The Accidental Techie

Issue #14 Hey there, fellow accidental techie! 👋 Reader, think about the last time you explained a technology issue to your executive director or manager. What expression did they make? Not rhetorical. That expression is data. Most accidental techies do genuinely good work. They build skills, they cultivate relationships, they lead real projects. And then they walk into a meeting and describe what they did in task language, leadership nods politely, and the budget conversation goes nowhere....

Issue #13 Hey there, fellow accidental techie! 👋 Reader, quick question. Look at your project list right now. How many of those items are there because something broke? How many because someone complained? How many because a vendor sent you an email at exactly the right moment of weakness? If the honest answer is "most of them" — you're not alone. You're just doing what accidental techies do. The work gets defined by whoever is loudest, whatever is most urgent, and whatever landed in your...

Issue #12 Reader, let me ask you something. When was the last time someone in your organization actually understood what you do? Not the "you fix the computers" kind of understanding. I mean genuinely grasping the complexity of what you’re managing, the high-stakes decisions you’re making without a playbook, and the sheer number of systems you’re holding together on a shoestring budget and a lot of caffeine. If you're like most accidental techies, the honest answer is: rarely. Maybe never. We...

Issue #11 Hey there, fellow accidental techie! 👋 Reader, let me ask you something. When did you last stop and actually take stock of how much you know? Not in a "humble brag on LinkedIn" way. I mean genuinely sitting down and acknowledging that you have built real, hard-won technical knowledge — not because someone trained you, but because you figured it out under pressure, often alone, usually while something was on fire. If you're like most accidental techies, the honest answer is probably:...

Issue #10 The Accidental Techie Radar Hey friends, 26NTC just wrapped, and the nonprofit technology community showed up. I joined virtually this year — Gozi and I presented our session remotely — but the energy from Detroit came through the screen loud and clear. The throughline this year was hard to miss: the sector is finally starting to name what so many of us have been living. The accidental techie experience in the AI era isn't a niche problem. It's everywhere. And more people are asking...

Issue #9 The Accidental Techie Radar Hey friends, This edition is a little different. No deep dive into a single framework today. Instead, consider this the kind of catch-up you'd have with a colleague over coffee. What I've been building, what I'm paying attention to, some reading worth your time, jobs worth considering, and books worth buying from an independent store. A lot is happening in the nonprofit tech world right now. Some of it is exciting. Some of it is worth watching carefully....

Issue #7 When Self-Serve IT Stops Working (And What Comes Next) How to choose the right IT support model as your nonprofit grows from 20 to 50+ people—without breaking your budget or your brain Welcome to The Accidental Techie Newsletter - Issue #7 Hey there, fellow accidental techie! 👋 Reader, I saw a post this week asking whether to hire an MSP or bring IT support in-house. The conversation in the comments went everywhere—budget constraints, organization size, whether part-time made sense,...

Issue #6 Debugging Your New Year's Resolutions Why your goals crash by February (and how to patch them for good) Welcome to The Accidental Techie Newsletter - Issue #6 Hey there, fellow accidental techie! 👋 Reader, as 2025 wraps up, I wanted to take a moment before we dive in. Thank you for being here. Whether you've been reading since the beginning or just found your way to this little corner of the internet, I'm grateful you're part of this community. Every time you open one of these...

Issue #4 From Firefighting to Forward Thinking: How Gratefulness Rewires Reactive Leadership Welcome to The Accidental Techie Newsletter - Issue #5 Hey there, fellow accidental techie! 👋 Reader, If this Thanksgiving season feels heavier than usual, you're not alone. Between political tensions, the exhaustion of navigating difficult family dynamics, and the weight of just... everything... this week might feel less like a celebration and more like something to survive. And that's okay. In the...