Introducing Brian Nelson
June 30, 2015
Introducing Brian Nelson
Next up, meet developer Brian Nelson.
Brian and Kristin at a 2015 Family Reunion.
Hometown:
I grew up on the family farm outside of Westboro, MO. I now live in downtown Omaha, NE.
Peace and quiet on the Family Farm.
Family:
I have been married to Kristin (who treats me better than I deserve) for almost 2 years and we live with our cat Samee (who is the real boss of the condo).
My education in a nutshell:
I have a BS in Mathematics from the Missouri University of Science and Technology and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Nebraska.
My experience in a nutshell:
Out of college I started work at a large interactive telecommunications company moving from application development to systems integration and finally the systems development departments. I took some time off from the corporate world to join a startup in Austin, TX, but when that ultimately shut down I returned to Omaha. Since then I’ve created software for a diverse set of industries – manufacturing, banking, insurance and travel to name a few.
I’ve created software in all levels of the stack – from linux kernel drivers to web and mobile applications. My current focus is on Rails and Angular based web applications and native iOS and Android mobile applications.
A difficult work environment.
Accomplishment I'm most proud of:
One of my previous coworkers referred to me as the person that he had learned the most from in his career. When I think of the people that filled that role for me, I am just blown away by the compliment.
Favorite thing to do (Forefront Labs-related):
Pulling discrete pieces of technology together to provide a robust and comprehensive solution for our clients. Experiencing the satisfaction of all the pieces clicking into place as a project progresses is amazing.
Favorite team:
- College football – Cornhuskers
- NFL – Chiefs
- MLB – Royals
If you visited me I would take you to:
The Drover – a great steakhouse here in Omaha, with a unique atmosphere.
Minnesota - A good day on the lake.
Philosophy:
For the past few months I have been trying to follow the philosophy of mindfulness - which is "the intentional, accepting and non-judgmental focus of one's attention on the emotions, thoughts and sensations occurring in the present moment."
Hawaii, North Shore view from house.
In the next year, I'm looking forward to:
The new challenges that we’ll be able to solve for our clients and the contributions that we can make to the tech community as we go.