+++
title = "About Jess"
+++

Hi!

I'm **Jessica Phoenix Canady**, a web development dork who lives in Columbus Ohio with her wife, two boys, and two cats.

I write web software (mostly in Elixir and Ruby), dork around with server infrastructure and security, and play music on keys and synths. I also play the occasional video game and hand of poker.

For eleven years of my earlier life I built CoverMyMeds, from inception to acquisition in 2017. I was responsible for much of the early dev culture and processes, as well as the backend that manages sending faxes; the backend for the electronic prior auth systems, the PA workflow software _Central_, and a ton more I can no longer recall.

## Selected Histories

### Chapter One<br>Stumbled Into Life

* Webmistress'd and wrote copy for several websites (including Comic Town's, see below) back when the Web was wild and new and I was young ~~and brave~~.
* Matriculated at the world-renowned DeVry University (_cough_) and graduated just as the first dot-com bubble burst.
* Clerked at a comic book store, the glorious Comic Town in Columbus OH, when it was at its various Morse Rd locations. Pour one out for a real one. **RIP Comic Town, 199x-2023.** 

### Chapter 2<br>She Thinks She's Grown Up

* After finding their help wanted ad on Craigslist, annoyed the dorks at Innova Partners until they gave me a job as a developer at their consultancy. They lured me with the promise of free lunch every day.
* :heart: Got married to my high school sweetheart and best friend, Kelli. :heart:
* Ran the Columbus Ruby Brigade (as a volunteer emcee, a board member, and President of the board) for some years, running their meetings and booking speakers. 
* Had two children, Alex and Quentin. I thought I knew what love was, then I laid eyes on my babies, and I realized I had no idea until that moment. Funnily enough this happened with both kids, four years apart.
* Helped Innova write a ton of software for a project called CoverMyMeds. This turned into a product that we turned into a company that, in 2017, got bought by McKesson for one-point-four billion dollars.

### Chapter 3<br>The Light Inside is Burnt Out but She Still Works

* Began transitioning my gender, which has been the best thing I've ever done for my mental health.
* As their VP of Engineering, spent two years building the tech and team at [Prescribe FIT](https://prescribefit.com) here in Columbus OH. I left that position in early 2023, now I'm just an investor.