Reflecting on 2025, Looking Ahead to 2026

2025 was a year of contrast for me — growth alongside humility, momentum alongside patience. Some goals landed exactly where I hoped. Others didn’t. And honestly? I’m proud of both.

I’m ending the year deeply grateful for work I enjoy, people I love, and a career that continues to challenge me in the best ways. Slack continues to be a safe and joyful place for me. I re-joined Slack in 2023 after being impacted by layoffs at two prior startups with unhealthy cultures. Having stability and joy in my job is something I won't ever take lightly after those experiences.

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What 2025 Taught Me

This was a year of trying things honestly — even when the outcome wasn’t guaranteed.

In the beginning of the year, I was renting out a room at my friend Catherine's place in SF and I wrote down 5 goals I wanted to accomplish, in order of priority:

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1. Purchase a house ✅

2. Transition to EM ⛔

3. Find a loving partner ✅

4. Speak at 10 events ✅

5. Reach my target weight ⛔

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Some goals didn’t land:

• I didn’t reach my target weight
  
  • But I'm going to keep trying!
• I didn’t transition into an EM role
  
  • At the end of my trial period, there were layoffs and middle management was not growing
  • Which overall tracks given the changing landscape with AI
  • I didn't end up too devastated even though I was very excited to make the transition
• I didn’t pass improv F2
  
  • Definitely deserved, my boyfriend and I missed too many classes 😂

But none of those were failures. They were data points. And they clarified what I actually want to invest my energy in.

Other goals did land — and they mattered deeply:

• I made progress towards having a contingency plan for kids in my future (1 very healthy embryo frozen!!)
• I spoke at 10+ events on topics I was passionate about (Slack, career, community)
• I found a loving partner (one year in March and the journey has been amazing)
• I bought a home in the Bay Area (something I've been wanting for so long)

Those are life-shaping milestones. I don’t gloss over that.

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Mentoring, Speaking, and Community

In 2025, I doubled my freelancing income through mentoring and speaking. That surprised me — and also clarified something important.

I don’t want to optimize my life around maximizing that income. I want to enjoy it. Learn from others. Share what I know. Stay curious. Stay human.

Some highlights:

• Speaking 10+ times at various events
• Supporting interns and early-career engineers
• Being recognized in press in ways that reflected my values (40 under 40 Latinos in Bay Area, mentoring through Formation)

Community remains fuel — not a growth hack.

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AI, Tinkering, and the Long Game

I’m genuinely excited about AI.

Yes, it’s a double-edged sword. But I’ve always loved tinkering — and this era makes exploration more accessible than ever. Plus I'm a bit biased given my fascination with AI related sci-fi since high school: autonomous vehicles everywhere, virtual companions, UBI, amped up humans. Sure a lot of that sci-fi was a bit dystopian in nature but a lot of it had happy endings!

What hasn’t changed is this: you can't easily replace highly capable software engineers.

The ability to communicate, influence, inspire, and uplift — those skills compound. AI doesn’t replace them. It amplifies them.

That’s where I want to keep investing.

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Looking Toward 2026

I’m intentionally not over-specifying 2026.

One priority will dominate most of my focus: earning a promotion to Staff Engineer. It’s a goal I’ve been working toward since 2024, and I’m ready to give it the depth it deserves.

While I would have loved the opportuntiy to transition into manaement in 2025, it's more fun than ever to be a builder and so I'm going to enjoy the ride while I can.

Alongside that, I’m excited to go deeper — not wider:

• Immersing myself in AI learning through Deep Atlas
• Learning from peers at The Pragmatic Summit
• Staying close to community without burning myself out

I want 2026 to be grounded, ambitious, and sustainable.

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If You’re Reflecting Too

A few reflections from others that resonated with me:

• Sarah Drasner on closing chapters and choosing presence
• Anil Dash on careers in 2026
• Addy Osmani on pacing the next two years

Different paths. Shared intention.

Here’s to choosing focus over frenzy — and building careers that actually feel like ours. 💛

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2025 Notes

I kept track of key things I did this year in the same Apple Note where I put my primary goals and stretch goals:‍

Speaking

1. AI Agents Event with Sourcegraph
2. Slack Productivity Onsite
3. Ripple ERG
4. Demoing New Secret Feature for Slack Champions
5. ADA Intern Talk
6. Techqueria Event at Salesforce
7. Demoing New Secret Feature for Customer Success Group at Slack
8. ADA Intern Talk 2
9. How Slack uses Slack (Slack Community Events)
10. Dreamforce (x4)
    

Press

1. Formation Mentoring Blog Post
2. Negocios Now Latinos 40 under 40 Bay Area
   

Conferences

1. ELC Conference
   

Classes

1. Maven Management Fundamentals for the Modern Leader
2. ELC Peer Group
3. BATS Improv F1
4. Intermediate Dog Obedience
5. Rally Obedience
6. Funkmode Hip Hop Class