Resume

Experience

Lead Developer & Founder — Berry House

Aug 2025 – Present · Calgary, Alberta (Hybrid)

Lead Developer & Founder of Berry House. Providing fast, accessible JAMstack web development and editorial services through a dual-mission model: standard rates for corporate clients fund pro-bono work for nonprofits and marginalized communities.
Developing and deploying 20+ open-source projects and JAMstack themes/tools across Jekyll, Eleventy, and Hugo ecosystems.
700+ GitHub commits and 100+ stars across repositories.
Building production-ready websites achieving 95+ Google Lighthouse scores for performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices.
Created IndieWeb-compliant blog starters with Webmentions, Microformats, and RSS integration (100+ downloads in the first month).
Reduced website load times by 60–80% for clients migrating from WordPress to JAMstack architecture.
Contributed tools downloaded 500+ times collectively (including a Jekyll audit CLI, Markdown-to-DOCX converter, and accessibility testing packages).
Launched Patreon community with Discord integration serving a dual audience (writers + developers) with a tiered membership model.
Published technical tutorials and documentation including “How to make a Gem out of your Jekyll theme,” “Shipping jekyll-audit,” and “Building Full-stack Journal App.”
Accumulated 734+ hours of hands-on coding time across 8+ years (2017–2025), with primary focus on Markdown (37%), HTML (16%), and JavaScript (15%) workflows.

Links:

https://berryhouse.ca/

Contributing Writer — Medium

Dec 2015 – Present · Remote

Authored 170+ longform articles across literary criticism, Indigenous studies, disability representation, creative writing craft, digital minimalism, time management, web development, Queer identity, grief and loss, and personal essays.
Achieved 10,000–29,000 views on top-performing articles, with individual pieces generating high earnings.
Developed recurring content verticals analyzing Indigenous literature (Keeper’n Me, Jonny Appleseed), contemporary media (Adventure Time, Her, BoJack Horseman), folklore/mythology, memory studies, analog vs. digital practices, and independent literary journalism.
Maintained decade-long publishing consistency across technical guides (Jekyll CMS, web portfolios), philosophical explorations (belonging, identity, productivity systems), cultural reviews, and reflective memoir pieces.

Links:

https://blog.brennanbrown.ca/

Book Author — Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

Sep 2021 – Present · Remote

Published 9 books independently (poetry chapbooks, essay collections, memoir) totaling 1,500+ pages.
Produced work spanning confessional poetry (THE DOGWOOD VERSES, 587 pages, 300+ works), Indigenous identity exploration (PRAIRIE BOYSPIRIT, Holy Waterfall), love poetry (The Weight of Yr Heart), literary criticism (Your Brothers Keeper: A Love Letter to Dostoevsky), and experimental writing (The Reaper and Her Sickle, 252 pages).
Achieved 4.8–5.0 star ratings across published works.
Served as editor and foreword contributor for collaborative anthologies (On the Fringe series) featuring 20+ emerging writers.
Maintained an active publishing schedule with 6 books released between 2023–2025 while completing an undergraduate degree.

Links:

https://www.amazon.ca/stores/author/B0DQTPYKHD

Crisis Support Listener — 7 Cups

Oct 2015 – Present · Remote

Dedicated Listener providing active listening and emotional support on a global mental health platform.
Engaged in 790+ support chats, directly assisting 249+ individuals.
Sustained a 5-star rating backed by 84 ratings and 19 written reviews.
Accumulated 37,842 Cheers and a Compassion Score of 3,015, ranking among top contributors.
Fostered long-term support relationships with repeat users.
Attained “Advanced Listener Level 5” certification (105 training steps).

Quality Assurance Playtester — Lysto

Sep 2025 – Present · Remote

Conducting methodical gameplay testing across multiple iOS and Android titles under NDA.
Documenting and reporting issues with detailed reproduction steps (UI/UX inconsistencies, balance problems, tutorial clarity, and player-experience breakdowns).
Providing qualitative feedback on FTUE/onboarding flows, gameplay loops, difficulty curves, retention friction, and monetization implementations.

Founder — The Write Club

Sep 2022 – Jun 2025 · Calgary, Alberta (On-site)

Developing and facilitating weekly meetings to foster a learning community of 100+ members focused on improving creative writing skills, intellectual diversity, and critique.
Leading and organizing fundraising events supporting the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation and Ripple Foundation, including author readings, poetry slams, bookstore collaborations, and anthology publications.
Developing and managing the digital publication (writeclub.ca) featuring member work and club updates, supported by social media marketing campaigns.
Built and maintained the site on Jekyll with a focus on accessibility, ease of use, design, content strategy, and community engagement.
Designed the Write Club’s visual identity (brand board) including color palettes, typography, imagery, and media guidelines.

Links:

https://writeclub.ca/

Oct 2022 – Feb 2023 · Calgary, Alberta

Responsible for improvements to distribution, newsletter design, and the content creation process.
Established and curated ideas for content pipelines.
Designed lean end-to-end processes to gather, curate, and publish content.
Created video and visual tutorials to enable volunteers to run the process end-to-end.

Growth Marketing Program (Apprenticeship) — OnRamp

May 2022 – Sep 2022 · Calgary, Alberta

Learner in 321 Growth Academy’s pilot cohort (growth marketing bootcamp).
Created buyer personas and mapped customer journeys through the funnel.
Identified target metrics using HubSpot CRM to support ongoing performance.
Researched and wrote thought-leadership articles and sales enablement content.
Designed lean email and social campaigns to convert subscribers into qualified prospects.
Managed website updates and built landing pages to improve conversion rates.
Ran A/B tests across channels to optimize results.

WordPress Developer — Wander Notebook

Sep 2020 – Apr 2022 · Calgary, Alberta

Researched, ideated, and published essays on productivity, self-development, and happiness.
Specialized in SEO keyword strategy, lead generation, and conversion rate optimization.
Focused on value proposition development and personal branding.
Initially began on Medium and migrated to a custom WordPress site.

Full-Stack Development Program — EvolveU

Feb 2020 – Aug 2020 · Calgary, Alberta

Experimental program focused on full-stack development in a collaborative learning environment.
Studied Vanilla JavaScript, React.js, Node.js, Python, Flask, PostgreSQL, and C#.
Practiced Test Driven Development, pair programming, debugging, and wireframing.
Worked within agile methods with systems/design thinking and human-centered UX foundations.

Sous Chef — Rotary Flames House

Aug 2015 – Jan 2020 · Calgary, Alberta

Managed morning rush for numerous families daily with efficient, levelheaded customer service.
Updated menu with daily offerings and specials, including personalized artistic touches.
Followed health, safety, and sanitation guidelines.
Managed inventory by establishing and adjusting ordering parameters, forecasting usage, and controlling waste.
Redesigned menu for improved readability.

Housekeeper — ServiceMaster Clean

Aug 2015 – Dec 2019 · Calgary, Alberta

Cleaned within hospitals, businesses, and educational settings.
Trained in intensive-care and emergency protocol specifications.
Applied diverse sanitation techniques.
Performed heavy-lifting up to 30kg and laborious work.

Publications (see books)

On the Fringe: A Collection of Community

Foreword Author & Project Lead (April 12, 2024) · ISBN: B0F4PKFRZQ

Led Write Club’s second anthology publication featuring works from over 20 student contributors.
Collaborated with Publishing Committee to curate and edit submissions exploring challenging social themes.
Wrote foreword contextualizing the anthology’s mission to amplify diverse and underrepresented voices.

How the English Degree Will Save the World

Honours thesis (Dec 2024) · Supervisor: Dr. Sarah Banting · DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25021.37600

Examines the transformative potential of literary studies through pedagogy.
Introduces “bloodwriting” as a bridge between Indigenous knowledge and digital literary practices.

PRAIRIE BOYSPIRIT: An NDN Memoir

Paperback (Dec 11, 2024) · ISBN: 979-8303372290

Essay collection developed from ENGL 3372: Western Canadian Literature.

Your Brothers Keeper: A Love Letter to Dostoevsky

Paperback (Aug 3, 2024) · ISBN: 979-8334888722

Poetry collection commissioned for GNED 3201.

Indigenous Resilience in Illustration: “Nimkii” and the Story of Survival

Article (Apr 9, 2024) · DOI: https://doi.org/10.29173/mruhr768

Analysis of “Nimkii” (This Place: 150 Years Retold) and the lasting impacts of the Sixties Scoop.

On the Fringe: A Collection of Filth

Foreword Author & Project Lead (Mar 19, 2024) · ISBN: 979-8884162167

Led Write Club’s first anthology publication featuring 20+ contributors.

The Weathervane: New & Selected Prose Poems for Mohkínstsis akápiyoyis & the Red River

Paperback (Feb 22, 2023) · ISBN: 979-8378507092

Portfolio project for CRWT 3362: Advanced Poetry.

Education

Mount Royal University

BA, English (Honours) · Sep 2021 – Apr 2025 · GPA: 3.8

Double Minor in Creative Writing and Religious Studies.
Member of the Golden Key Honour Society.
President of the Creative Writing Club (Write Club).
Contributor to The Reflector Newspaper.

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)

Information Technology · 2017 – 2018

Studied hardware, operating systems, networking, and programming essentials.
Business dynamics, communications, and presentation skills.
UI and MySQL database design.
Object-oriented programming and website development fundamentals.

Volunteering

Consultant — Calgary Vegan Society

Sep 2023 – Present

Provided guidance on enhancing digital presence, including website optimization, marketing strategies, and visual branding.
Supported increased community engagement and online visibility.