I'm currently the Group Engineering Manager for Terraform Fundamentals at HashiCorp. I oversee a portfolio of teams that build the core engine, cloud workflows, and policy enforcement mechanisms that power Terraform, and I am actively exploring my next step in executive, Director-level leadership. Nice to meet you!
I was born in The Netherlands and lived in Munich, Houston, Pittsburgh, Tokyo, New York City, and Washington, DC, prior to returning to Utrecht, NL. My husband was born in South Korea and also lived in Japan before moving to the United States, so I've got a very international family! I love learning languages and speak fluent Dutch and English; passable German, Japanese, and Korean; and have taken courses in Arabic, Mandarin, and French.
I started teaching myself how to code websites when I was about 10 years old. By the time I was in high school, I was making sites as volunteer projects for school clubs and other community organizations such as our local swim team. I deliberately chose not to major in computer science in college because I'd kind of fallen out of love with programming by then, and decided to major in graphic design instead, but grad school at NYU helped me realize that to me it's more important to contribute toward a mission that I care about than working in a specific medium or using specific tools or skills. In the end, I found it easier to get my start in mission-based work as a software engineer, so that's how I ended up doing this for a living after all. I have no regrets!
My leadership philosophy is built on a simple premise: we build the best, most indispensable products when we prioritize people and lead with psychological safety.
As I've transitioned from managing individual engineering teams to leading a portfolio, my superpower has become debugging broken team processes and structures. Large-scale integrations are inherently complex, and my biggest focus recently has been acting as a heat shield: buffering my teams from rigid corporate mandates and organizational friction so they can maintain their engineering velocity without burning out. Ultimately, my greatest win is scaling this impact by empowering the managers who report to me to lead with that same blend of rigor and empathy.
On a personal level, I am an introvert who processes information by thinking through things quietly on my own. I appreciate meeting requests that come with agendas, and the best way to collaborate with me is to give me time to process and think before responding.
- People. Humans are simultaneously the best and hardest part of software development – not code. I specialize in building high-trust environments where people feel safe navigating massive organizational change.
- Strategic & structural alignment. I believe that organizational design should serve the engineers, not hinder them. I focus on debugging and aligning our team structures to unblock critical business goals, ensuring our innovation engine is tightly coupled with commercial delivery.
- Self-care and work-life boundaries. The best coders do something other than coding in their spare time. I am a fierce advocate for sustainability; as long as something isn't on fire, I'm always going to tell you to take care of yourself first, rest, and recharge.
- Transitioning from a line manager to managing managers
- Navigating an acquisition and large-scale organizational change
- Building personal trust across global, highly distributed teams
- The benefits of speaking at conferences and how to get into public speaking
- I'm "retired" as a speaker myself but happy to help others get into it!
- Aerial yin yoga, travel, and video games