jessite/content/about/index.md

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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
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
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.
• ❤️ Got married to my high school sweetheart and best friend, Kelli. ❤️
• 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
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 here in Columbus OH. I left that position in early 2023, now I'm just an investor.