Meet Jo Jordan, A Backend Engineer at CitizenNet

Jo Jordan_Final ImageIn honor of International Women’s Day on March 8th, we wanted to create a profile on one of the amazing ladies who works for CitizenNet. Enjoy!

Name: Joanne “Jo” Jordan
Title: Backend Engineer
Time at CitizenNet: 4 months

What do you find most exciting/fulfilling in your job at CitizenNet?

I really enjoy learning new things, and my job at CitizenNet is full of that. Other team members say that they can try out something new, and make it part of our code base. I’m looking forward to doing that!

What does your day-to-day job look like?

I have a long commute to work through some of the Los Angeles freeways with the heaviest traffic, so I try to avoid traveling during rush hour. While I wait for the worst traffic to die down in the morning, I start working at home, programming to address a bug/new feature we’re working on, or reviewing code other engineers have written.

I get to the office before the Core Platform Team has our check-in meeting. Sometimes we grab lunch together afterwards. The afternoons are spent coding at my desk or pair programming with one of my teammates, as well as communicating with support and other developers/engineers.

Before working at CitizenNet, what was the most unusual or interesting job you've ever had?

I taught high school mathematics, science, and computer science at a public charter school in Brooklyn, NY as both a general and special education teacher. Our classrooms were inclusive, meaning all students attended the same classes.

The periods that included special education students were co-taught by a special education certified teacher and a content certified teacher to help meet the needs of students with a broad range of ability and learning styles.

What has been one of your proudest moments working at CitizenNet?

I’m still relatively new, so probably the first time I merged something substantial of my own programming into our code base.

What's something that most people don't know about you?

Some people around the office may be starting to notice, but I’m obsessed with elephants and have been ever since I was two-years-old. As I’ve gotten older I’m increasingly impressed with what good taste two-year-old me had!


I can often be found hanging out with my four cats (I guess my partner is usually there, too- they’re also her cats, or so she thinks).

Lately, I’ve been spending a good amount of time learning everything about Betta Fish and taking trips to the pet store to buy stuff for my recently acquired Bettas. I like to say “hi” to the employees (I’ve become a regular there), and see if two of their black kittens are still up for adoption.

I’m not allowed to adopt them (rule comes from my home, not the store); so it’ll be a bittersweet moment the day they disappear. Did you know black cats are less likely to be adopted?

What is the first concert you attended?

The first major concert I attended was the All American Rejects at the Gibson Amphitheater in December 2006. However, after getting my driver’s license in March of that year, I attended several smaller shows with standing room only.

Some of the shows I can remember were at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney that included artists such as The Format (starring the lead singer of fun. before the band existed) and Cobra City Starship (who quickly rose to fame during my college years, and then declined thereafter).

What is your favorite movie line?

This is an easy one; I literally have it tattooed on my body.

In The Breakfast Club, “bad boy” John Bender delivers the following line, straight-faced, to Principal Vernon as an explanation to why the library door was closed: “Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place.”

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

How (Not) to Be a Normal Person

Katie Kudra
By Katie Kudra
Product Marketing Manager at CitizenNet. Katie is responsible for the positioning, launch strategy and ongoing demand for products.