2024 in Review: Speaking, Building, and Growing
What a year 2024 turned out to be!
It was a time of personal growth, meeting incredible people from all over the world in tech, and diving into some of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
As 2025 kicks off, I thought it’d be fun to take a moment to look back on everything that happened and share a few of the exciting things I’ve got planned for this year.
Sharing Knowledge at Conferences
2024 was a great year for my return to public speaking after a slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, this lead me to speaking in 3 capital Cities across Europe and even lead to me ending up at a Taylor Swift Concert.
At LeadDev Berlin, CityJS London, and DevSum Sweden, I focused on topics close to my heart, including neurodiversity and leadership. By sharing my experiences as a neurodivergent individual in tech, I aimed to break down misconceptions and foster understanding within our community. The feedback was humbling: attendees shared how these talks resonated personally and influenced their approaches to inclusion.
At Halfstack, my talks took a different angle, delving into my side projects. This session was a fun exploration of how creativity and coding collide, showcasing the mistakes I have made on my side projects and what I have learned from them.
Building Systems and Bridging Teams at Spendesk
In 2024, my role as a Staff Engineer at Spendesk was both challenging and rewarding.
One of the biggest projects I worked on was helping migrate all our customers to Spendesk Financial Services, our own payment institution. I often stepped in to support different teams, helping them solve problems and find the best solutions to make the migration as smooth as possible.
This project required finding the right balance — building systems that were strong enough to handle the complexity but flexible enough to adapt to changing business needs. It was a real team effort, and I worked closely with people from all parts of the company to make sure the technical foundations we built supported our goal of making this transition as seamless as possible for customers.
Making New friends
One of the unexpected joys of 2024 was the friendships I formed with fellow neurodivergent tech professionals. These connections felt like finding pieces of a puzzle I didn’t realize I was assembling. Through conversations that flowed effortlessly, I discovered how much of my journey — both the challenges and the triumphs — mirrored theirs.
As we exchanged stories, I started to see patterns in the feedback we’d received over the years. Moments that once felt isolated, like being told I was “dismissive” or “overly focused on details,” suddenly made sense in the broader context of how neurodivergence often intersects with professional environments. These friendships weren’t just comforting; they were clarifying. They gave me a new lens through which to view myself and my experiences, one rooted in shared understanding and collective resilience.
Beyond that, these connections became a wellspring of support and inspiration. We didn’t just talk about work — we shared tips for thriving in neurodiverse workplaces, celebrated each other’s wins, and brainstormed ways to drive change in our respective corners of the tech world. It reminded us that while our individual journeys are unique, we’re stronger.
Looking Ahead: 2025 and Beyond
As I step into 2025, I’m carrying the lessons of 2024 and a renewed sense of purpose. There are already exciting milestones on the horizon:
- In February, I’ll be joining Legend as a Principal Engineer — a role that promises new challenges and opportunities to shape the architecture of a long-established business..
- In June, I’ll host a community resource group at LeadDev London for individuals with autism, creating a space for connection and support.
- And, fingers crossed, I’ll take the stage at LeadDev London, where I’ve submitted a few new talks on topics ranging from neurodiversity to switching between IC and management roles and even one on my failed side projects.
The road ahead feels exciting and full of possibility. Whether it’s mentoring, speaking, or designing systems that matter, my mission remains clear: to champion a tech industry that’s innovative, inclusive, and deeply human.
