've hosted out in San Diego. On second thought, don't ask. What happens on the road, stays on the road!

Ok, so there you have it. That's Jessica in a nutshell. There is a whole lot more to me than the fact that I was born a little err, umm… unique!

But you might still be wondering about all this trans stuff. Ok, ok! I'll address that as well.

What do you get when you hire a person affected by gender dysphoria?

Well, first off, you get a person who is really able to see the world from both sides of the fence! You have to admit, I've probably had more than a few experiences that the far majority of the populace will never have. This wealth of experience allows me a perspective that few others can share.

Next, when you hire a TS, you are sure to get a person who can deal with and overcome adversity. Just try going through the things that we need to deal with. Believe me, an hour or two on the electrolysis couch will teach you new levels of adversity!

You will also find yourself with a truly loyal and dedicated employee. Life is tough when a person is dealing with these kind of issues. We really appreciate it when an employer is able to look past the bigotry and hatred offered by much of society. We are more than happy to repay that gift with lots of hard work and devotion.

Finally, and probably most important, when you hire a TS, you are hiring a person that, with a few minor exceptions, is the same as anyone else on your team. We come in all shapes, sizes, skills, and wonderful little idiosyncrasies.

Just like everyone else…

So, in closing, why don't you drop me an email and set up a time to discuss your opportunities in person? I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Jessica