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Jeff Sikes

Technology Leadership for Non-Profits

Austin, TX

I've spent 13+ years building dev teams and modernizing platforms at mission-driven nonprofits. I studied psychology through grad school before pivoting to tech, and that background shaped how I approach teams, problems, and the people using what I build.

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What I've Done

Implemented Cross-Org Support Tools
Rolled out Zendesk across departments, then handed the keys to the right people.
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Automated a Major Data Merge
Turned months of manual account merging into an automated process with better accuracy.
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Built a Dev Team from Scratch
Hired and mentored the first in-house development team, growing it through a decade of change.
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Stepped Up as Acting VP
Oversaw both application development and infrastructure teams for six months.
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Scaled Systems & Modernized Infrastructure
Led the technical transition from legacy systems and physical servers to cloud during 3x membership growth.
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Built APIs That Connected Everything
Designed a REST API abstraction layer that let the org swap vendors without impacting any websites.
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Turned Tribal Knowledge into an AI Knowledge Base
Built an AI-powered knowledge base with 160+ documents, video transcripts, and searchable archives during a platform migration.
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Skills & Tools

Leadership
Team Building Mentoring Cross-functional Collaboration Vendor Management Budget Planning
Infrastructure
Cloud Migration Load Balancing Cloudflare Database Administration Disaster Recovery ProxMox Docker
Platforms & Systems
API & Systems Integration Aptify AMS Salesforce Microsoft / .NET SQL Server CraftCMS Higher Logic
Currently Exploring
Python SwiftUI Vue.js Eleventy SQLite CSS Deep Dive Salesforce Admin Cert

Education

M.S. Computer Education & Cognitive Systems
University of North Texas
Top 10% of Program
B.A. Psychology
Lyon College
Cum Laude

What People Say

"Jeff designed the architecture and I helped build it out - a REST API and a database abstraction layer using views. The whole point was that if a vendor changed underneath, our websites didn't care. We swapped out systems more than once and nothing broke."
- Keith M., Senior Developer
"As VP of Membership, I partnered closely with Jeff to configure and implement Zendesk, aligning technology with our customer support goals. Together we translated membership needs into streamlined workflows, customized the Help Center for end users, and built out reporting tools for staff..." Read more
- Liz M., VP of Membership
"I joined Jeff's team as one of the newer members when a large-scale data cleanup initiative came up. I proposed using Python to standardize and classify the dataset, and he immediately supported the approach and trusted me to take ownership..." Read more
- McKenna S., Data Analyst
"Jeff brings a rare blend of deep technical expertise, sound judgment, and genuine empathy - making people feel both challenged and truly valued. He created a culture where people could thrive, collaborate, and do meaningful work..." Read more
- Matt M.
"Jeff went from being my colleague to my supervisor overnight. Transitions like that can be challenging, but he handled it with remarkable professionalism and humility. Rather than coming in with an agenda, he took the time to listen..." Read more
- Erin K., Network, Systems and Security Manager