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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Purchase a house ✅
Transition to EM ⛔
Find a loving partner ✅
Speak at 10 events ✅
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 class at BATS Improv

Definitely deserved, my boyfriend and I missed too many classes 😂- But also literally everyone failed the class lmao - none of us had enough body language apparently to be able to move onto F3

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: