Kathryn Grayson Nanz is a Developer Advocate, Front End Engineer, UI Designer, Author, Speaker, and Lifelong Learner.
In 2013, I graduated with a Fine Arts degree and took my first job as Junior Graphic Designer at a small, boutique ad agency in Washington, DC. While there, my Creative Director told me to never let anyone else find out that I knew how to code – he warned me that if they knew I could do it, I'd be stuck doing it forever and never get to focus on print design again. I ignored his warning; turns out, he was completely right, but I've never been happier.
I currently work as a Developer Advocate at Progress Software where I help people build beautiful and user-friendly interfaces, design and maintain component libraries, and stop back-end devs from writing any more CSS. I'm especially interested in React, design, accessibility, and creating applications and websites that center the human experience.
Blog Highlights:
Speaking Engagements:
- Speaker, WeAreDevelopers Student Day 2023 (Virtual): "Learn Enough Design to be Dangerous" Watch the recording, courtesy of WeAreDevelopers
- Speaker, Stir Trek 2023 (Columbus): "Ditch the Media Queries: Modern CSS for Better Responsive Code" Watch the recording, courtesy of Stir Trek
- Speaker, React Miami 2023 (Miami): "Usability Testing for Developers" Watch the recording, courtesy of JSWORLD
- Speaker, LogRocket Meetup (Virtual): "React Accessibility Essentials for Developers" Watch the recording, courtesy of LogRocket
- Speaker, DevReach 2022 (Boston): "Learn Enough Design to be Dangerous" Watch the recording, courtesy of Progress360
- Speaker, Code PaLOUsa 2022 (Louisville): "Learn Enough Design to be Dangerous"
- Speaker, ReactNext 2022 (Tel Aviv): "DataViz Design Tips: Making Your Data Make Sense"
- Speaker, DevUp 2022 (St. Louis): "Learn Enough Design to be Dangerous" and "Ditch the Media Queries: Modern CSS Replacements for Better Responsive Code"
- Speaker, Web Directions: Hover 2022 (Virtual): "Ditch the Media Queries: Modern CSS Replacements for Better Responsive Code"
- Speaker, Women In Technology Summit 2022 (Virtual): "Learn Enough Design to be Dangerous"
- Speaker, React Miami 2022 (Miami): "Learn Enough Design to be Dangerous" Watch the recording, courtesy of JSWORLD
- Speaker, CodeStock 2022 (Knoxville): "Learn Enough Design to be Dangerous" and "Ditch the Media Queries: Modern CSS Replacements for Better Responsive Code"
- Speaker, ReactJS Day 2021 (Virtual): "Configuring Storybook to Create Accessible React Components" Watch the recording, courtesy of GrUSP
- Speaker, React Europe 2021 (Virtual): "Build Your Own Component Library" Watch the recording, courtesy of ReactEurope
- Speaker, React Advanced 2021 (Virtual): "Lightning Talk: startTransition in React 18" Watch the recording, courtesy of React Conferences by GitNation
- Speaker, Connect ReImagine 2021 (Virtual): "Build Your Own Component Library" Watch the recording, courtesy of Women Who Code
- Speaker, Byteconf React 2020 (Virtual): "Creating a Component Library" Watch the recording, courtesy of Byteconf React
- Speaker, Frontrunners React 2019 (Washington DC): "Creating a Component Library"
- Speaker, Drupal Camp 2018 (Asheville): "Overcoming Impostor Syndrome"
- Keynote Speaker, Litmus Live 2017 (Boston, London, and San Francisco): "Overcoming Impostor Syndrome" Watch the Boston recording, courtesy of Litmus.
- Speaker, The Email Design Conference 2016 (Boston): "When Graceful Degredation Isn't An Option: Designing Emails for Regulated Industries"