Who Am I? / About Me

I've been programming since around 2002. I've done a lot of things in that time, including teaching 200+ people how to program, and running my own software business for several years. When I'm not working, I'm usually hanging out with my kiddos (vintage '16 and '19) and/or working on home-tech projects that are interesting to me.

Below, I've prepared a oh-so-serious list of professional skills, as well as a whimsical list of my life skills, because the little tidbits are what make up a whole person!

Looking for an official bio? Scroll way, way down!

Informal Bio

I'm a software engineer, with experience in many areas. I've worked with all sorts of companies and technologies, but my focus in recent years has been on Ruby on Rails, startups and education.

I play well with others (see image) and I love meeting and working with new people. Nothing gives me more pleasure than learning something new from someone new.

I've prepared a oh-so-serious list of professional skills, and a whimsical list of my life skills below, because the little tidbits are what make up a whole person!

Eliza's Report Card. It clearly states that she plays well with others
My Report Card. It clearly states that I play well with others

Professional Skills:

  • Ruby on Rails is my specialty
  • I'm a big fan of Lisp, Scheme and Haskell
  • I use vim but I'm not unyielding about it
  • I love to negotiate (see image for evidence).
  • I've programmed professionally in a lot of languages.
I cut my teeth negotiating against the tooth fairy.

Some of My Skills:

  • Ruby
  • Rails
  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • JavaScript
  • Project Management
  • Lisp
  • Agile
  • User Experience
  • Pair Programming
  • RSpec
  • Cucumber
  • Continuous Integration
  • Teaching
  • XSLT
  • XML
  • C#
  • PHP
  • Linux
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • Test Driven Development
  • Software Design
  • Java
  • jQuery
  • Software Engineering
  • Git

(Un?)related Skills:

  • Book Editing
  • Sales
  • Teaching
  • Parenting
  • First Aid
  • Cooking
    (I will cook you a kick-ass dinner for time & materials)
  • Baking
    (especially with my kids!)

Books I've Helped With:

Eliza and Gwen making frosting
Birthday Cake is Serious Business in this household
Eliza in her old apartment kitchen, looking smug
I am now Queen of the Kitchen, but in my single life (pictured), I was Captain of the Kitchenette.

Top 5 Fears:

  1. Falling off of ladders
  2. Stingrays
  3. Micromanagement
  4. Cave Crickets
  5. Suddenly having my power cord jerked out
Fear #4: When startled, cave crickets can jump up to 6 feet straight in the the air. I'm 5'8.

Formal / Official Bio:

Eliza Brock is a software engineer and entrepreneur based in Nashville, TN.

She has a background in software engineering with a focus on web applications and engineering management. She holds a bachelors degree in Software Engineering and Computer Science with a domain track in Engineering Management from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Eliza has been, amongst other things: the sole developer of a mobile device service infrastructure and payment system, lead developer for a fashion eCommerce startup, and the sole technologist for several Tennessee startups.

She ran a software consultancy, Eliza Brock Software from 2010 until 2014, growing it to 6 full-time developers, all specializing in web application development.

In 2014, Eliza scaled back her consultancy to focus on her teaching at Nashville Software School, where between 2012 and 2016 she helped train over 200 new software developers in Nashville. Her students have gone on to a thrillingly wide array of software careers!

Eliza is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.