I’m building and run Distribute Aid’s open source outreach program (first cohort: Jan 2024) that provides a well-structured introduction to open source while also making impactful contributions to facilitate Distribute Aid’s humanitarian aid work. My role is to build the program in public, making sure everyone (mentors, participants, and the wider Distribute Aid team) is getting the most use out of the program and that our work actually supports the humanitarian aid work of Distribute Aid. My work involves both project and people management, finding the right people for the right jobs, and creating a big impact with few resources.
About Me
Hi, I’m Kai!
I’m a Jack-of-all-Trades working at the intersection of tech, marketing, and product. I help product teams explain what they’re working on, communicate complex technical topics, and create clear communication for internal and external use. I can devise a developer content strategy and build a technical content team, putting engineers’ expertise to good use by helping them create relevant content that other developers will love.
I’m also a skilled interviewer thanks to my background in journalism and my endless curiosity and eagerness to learn new things. I enjoy public speaking, whether it’s giving talks, moderating panels, or interviewing people on livestreams and podcasts.
👀 Watch my most recent talk “Host your interviews like a Golden Globe winner” from DevRelCon 2023 in London.
Managing projects and people with empathy
I currently run Open Source Explorers at Distribute Aid. Open Source Explorers is an outreach program that provides a well-structured introduction to open source for developers, designers, technical writers, etc. — specifically those from marginalised groups. Our participants make impactful contributions to Distribute Aid’s technical projects, facilitating Distribute Aid’s humanitarian aid work. Our hope is that many OSE participants will stick around in open source, either with Distribute Aid or by joining other open-source communities.
While being a volunteer position, my work as Program Lead of the Open Source Explorers program involves a high degree of organisation and engagement. It also requires humility, because we’re building the program in public. So any mistakes we make, we make out in the open. As always with volunteering, you have to make a lot of things work with few resources. But that gives me ample opportunites to learn and grow as a manager as I try to make the Open Source Explorers program an enjoyable and worthy experience for participants, mentors, and our entire team.
I’d love to talk with you about how my varied skill set could fit in with and benefit your company!
Work Experience
Besides creating written and video content, I run the Scaler Writer program, focusing on supporting engineers as they write and tell their stories. I help with everything from finding the narrative hook to creating structure and improving writing. I work closely with engineers, product managers, and product marketing managers from various teams. I also initiated video content at Scaleway, starting the interview series “Scalers go Open Source”.
I help startups and entrepreneurs shape their brand and find their voice and values. Services include tone of voice workshops, brainstorming content strategy, re/structuring websites, copy creation, and inclusive language audits. I can also guide other writers with copy coaching and constructive editing.
Dialogue in the Dark is a social business providing empowering job opportunities for blind and visually impaired people and educating the public about what it is like to be blind. I handled PR and marketing responsibilities, created content for the website and social media, created and spearheaded ad content, liaised with journalists and helped run events.
Skill3D is Austria’s biggest eSports agency specialising in eSport and gaming events. As Skill3D’s first ever PR hire, I set up press work procedures at the company. I wrote press releases and blog posts, monitored media coverage, managed media contacts, and liaised with journalists during our events. I also initiated and organised the “Games Don’t Kill” exhibition at Museumsquartier Wien in June 2009, which attracted a lot of attention and was covered by multiple media outlets.
Wiener Zeitung is one of Austria’s biggest (and oldest) national broadsheets. I worked in the Local/Vienna department, creating a wide range of content. I wrote daily content, often on a very short deadline, but also created extensive, research-based features on topics such as youth trends, extreme sports, environmental issues and technology. I liaised with contacts, covered press conferences, occasionally co-authored pieces with colleagues, and edited and proofread other people’s work on a daily basis.
Education
Class Central’s Web Development Bootcamp
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FreeCodeCamp/Class Central remote
In 2022 I completed Class Central’s Web Development Bootcamp. Over the course of six weeks, I learned HTML and CSS through the combination of FreeCodeCamp’s self-paced New Responsive Web Design classes and live-streamed lessons by Jessica Rose. I’ve finished multiple projects varying in scope and have also engaged in my cohort’s Discord channel, where I tried to help out others wherever I could — which, in turn, has also helped my own learning progress. At this point in time, I just have to hand in my very last project.
Diploma in Digital Filmmaking
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Filmschule Wien Vienna, AT
During this comprehensive course in Digital Filmmaking, I focused on script writing and directing and made my first short film called Snapped, a story about two young women who find a way of communicating with each other through art.
MA in Journalism & Media Management
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FH Wien Vienna, AT
During my studies, I acquired further knowledge about journalistic methods and honed my writing skills. In my thesis, I explored the effects of lobbying efforts on reaching marriage equality in Austria.
Volunteering & Own Projects
Taboola Rasa is a non-profit mental health advocacy project I started in 2016. Taboola Rasa seeks to create awareness for mental health experiences and neurodivergence and erase the stigma attached to them by interviewing people and sharing their stories with the world.
As part of the TEDxVienna group of volunteers, I played a significant part in organising three separate conferences in 2014. I was involved in communication and PR work but also ensured the show went smoothly as the stage manager for the main conference, “Brave New Space”.
Fun facts about me
- Started working as a journalist when I was 16
- Gigged as a stage manager on live TV broadcasts while in school and uni
- Almost became a professional bassoonist
- Wild swimming all year round (yes, even in winter!)
Skills
- Technical Communication
- Developer Content (written/video/audio)
- Content Strategy
- Copywriting & Editing
- Mentoring Writers
- Culture, Branding & Tone of Voice
- Public Speaking
- Livestreaming
- 1on1 Interviews
- Panel & Event Moderation
- People Management
- Project Management
- HTML & CSS
- Various digital skills (Canva etc.)
Languages
- German (native)
- English (native equivalent)
- Italian (intermediate (used to be fluent))
- Hungarian (second mother tongue, very rusty)
- ASL (American Sign Language) (beginner)
- I Also Speak Dev (fluent)