Small team. Real experience.
No fluff.

I’ve been building software systems for over 40 years, starting with operating system kernels and ending up — somewhat inevitably — building custom applications for organizations that need tools no off-the-shelf product will provide.

My background is in systems software. After graduating from Cornell’s CS program in 1983, I spent a decade building the kinds of low-level infrastructure most developers never touch: multiprocessor support, process management, and virtual memory systems at Encore Computer; project management for the OSF/1 operating system consortium; security-critical infrastructure as a Vice President at SecureWare; and operating system consulting for Kendall Square Research. That foundation shapes how I approach every application I build today — I think about what’s actually happening beneath the abstraction.

The most formative chapter was founding Onyx Technologies in the late 1990s. We built one of the first true SaaS platforms: an instant online credit scoring system used by BellSouth, VoiceStream (now T-Mobile), RadioShack, Stage Stores, and others. That product taught me what it means to build for scale, design under real business constraints, and ship something that works in production at volume. Onyx was acquired by Fair Isaac — now FICO.

My work in politics and government directly shapes the tools I build today. As a New York State Democratic Committee member, Acting Chair of the Ulster County Democratic Committee, and a seven-time Field Director for NY State Assembly races, I’ve run ground operations — managing paid canvassers, cutting turfs, and doing the unglamorous work that wins elections. That experience is what’s behind Engage. As an Ulster County Legislator representing District 23 and Chair of the Ways and Means Committee — the committee that oversees the county budget — I sit in the chamber where the budget gets voted on. MuniBudgets exists because I needed better tools to do that work. The best software comes from people who understand the problem from the inside.

Along the way, I stepped outside technology to co-found the Hudson Valley Sudbury School (now Zena Democratic School). Listening carefully to what people actually need, and building systems that serve them well, turns out to be the same skill whether you’re running a school or writing software. I returned to consulting with a focus on open source technologies and founded Cardinal Technology to bring that same approach to custom application development.

— Start with the problem

Features don't matter until you understand the decision that needs to be made. We spend more time on the question than most consultants spend on the answer.

— Deliver working software

We prefer small, working deliverables over large, speculative designs. You should be able to use the thing while we're still building it.

— No unnecessary complexity

The right tool for a problem is sometimes boring. We choose technologies because they work, not because they're interesting.

— Clients are partners

We work best when you know your domain and we know our craft. The best projects happen when both sides bring something to the table.

Frontend

Backend

Data

Visualization

Infrastructure