Aug 2017 – Jun 2020 · 2 yrs 10 mos

• As a Developer Advocate at Mozilla, I wove together three types of work: 1) outward-facing teaching & evangelism; 2) market research & inward-facing product advocacy; 3) invention of new technology through participation in the standards process.
• The first is most visible. I created videos, wrote articles, presented at conferences, and privately seeded ideas among other teachers & advocates — all in service to promoting best practices, hatching solutions to developers’ biggest pain points, evangelizing new products and technologies, and advocating for the health of the web. Sometimes this work is planned to simply help people who make websites. Other times, it was strategically designed to promote our brand or products. At its best, it does both.
• The second is more impactful. I used teaching as a way to consistently engage with the web industry, to research what web designers & developers need, to test which efforts are most likely to be successful. I brought those insights to the Firefox teams, where I worked closely with product management and engineering to provide product guidance, identify gaps, and propose strategic business opportunities.
• Often, understanding the needs of designers & developers results in understanding how the web itself needs to change — which leads to collaborating with other browser makers through standards bodies. I spent a lot of time talking privately to people all across the industry, seeding & testing ideas, providing Author perspectives, encouraging implementations, making sure the right people know about the right things.
• It’s a cycle: standardize, implement, evangelize, teach, research, advocate. Each step feeds the next.

Jul 2015 – Aug 2017 · 2 yrs 1 mo

Mar 2016 – Present · 10 yrs 2 mos

• Helping to define new CSS through the standardization process.

Sep 2011 – Aug 2016 · 4 yrs 11 mos

• Host and executive producer of a weekly podcast about changing technologies and the future of the web, discussing HTML5, mobile, responsive design, CSS and more. Guests included Eric Meyer, Peter Lubbers, Ethan Marcotte, Karen McGrane, Luke Wroblewski, Josh Clark, Paul Irish, Horace Dediu, Jason Grigsby, Peter-Paul Koch, Jeremy Keith and many more. Consistently ranked in the top 20 in the Apple Podcast Store under Technology. Won Net Magazine’s 2015 Podcast of the Year.

Jan 2010 – Aug 2015 · 5 yrs 7 mos

• Worked on bigger projects as a team member, frequently as an outside contractor for development shops, start-ups, and design studios. Brought in as an expert consultant to advise or to rescue projects. Clients included:
• Google, 2013–2014. Represented Google at W3C’s Web Platform Docs, providing guidance and design to committee with Adobe & Microsoft. Coded CSS for developer.chrome.com.
• Apress / Springer, 2012 – 2013. Designed a prototype of a new web-based book product.
• CERN, 2011–12. Relaunched cern.ch for Higgs Boson announcement. Front-end developer.
• Annenberg Foundation, 2011 – 2012. Designed museum archive system & 
 artist studio sites.
• Zinch.com, 2010–2011. Led front-end development. Spent two-months on-site in China.
• Lullabot, 2010. Taught professional Drupal training.
• New York Stock Exchange / WorkHabit, 2010. Led teams of front-end developers. Architected custom front-end framework to serve multiple teams & dozens of sites.

Aug 2009 – Apr 2011 · 1 yr 8 mos

• Designed and created the Bartik theme for Drupal 7 — the new default face of Drupal.
• Evangelize and lobbied for the use of HTML5 technologies in Drupal 8.
• Earned a “Drupal Certified to Rock Score” of 7, ranking in the top 1% of Drupal developers.

Jan 2005 – Jan 2020 · 15 yrs

• Presented at 100+ conferences, including An Event Apart, SXSW and WWDC.
• “Jen Simmons is killing it.” — Jeffrey Zeldman
• “As per her usual, Jen is blowing it out of the park.” — Estelle Weyl
• “Thoroughly enjoyed being the warm-up act for Jen Simmons at An Event Apart Seattle. 
I am but a John The Baptist to her Jesus Christ.” — Jeremy Keith

Jan 2005 – Jan 2009 · 4 yrs · Greater New York City Area

• Designed and created websites for start-ups, independent artists, creative businesses, and small media companies. Used a range of technology, including hand-coded HTML, Blogger, WordPress and Drupal. Clients included: RedBone Press (black gay & lesbian small press), Al Bustan Seeds of Culture (Arabic language camp for kids), Revenge of the Electric Car (documentary about electric cars), Runes of Gallidon (community-based, shared creative story), Temple University Film Department.

Jan 2004 – Jan 2006 · 2 yrs

• Participated in the Videoblogging community, a group that invented design patterns, expectations, and technology for putting video on 
the internet. Both YouTube and Vimeo were founded by members.

Sep 2003 – May 2006 · 2 yrs 8 mos · Greater Philadelphia Area

• Taught six semesters at Temple University, including courses in: Video on the Web; Videography; 
16mm film production; Digital editing; Web design aesthetics; Multimedia production. My course in Videoblogging was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/article/Ready-for-Their-Close-Ups/24696.

Dec 2000 – May 2002 · 1 yr 5 mos · San Antonio, Texas Area

• Taught digital filmmaking, photography, game development, graphic design, and website development in an after-school lab setting — 15-20 high school students attending 8-15 hours a week, working on projects for public exhibition. Won the White House's Coming Up Taller award, and admission to the Sundance Institute Reel Studio Young Filmmaker program.

Dec 1992 – Nov 2000 · 7 yrs 11 mos

• The Esperanza Center is community-based, multidisciplinary arts center in San Antonio. I simultaneously fulfilled the roles of deputy director, theater technical director, stage manager, exhibition installer, graphic designer, webmaster, bookkeeper, and building manager.
• Co-produced over 300 live events — visual art exhibitions, concerts, book readings, panel discussions, performance art, theater shows, and films festivals. For each show I created the publicity materials, lined up equipment rentals, designed and setup the space, and ran the show, acting as stage manager and lighting/sound/video technician.
• Facilitated a period of tremendous organizational growth — our annual budget increased from $45,000 to $500,000/year, and the staff expanded from two to ten people while I was there. Setup bookkeeping systems and kept the books. Saw the organization through our annual audit. Wrote end-of-the-year reports for grant funders.
• Oversaw the acquisition and renovation of a 10,000 sq. ft. art center, with a 300-seat theater. Designed and installed the lighting and sound systems. Worked with architect and contractors on HVAC design, space layout and audience flow. Chose paint colors and did most interior painting.
• Was a Plaintiff in Esperanza v. City of San Antonio, a major federal arts-funding case that netted a strongly-worded victory for the constitutional rights of diverse artists. Created a website all about the court case, my first big web project.

Jan 1988 – Jan 2008 · 20 yrs

• Designed projection, lighting, scenic and sound for countless theater productions, including at the Jump-Start Performance Company, Highways Performance Space, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Off Center, 24th Street Experimental Theater, Hynes Convention Center. I also made several short films. Highlights include:
• Created computer-driven, four-channel, interactive video projections on seven screens for VIOLET FIRE: A MULTIMEDIA OPERA ABOUT NIKOLA TESLA (2006). Premiered at the National Theater of Belgrade for Tesla’s 150th birthday. Traveled to BAM Next Wave Festival.
• Wrote, produced and directed INCLINATIONS (2005), a short romantic comedy, which traveled the circuit to over 25 festivals. It was acquired by MTV for inclusion in LOGO’s Click List: Best in Short Film television series.
• Wrote and produced BUSH FOR PEACE (2003) a two-minute experimental film. It toured to over 100 film festival venues around the globe, including RESfest and Media That Matters. Promoted the film virally across the internet, where over 150,000 people watched it online, long before YouTube existed.