Name Dropping is a Q&A series that aims to elevate the stories of women and nonbinary people leading in the tech space. The idea came from Angela DeFranco, a VP of Product at HubSpot, who said one way to be better allies is to name drop more women and nonbinary people in discussions of achievement, inspiration, and disruptors in tech, instead of referencing, time and again, the same set of (often male) leaders.

This edition of Name Dropping features Taylor Poindexter, Senior Software Engineer at tech co. and Co-Founder of Black Code Collective.

When did you realize you loved engineering?

The crazy thing is that I didn’t fully fall in love with engineering until the last couple of years. During my second year of college, a family friend suggested that I take my first computer science class, and while I was originally reluctant, I gave in and agreed to take it. For the first time in my life, I struggled academically because it was so hard for me to change my way of thinking to fit how programming works. That first class kicked my butt, but I was intrigued and energized to conquer programming. Post-college, I struggled to gain confidence in the field and questioned if I should change fields altogether. But eventually I joined an amazing team, and it became clear that I wanted to continue to be an engineer. My team is composed of smart, yet kind, engineers who have helped me gain confidence in the skills I already had, as well as pick up new skills along the way. Over the past few years this confidence has fueled a new level of curiosity in engineering and has made me love the field more than I ever have.

You’re a senior software engineer at tech co., a platform that strives to increase civic engagement through technology. What are some of the most exciting or challenging projects you’re working on right now?

Working to fix democracy is a lofty goal (I know, shocker! Haha), but I’ve been enjoying thinking of ways we can make a more participatory democracy a reality and create a platform that users find intuitive and useful. I’m currently tech lead on a project that helps our users analyze their data sets and garner meaningful insights. It’s been exciting to learn about what data points are most useful to our clients, and brainstorm effective and efficient ways to complete this project. tech co. recognizes how blah the name is, but the name is merely a placeholder because we’re in “stealth mode.” While we’re in stealth mode we’re building the foundation of the platform that will be our future company. When the time is right, we’ll come out of stealth mode and reveal our full brand identity.

You co-founded Black Code Collective in 2016. Can you tell readers about the organization, and any ways they could get involved or support the initiative?

Myself and my co-founders started Black Code Collective after we became frustrated with being the only or one of only a few Black engineers at our jobs. The mission of BCC is to provide a safe space where Black engineers can collaborate on tech projects, grow their network, and feel at home. Being “the only” at your job can be incredibly isolating. Having a community of people who experience life in ways similar to you can be a way for you to recharge. If folks are interested in learning more, I’d suggest they check out https://blackcodecollective.com/. There they can find ways to join our Slack, donate, become a sponsor, or read our recently published Black Tech Workers’ Manifesto.

To read the full article, visit the HubSpot Product Blog.