Introducing The New Authors

There has been a bit of a time gap since the last posting on this blog, but we thought it was time for a revival. Throughout the year the project has developed and changed almost as much as the people have. We are still a group of women who all work for ThoughtWorks, an Agile, software consultancy. We will be approaching a range of topics, from agile to women working in software, and hope to share with you our understanding and endeavors in what it means to be an Agilista. 

Nishi Ningegowda

Consultant / developer at ThoughtWorks, Chicago since 2011.
I’m a wanderer, walkaholic and always getting me some google-fu to satisfy my curiosity about anything and everything. Doing the same thing for a long period of time bores me quickly, thats why I’m always up to exploring different things , be it dancing, travelling, learning a new language or just plain old reading all kinds books and magazines (sometimes my high school text books !).
I love being a developer as I get new and exciting problems to solve everyday, its never a bore.

Moral I live by: Work smart, Play smart... after all... “Default sort order [ok.. Life] is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get” (mysql forum)..  :D

Amanda Snyder

I am currently working in a Developer role, and have worked in QA roles in the past.  One year ago I had no idea what I wanted my career path to be.  I was about to graduate with a Mechanical Engineering degree, and I found myself taking programming classes for fun.  Thankfully this wasn't strange at all for ThoughtWorks, and now I'm hooked on agile and can't wait to learn more!  Like most of the women here, I have been surrounded by men in most of classes and jobs thus far.  At times it has been motivating, frustrating, fun, simple, hard, but never something I regret, and I do believe it has helped to mold me.  

One word to describe myself would be Explorer.  I love to travel, and want to visit as many places and cultures as possible.  I do believe that it is not only the places you go, but more importantly the people you experience it with.  My friends and family have provided endless sources of inspiration for me, and it is their drive that pushes me to accomplish things I never even dreamed of.  They have excited me to begin everyday with one thought 'Life Is Good', and end each day by asking 'What did you do today that was fun?'

Linda Goldstein

I'm a developer although of course I help test cards on my team, and write some cards when there's a need. I'm based in Chicago, originally from a suburb of LA, currently working in Texas, and I miss Bangalore. :) When it comes to languages, I still mostly think in Ruby, although of course this project is in Java.
I graduated from Chicago's Illinois Institute of Technology in May 2010 in a nontechnical major but with a growing interest in code which led me into independent study and then the Junior Developer program at ThoughtWorks. I really like lists, teaching, the space race, and test-driven development. According to the Meyers-Briggs scale I'm an INTJ.

Megan Lusher

Currently a software developer at ThoughtWorks based out of Austin, Texas. I wandered through college taking classes from Art History to Abnormal Psychology, until I stumbled into a Computer Programming course, in which we were given an assignment to build a Sudoku application. I have a love for Sudoku and was completely amazed that I could build such a thing.. I was hooked from then on.

While still unsure of what lies ahead, I get super excited thinking of all the ways technology enables us to make the world a better place. I love to explore, to gain new perspectives, to take in new cultures and experiences, and to connect with and learn from the awesome people in this world. You'll find me soaking up everything around me, trying to make the most of each moment.