Apple's iPad app for learning to code in Swift through interactive puzzles.
Soft enough to listen.
Iron enough to build.
Helping early-stage female founders build strong technology from the ground up.
Helping early-stage female founders build strong technology from the ground up.
I've spent my 15+ year engineering career building, growing, and teaching others, and I would love to bring that experience to your project. Here's what working together can look like.
Over the past decade I've shipped apps across a wide range — small solo projects, healthcare apps serving hundreds of thousands of patients, classroom tools for Montessori teachers, and Swift Playgrounds, an Apple educational tool used by over a million learners worldwide. I've shipped iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Capacitor, and Unity apps, and I know the App Store and Play Store extremely well and can guide you through the submission+review process and beyond.
My top Clifton Strength is Activator: I turn thoughts into action, and help you get things done NOW rather than simply talk about them. I've taken products from hackathon idea to production in six weeks, and launched apps in the middle of company restructures with no designs or external support. I want to get products out the door, into the hands of real users to start solving their problems, and that bias shows up in how I work.
A lot of the founders I work with are incredibly smart, capable women who've picked up the message that technology isn't their domain to understand. Some of what I do is help undo that through empathetic listening, clear explanations of technical concepts, and never making you feel foolish for asking a question. I can help you set up AI tools, teach you about your existing apps and platforms, and help you skill-up so you feel confident speaking with and hiring engineers, and perhaps even feel ready to start adding features yourself!
I've spent my career working to improve — mentoring under some of the most senior mobile engineers on the planet at Apple; constantly learning new mobile technologies and frameworks; putting in the long hours when I didn't understand something. And all against the backdrop of having to do it 3 or 4 times better than "the guys" just to prove I was worthy. My bar for excellence is high, and when you ask me a question or trust me with your fledgling product, you can feel confident I will nurture it and give it the dedication and time it deserves.
Making complex tech simple while building trust and genuine camaraderie.
Honest, energetic, and unafraid to fight for quality in every project.
Guiding founders with empathy so ideas take root and grow.
Proven experience delivering strong technical foundations.
A selection of apps and websites I've shipped — from solo-built projects launched in weeks to flagship products that scaled to millions.
Apple's iPad app for learning to code in Swift through interactive puzzles.
Discreet online care for reproductive and sexual health, delivered to your door.
Live, gesture-driven tarot readings with a custom interactive board.
Marketing site and a custom searchable directory for clinicians supporting women in sport.
Personalized nutrition coaching designed for active women.
A community platform for women to share and learn from real health stories.
A wellness companion for parents navigating the early years.
A few of the people who've trusted me with their projects.
Elizabeth is a rare combination of elite iOS engineer, strategic thought partner, and true startup operator. What began as a quick second opinion on subpar work from another development firm quickly turned into her stepping in as our core engineer and acting CTO—and frankly, saving us from what could have been a catastrophic situation. She not only helped us recover from a near-complete loss of resources with a bad vendor, but single-handedly rebuilt and brought our product to life. The Cadence app—and our ability to reach and serve active women—would not exist without her leadership, technical excellence, and relentless follow-through.
Beyond execution, Elizabeth is a true thought partner. Consistently pushing for sustainable, thoughtful decisions, clearly articulating tradeoffs and guiding us toward the right long-term strategy—even when it's not the easiest path. She meets ambiguity head-on and turns loosely defined ideas into real, high-quality product.
What sets her apart even more is her commitment to empowering women founders. She doesn't just build for you—she brings you along, helping you become more technically confident and informed in the process. That combination of technical depth, mentorship, and mission alignment is incredibly rare.
If you're a founder—especially a female founder—looking for someone who can both build and lead, Elizabeth is an absolute force.
I feel so lucky that we got to work with Elizabeth for the Lane 9 Project's website update and upgrade. She not only kept the existing design and seamlessly transferred it to our new server, but also built out a customized and unique searchable Directory for our clinical membership—a first of its kind hub for women's sport and health clinicians. Elizabeth was communicative throughout, quick with task turnaround, and asked thorough questions to make sure we were getting exactly what we needed. We're excited to have her expertise, thoroughness, and skills on our team!
Over six years and multiple roles, Elizabeth has been both a trusted friend and a formal mentor who has shaped my growth as a software engineer more than any other single influence in my career.
What sets Elizabeth apart is her combination of honesty, encouragement, and genuine investment in my success. She is honest with me even when it's hard to hear, she consistently shares resources and ideas that move my career forward, and — crucially — she shows up. When I was offered my first consulting engagement as a software engineer, I was thrilled by the opportunity but genuinely unsure whether I was ready for it. Elizabeth didn't just encourage me to take the leap; she committed to sticking with me through the project. Her belief in my abilities gave me the confidence to say yes, and her support throughout the project helped me reach success on that project.
That experience is one of many moments where Elizabeth has been the common thread — talking through options, offering grounded advice, and making tough career decisions feel a little less isolating. She has helped me work through imposter syndrome by helping me keep realistic expectations for myself and understanding how the industry works. When I trace back the decisions that have brought me closest to my goals, she has been there at nearly every one of them.
Outside of my own efforts and growth, Elizabeth's mentorship has been the most valuable and impactful part of my success in this field — and I am a better engineer and a more confident professional because of her.
I hired Elizabeth to build the native iOS version of our digital tarot app Moonlight, and it launched beautifully! In addition to her technical depth, scoping, and thinking about smart tradeoffs, I love how she genuinely thought about the experience and well-being of our users. She also took time to teach me along the way. On top of her skills, she's a wonderful person to collaborate with — our conversations were one of my favorite parts of the process.
Elizabeth is an incredibly helpful mentor, particularly for me as a woman starting her own business in STEM. She provided practical advice on setting up an LLC as well as technical advice on which skills I should master on my own vs. which skills would be better developed via collaboration with AI tools. Less than a year after meeting Elizabeth, I am now confidently launching my own business! I couldn't have done it without her.
Elizabeth helped our project get off to a great start. She fully understood the challenges of the project, worked with us to figure out the best engagement for our budget, and delivered everything on time. She is collaborative and friendly, great in meetings with our clients, and effective both in big picture and detailed planning. The technical plan she delivered was optimized for affordable deployment and maintenance costs, which has been invaluable.
Thank you so much for an amazing first session today! It was so helpful and easy to follow along. I've supported a few different eng and product orgs as an EA and always felt far too intimidated by all the technical lingo — but you have made it incredibly approachable!
I'm a software engineer who's spent over a decade shipping iOS and Android apps. Before starting Iron Seed Labs, I was at Apple working on Swift Playgrounds and gave a talk at WWDC, then spent several years at Nurx, a healthcare startup, where I built their iOS app from scratch. It eventually reached 500,000+ users and was selected as Apple's App of the Day. Most recently I was a senior mobile engineer at Bezos Academy, where I got to build tools for Montessori classrooms and, at one point, take a brand-new app from hackathon idea to production in six weeks.
I started Iron Seed Labs because I've always done my best work when I care about the mission, and I can't imagine a mission I'd find more worthwhile than helping other women grow. There's a massive shortage of technical partners who will build things alongside you, who understand your users and your product, and who advise you with empathy and strength, rather than condescension.
Besides Engineering Leader, Fierce Advocate for Women, and Company Founder, other identities I proudly wear include: Mom, Southern Californian, Yogi, Gardener, Equestrienne, Gamer, and World Traveler. I would truly love to hear from you about your project and goals, big or small, and I look forward to working together to grow something incredible!
Based in Ann Arbor, MI · Working with founders everywhere
Whether you have a clear vision or just the seed of an idea, I'd love to hear about it.
