J.D. Flynn
Senior Software Engineer, HeroDevs
Chicago, Illinois, United States
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JD Flynn has had mental illness most of his life, but didn't admit it until his early 30s when he decided it was time to do something about it. After a decade-long career in emergency services as a paramedic, JD made the jump from the ambulance to the text editor. Since then, JD has climbed to Principal Drupal Software Engineer in his current position.
His life was changed by OSMH (Open Sourcing Mental Health), a 501(c)(3) non-profit focused on opening the conversation on mental illness, which led him to telling his own story to as many people who would listen. As someone with mental illness who is not afraid to talk about it, JD has presented on the topic of Mental Illness in the Tech Community to local user groups, regional conferences, and national level events at locations such as MIT, UC Berkeley, Washington State Convention Center, Guaranteed Rate Field, and DePaul University.
More recently, JD has started streaming development on Twitch and has been learning new tools and languages on stream. He streams under the name JDDoesDev and is desperate for your approval and attention.
When not speaking or coding, JD plays baritone saxophone in Windiana, a professional level wind ensemble out of Valparaiso, IN, and Michigan City Municipal Band, the oldest municipal band in Indiana.
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How I Learned to Balance Contribution with My Own Well-being
Working with Drupal, and open source in general, has been an amazing journey, but it can also feel overwhelming at times. Between constant changes, unpaid contributions, and the pressure to stay involved outside of working hours, I’ve had my share of mental health struggles. In this session, I’ll walk you through my personal experience of finding balance in the fast-paced world of open source. I'll share the challenges I’ve faced, what’s worked for me, and practical strategies you can apply to maintain your own well-being. Whether you're feeling burnt out or just want to find a healthier way to contribute, this session will give you real tools to help you thrive.
Leveling Up Content: Integrating Drupal with Godot for Game Development
What happens when the flexibility of Drupal meets the interactivity of Godot? In this session, we’ll dive into how you can harness the power of these two platforms to create dynamic, content-driven games. Whether it's trivia games, virtual worlds, or gamified experiences, the combination of Godot and Drupal opens new doors for interactive storytelling and user engagement.
Together, we'll walk through practical ways to connect Drupal and Godot using various APIs and authentication, while showcasing how content managed in Drupal can power in-game features like levels, quests, leaderboards, or dynamic puzzles. If you’ve ever wondered how to expand your Drupal skills into game development or bring game-like features to a Drupal project, this session will offer you inspiration and practical advice.
J.D. Flynn
Senior Software Engineer, HeroDevs
Chicago, Illinois, United States
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