Episode 47: Compassionate Maven April Wensel

Episode 47 of the Mavens Do It Better Podcast features April Wensel software engineer, technical leader, keynote speaker, writer, runner, and ethical vegan. She is also the founder of Compassionate Coding, a conscious business that helps technical teams cultivate sustainable, human-centered software development practices built on a foundation of emotional intelligence.April and Heather caught up virtually in San Diego, CA and Marina del Rey, CA.Listen in as April and Heather talk about:April’s background as a software engineer leading engineering teams in Silicon Valley and how she moved into lecturing, speaking and bringing a human side to coding and tech through looking at issues of burnout, inclusion, diversity, engineering teams, giving workshops on how we need to care about people more and grow our emotional intelligence.How we can build products and systems that address mental health by taking on new compassionate tech values: leaving ego and embracing humility, leaving elitism and embracing inclusion, leaving competition and embracing cooperation, leaving being “smart” and embracing learning, leaving being a “Rockstar” and embracing being a mentor. These values have been part of keynote speeches she has given at a wide variety of events.A dive into individual happiness and being the best versions of ourselves and the workshops that she offers with a boutique approach to shape the curriculum for her client’s needs. Workshops are often grouped into three sections – The self: dealing with taking care of one’s self, looking inward. Communication with other people: talking through how to understand that everyone is unique with their own set of qualities. An action plan: giving attendees to way apply the principles learned moving forward.How a passion for ultra-marathon running transformed her life and how a compassion retreat helped her see how her actions didn’t reflect her values leading her to become an ethical vegan. She explains what both are and how that retreat inspired her and much of her work in compassionate coding and emotional intelligence.To connect with April: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIN | Twitter | Compassionate Coding WebsiteTranscript