About Us : thoughtbot

Chad Pytel

Chief Executive Officer

Chad Pytel has twelve years of experience in tech support and software services, and is a skilled programmer and project manager. Chad is responsible for the day-to-day operations of thoughtbot and acts in an ongoing project lead role for many of our clients. He has co-authored two books: Rails AntiPatterns and Pro ActiveRecord for Ruby. Chad graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) with bachelor of science degrees in both Computer Science and Humanities & Arts (Drama/Theatre).
Matt Jankowski

Chief Operating Officer

Matt Jankowski has more than a decade of experience working as a builder, planner and manager in the realm of web application design & development. Currently, he serves as the product lead on client and internal projects and handles the initial communication for most potential clients. Matt has experience in the software side of the high throughput computing, entertainment technology, and publishing industries. Matt holds a B.S. in Technical Communication from WPI.
Dan Croak

Chief Marketing Officer

Dan has been making things on the web for 15 years. He's "a pretty good programmer with great habits." (SBPP) You can find him in the mornings mentoring Rails developers at Cambridge coffee shops or on Twitter.
Joe Ferris

Chief Technology Officer

Joe found home at thoughtbot after spending several years on the freelance and software consulting battlefield. He has been coding since he first laid eyes on a computer, and has been a Ruby enthusiast since he discovered Rails in 2005. In his spare time, he plays guitar and frisbee. Joe is an avid 3-letter acronym hater.
Jon Yurek

Developer

Jon Yurek is an experienced programmer with proven problem solving skills and the tenacity to attack complex problems head-on. He has co-authored a book, titled Pro ActiveRecord for Ruby. Jon graduated from WPI with a B.S. degree in Computer Science.
Mike Burns

Developer

Mike Burns has been a Web developer since before the first bubble burst. He co-founded the Boston Android hackfests, brought the joy of vim to the company, is passionate about Free Software, and uses Haskell and Scala for personal projects. Email him at <mburns@thoughtbot.com>.
Josh Clayton

Developer

After spending years writing ASP and C#, Josh found solace in Ruby and realized that crying while programming was OK (as long as they were tears of joy). When he's not programming, he enjoys biking and playing drums.
Kyle Fiedler

Designer

Kyle has been designing and developing, in some form, since the turn of the century. His roots reach back to fine arts and print design but once he started designing for the web he never turned back.
Chad Mazzola

Designer

Chad started making websites when it was mostly spacer gifs over dial-up connections. He likes philosophizing about design almost as much as actually designing. You should follow him on Twitter.
Matt Mongeau

Developer

Matt started programming in Qbasic and worked his way up to programming Ruby. Matt also enjoys folding origami and dabbling in other programming languages.
Phil LaPier

Designer

With an approach to UI design that entails a user-centered design philosophy at its core, Phil strives to combine theory with practice by creating a trail of well crafted pixels wherever he goes. A sharply dressed swagger of a fellow, Phil graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in Graphic Design. Follow him.
Seana Quental

Office Manager

Seana graduated from Northeastern University in 2007 and truly loves the city of Boston. She began studying graphic and web design at New England School of Art and Design in 2009. When Seana isn't at thoughtbot, she is baking cupcakes, riding her bike, cross-stitching or searching for her next vintage treasure.
Ben Orenstein

Developer

Ben is a vim evangelist, Apple fanboy, and an embarrassingly-frequent Boloco customer. He's spoken at RailsConf, finished 11th in the Rails Rumble, and is flirting with entering the top 50 Rails committers. When not vimming, he sings in a barbershop quartet and assistant-directs a chorus. Ben believes in TDD, A/B testing, and remapping caps lock to escape.
Prem Sichanugrist

Developer

Prem is a web developer who also loves clean code and good user interfaces. He started developing for the web in 2001 using PHP. However, after he discovered Ruby on Rails in 2007, he never looked back. He loves tackling programming related problems, and always enjoy sitting in front of his computer diving into a hard problem to solve it. He also enjoys contributing back to Ruby on Rails in order to give back to the community and improve his beloved web framework.
Gabe Berke-Williams

Developer

Gabe has been coding in one language or another for half his life. He found Ruby in 2005 and hasn't looked back since. He graduated from Brandeis University with a B.S. in computer science. In his free time, he likes to bake bread and watch Joss Whedon shows.
Galen Frechette

Designer

Galen loves to innovate by challenging convention with unique insights and exceptional design. Driven by a passion for user experience and entrepreneurship, he strives to build products that respond to the needs of real people and empower the success of new ventures. Galen holds a dual B.S. degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Programs in Design and Innovation.
Ralph

Chief Evangelist

Ralph has been with thoughtbot since late 2003. He does not hold any formal educational degrees, but he’s a very courteous host and is well respected in the Boston robot community (we think). In his spare time, Ralph is an avid drummer and technical manual enthusiast.