I manage IT systems for a living.
I build things because I can't stop.
15 years in government IT. 18 years of design before that. I run a 33-person team, serve ~1,000 users, and use AI every day. I'm transparent about all of it.
Work
The path wasn't linear. That's why it works.
IT Division Manager
Madera County Government- Lead 33-person IT department. Infrastructure, cybersecurity, service delivery, enterprise systems.
- Drove Webex Calling migration for 400+ users off legacy telephony.
- Deployed Microsoft 365 + Intune across the organization.
- Redesigned ServiceNow intake to actually reduce resolution time, not just track tickets.
IT Systems Analyst II
Madera County Government- Enterprise systems administration. Servers, networking, Active Directory.
- Cross-departmental technology planning.
IT Analyst I
Madera County Government- Desktop and server support. System deployment, configuration, documentation.
- Entry point into government IT. Knew immediately this was the thing.
Account Executive
Sierra Star- Ad sales for a local newspaper. Taught me that selling is really just listening.
Unit Director
Boys & Girls Club of Oakhurst- Youth academic programs. Where I learned leadership is making other people better, not being in charge.
Freelance Designer & Tech Services
Self-employed- 18 years of design, web, and client work. The original "I'll figure it out" energy.
- Taught me accountability, scope creep, and how to invoice people who don't want to pay.
What I actually do
Building
I can't stop making things. Here's what's active.
OpenClaw
Multi-agent AI system that reaches out to me instead of waiting for me to check in. One agent tracks tasks, another reminds me time exists, a third organizes scattered thoughts. They don't wait. They interrupt when it matters.
J-Score
Gamified productivity dashboard. Daily scoring, streak tracking, adaptive strategy. Built on Cloudflare (Pages + Workers + D1). The ADHD brain needs external scorekeeping.
PDLeR
Executive function methodology I built from feedback my boss gave me. Prioritization, Details, Logic, emotion, Recurring. Not a tool. A system for how to think about work.
@whatmefocus
ADHD + tech on Twitter/X. Not tips. Not advice. Just honest observations from someone who builds systems because his brain doesn't come with one built in.
About
Born in 1974. Kansas kid. Transformers, Garbage Pail Kids, Atari 2600. Ended up in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California and never left. Married Chrissie. Two sons. Career that zigzagged in a way that only makes sense looking back.
I started freelancing in 1995. Design, tech support, client work. Did that for 18 years. Then I sold newspaper ads. Then I ran youth programs. Then I walked into county IT in 2013 and thought: oh, this is the thing. Seven years later I was managing the division.
Each job taught me something the next one needed. Design taught me to see systems. Sales taught me to listen. Youth work taught me leadership is about making other people better. IT gave me a place to use all of it.
On AI
I use Claude every day. For writing, research, analysis, building. I say that openly because there's nothing to hide. This site was built with Claude. The direction was mine. The taste is mine. The tool is Claude.
Using AI well is a skill. The people I respect understand that. The ones who'd judge me for it probably aren't people I need to work with.
How I think
I think in systems. Not because I learned to. Because that's how my brain maps the world. 47 open browser tabs aren't chaos. They're cartography. The pattern recognition, the context-switching, the ability to hold multiple threads and see where they connect. That's not a bug.
I manage a team of 33 people the same way. Partnership, not hierarchy. Documentation over tribal knowledge. Trust over micromanagement. Sustainable pace over hero culture.
Let's talk.
I'm always open to a conversation about systems, teams, AI, or what's next.