Our People: Meet Kyle.

He’s a self-starting techie with a passion for helping people and figuring things out. Oh, and he might be slightly neurotic about coffee. “Whenever I travel, I get excited about trying new coffees. Crema in Nashville is a favorite, along with Elemental Coffee in Oklahoma City. In Knoxville, my favorite coffee is at Remedy Coffee in the Old City. The main barista there, Matt, makes a “cortado,” which is basically just a couple shots of espresso and a little steamed milk. It’s awesome.”

Besides coffee, Kyle could be said to be slightly neurotic about technology, too. Well, maybe it’s what technology can do for people rather than the technology itself that gets him excited. “Technology provides you an opportunity to create solutions. I love the process of finding a problem and discovering a solution. Finding solutions for people. That gets me excited.”

That motivation explains a lot about Kyle’s work history. From developing a content management system specific to churches, to creating an app which helps ambulances communicate directly with the hospital, to building software packages for church small groups, to his latest project which hits a little closer to home, Kyle’s expertise lies in making technology work for people.

“In December 2010, I was hit with a fairly big life event when I was diagnosed as a Type II diabetic. I lost about 60 pounds and was forced to make some significant lifestyle changes. After the diagnosis, I realized a surprising lack of resources out there for diabetics. I also noticed diabetes can be very isolating. All of this encouraged me to work to develop a mobile application specifically for diabetics, something that’s much more responsive than merely a log of blood sugar levels. When finished, the app will be much more responsive and dynamic with the data input than traditional apps and will help overcome the isolation problem by including a “support group” feature. There is still a lot to work out, but it’s a project I’m passionate about and I think it has the possibility to help a lot of people.”

A Heart for Children in Mexico

“For the past two years, my three kids, my wife and I have gone on a family mission trip to Monterey, Mexico. We help an organization called “Back2Back” which takes an extremely holistic approach to partnering with childrens’ homes and orphanages. The problem in Mexico of children without stable parental care is chronic. 80 - 85% of the population have kids but can’t care for them. Many of the kids in these homes aren’t even orphans, their parents just can’t support them.”

“As kids age out of the majority of these homes by 8^th grade, they go back to their home communities, can’t get work, and begin the cycle again. Back2Back helps break that cycle by placing kids in their Teen Hope program so they can see what it’s like to be in a family and be guided by house parents. They also get help receiving higher education and many of them go on to be high-earning professionals like doctors and attorneys. Back2Back gives these kids a shot they would never get otherwise by addressing the problem across the board. More than just clothes, food and a pat on the head, they get a shot at life. I’ve been super impressed by the organization.”

“It has been exciting to see my kids’ eyes opened to the fact that the rest of the world isn’t like the US. The first time we took our kids it scared me to death. We went this last time in June it was great. My 8 year old son, the thing he was talking about all year was to go see Pastor Joseana in Cadereyta. It’s awesome to see your child excited about the ministry of a pastor in an impoverished community in another country. It’s awesome to see your kids have a perspective on life extend beyond the latest iPhone and whether or not they get to go to the movies with their friends.”

In a role like Technical Account Manager at Claris Networks, Kyle has a lot of opportunities to make technology help people. We’re grateful to have a group of awesome people like Kyle who make this place so fantastic. To connect with Kyle or reach out to us, you can click here or just head over to our Facebook page!

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