My name is Brock Ellis. I am a open web evangelist and full-stack web developer from Fremont, NE.
My work life can be split into the following categories:
I currently work at Sycamore Education as a Hybrid Mobile App Developer. I work with the Ionic framework to build apps for parents, students and staff members of our customers. I get to run product stack; design, implementation, and support for the app. I’ve learned a bunch while in this role and it has given me a new-found appreciation for the capabilities of the internet and the future of the web with all of the standardization of APIs that is taking place. It’s a great time to be building hybrid apps.
I helped found and currently serve on the board of the Fremont Creative Collective, a non-profit whose goal is to advocate for tech education and entrepreneurship in Fremont, NE. I feel like students growing up in Fremont are not getting the level of exposure to computer programming that they should be as they coming out of the public school system. The Creative Collective’s aim is to give students who are interested in technology opportunities to see what a career in coding would be like via bootcamps, job shadowing, internships, and mentorship. The Creative Collective also is hoping to be the ‘startup center’ of Fremont, giving new businesses a one-stop-shop to go to for training, support, and resources.
I am an instructor at the Midland University Code Academy. I’ve loved code for a long time but I’ve loved to teach for even longer. I actually went to college to be a high school science teacher. After three years, I decided that I didn’t love chemistry and high schoolers scared me. Somehow I ended up learning how to code and teaching code is a great way to scratch my mentoring itch. As a Midland University graduate, I love being a part of something awesome that my alma mater is doing. I’m super jazzed that I can be a positive influence on the next generation of programmer. I’m currently serving as the interim Director for the Code Academy.
When not dabbling with tech stuff or reading Twitter/Hacker News, I am probably playing with my family. I have an amazing wife, two amazingly wonderful kids (4 years old and 8 months old), and 2 doofus dogs. I’m almost 30 years old but still have the over active imagination of the 7 year old. I try to pass on that zest for life and creativity to my kids every chance that I get.