My Journey

 

My career began in the technical trenches—literally. From writing complex text analysis programs in C# for my Master's thesis, to serving as a data director for political and advocacy campaigns, and leading data strategy for large national non-profits, I have spent my career at the front lines of large-scale data management in the progressive space.

 

I've moved fluidly between roles heading departments, supporting operations teams, and as an independent strategist, always focusing on how to make complex systems work better for the people who depend on them. Whether it's building internal tools for colleagues, implementing complex systems change, or getting the right tools and data into the hands of volunteers, my goal is always to help people get the most out of technology for the greater good.

Why Highwater?

 

The name is a shameless pun on my last name, Heller, and the old saw "come hell or high water" representing my perseverance in the face of things outside my control. There's a lot that's outside our control in both politics and technology, but we can get through it together. 

The Human Side 

 

Beyond consulting work, I'm interested in a wide variety of things from linguistics (conceptual metaphor theory, critical discourse analysis, corpus/cognitive linguistics that's not LLMs or AI), gardening (trying not to buy alltheplants), and cooking (I could eat my weight in fresh homemade pasta).