About Me

Hey, I’m Lee. I'm a developer, writer, and the creator of Mastering Next.js and React 2025. I work at ▲Vercel as the Director of Developer Relations.

I’ve spoken across the country at conferences and meet-ups about front-end development, design, and recruiting. I write about development, tech careers, and my personal life on my newsletter.

I grew up in small-town Iowa and went to school at Iowa State, graduating with a degree in Computer Engineering. I spend my free time playing music, creating videos, and enjoying time with friends and family in Des Moines, IA.

Timeline

2021

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    Head of Developer Relations at Vercel 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

    I'm extremely excited about this new role helping grow the Next.js and Vercel community.

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    10,000 YouTube Subscribers 🎥

    After many years on YouTube, I've started to figure this whole video thing out.

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    5,000 Newsletter Subscribers 💌

    If you want to stay up-to-date on my latest work, it usually hits the newsletter first. I try to send an update once a month.

2020

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    Joined ▲Vercel

    I'm excited to help grow the Next.js community and continue building the optimal workflow for front-end developers.

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    Launched React 2025 💯

    Building a real SaaS application, from zero to production.

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    Emerging Technology Leader of the Year 🏆

    I was extremely honored to be one of five finalists nominated for this award at the 2020 Prometheus Awards.

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    Got Married 🥳

    Great year for a wedding, huh? We had a small ceremony with family and it was better than I could have imagined.

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    Became a Tech Lead 👨🏻‍💻

    Starting at the beginning of 2020, I moved into a tech leadership role on an e-commerce development team at Hy-Vee.

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    Mastering Next.js made $10K 📈

    I taught hundreds of students from all over the world how to build web applications. Exceeded my wildest expectations.

2019

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    Software Engineer III ✨

    Led design system architecture at Hy-Vee, building new components with React, Storybook, and styled-components.

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    Mastering Next.js ⚛️

    Launched a 50+ lesson video course for building apps with Next.js and React.

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    Bought a Townhome 🏡

    Who wants to do yardwork? Not me. Plus, Allie and I love living downtown Des Moines.

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    Got Engaged 💍

    I asked my now fiancée, Allie, to marry me. She said yes! September was a busy month, to say the least – I also spoke at three events and sold my condo.

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    Spoke at Talent42 🎤

    I spoke to over 100 technical recruiting leaders from across the country at Talent42 in Seattle during a 45-minute keynote.