About the author
Andrew Hedges is an educator and technologist based in Portland, Oregon. A professional web developer since 1998, Andrew works as an Engineering Manager for Zapier, a workflow automation company whose workforce is fully distributed across dozens of countries around the world. Prior to Zapier, Andrew held similar roles leading teams building digital experiences at Disney and Apple.
Summer of 2019, Andrew founded The Collab Lab, a nonprofit that provides remote, collaborative project practice for early career web developers. The program brings code school graduates and self-taught career switchers together with working web developers to work on software projects using agile practices used by professional software teams.
When he’s not working at Zapier or on Collab Lab, Andrew contributes as an advisor to PDX Code Guild, a Portland-based coding bootcamp. He also volunteers for Pueblo Unido PDX, an Oregon nonprofit that helps undocumented immigrants navigate the legal system, including contesting unlawful detention by ICE. Finally, Andrew also produces The Slant and Go, a podcast about the National Football League, a topic he acknowledges is far less social-justice oriented than some of his other activities. 😅
Prior to his career in web development, Andrew worked in higher education administration, coordinating training programs for university staff. He holds a Masters of Education from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1995, Andrew wrote his terminal paper for that degree on the potential effects of computer-mediated communication on college student identity development.