ashe dryden

Starting today I am spending a good amount of time trying to re-center myself by limiting my obligations to other people and things. I've been rather overwhelmed trying to keep up with 700 people on twitter, a couple hundred emails a day, an ever-growing instapaper reading list, and new conferences/speaking gigs.

I am still travelling full time through mid-November for speaking to meet current obligations, but have decided not to accept any more speaking invitations until at least March. Even then, I won't be traveling to the extent I am now.

There are people in tech fighting every day for the right to have access to the tech industry. They mentor people who want to start speaking. They connect marginalized people with others in the industry who can help secure them jobs or other opportunities. They work to change policy to provide access for more people and to ensure stiffer penalties to those who remove opportunity for their own gain. They work with conferences to increase diversity on stage and in seats.

I was interviewed for a new project called Gets By, which focuses on the stories of people living with various types of mental illnesses. I talked about how living with anxiety and PTSD affects me on a daily basis.

Read the full interview on Gets By.