Hello, I’m Stefanni Brasil. Brasil is my real name, how cool is that?! :)

I am the co-creator of hexdevs, where I share what I learn. I work as a Senior Software Developer, and was a previous core maintainer of faker-ruby.

I am a self-taught developer, avid reader, and cats lover. I write here on my blog, and at the hexdevs blog. I have also written at thoughtbot’s blog.

I enjoy working with existing codebases, and improving the code and team processes.

Currently, my life interests are directed towards my local community. I’ve been volunteering and participating in local communities, and investing in being more connected with my neighbours and like-minded people where I live. I am really interested in building stronger communities through active transportation, sustainable living, and healthier neighborhoods.

I am a huge believer that everyone is capable of achieving whatever they want for their lives. I’m driven by curiosity, compassion and kindness.

Speaking

My work has been featured on a couple podcasts, conferences, meetups, blogs and scientific papers:

Talks

Podcasts

Other media

Fun facts about me

I am from Brazil and I live Canada ⛰️🌧️

I’ve worked with lots of things in the past: as academic researcher, writer and translator; English and French teacher. In 2015, I decided to change my career and work as a Software Developer. Since then, I’ve worked at startups, consulting agencies, and contributed to open source projects.

I love learning, including how to learn more effectively. I like to see how much I can change, and how much I can become a better version of myself. And help others avoid the mistakes I made (and continue making).

Once I get interested in something, I’m pretty good at extracting what’s useful for me and changing my habits until I get a positive feedback loop. A few things I’m proud to have learned by myself:

  • I ride my bike everywhere, even during winter, since my bike is my main mode of transportation. I chose to live a car-free city, despite living in North America. Slowly, I gained confidence riding in the snow and it’s actually quite calming. My coldest so far has been -15°C at night.
  • To be kind to myself, and take care of my mental health.
  • I learned English when I was a teenager by listening to songs and watching movies. My family didn’t have lots of money to invest in my education. Also, I lived in such a tiny city that school languages didn’t even exist.
  • I adopted a whole foods plant-based diet at the end of 2019. I’m super healthy effortlessly and respect animals as they deserve.
  • I rewired my brain to have a growth mindset and be more positive. I even read self-help books now. All thanks to CBT - Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness Meditation (and lots of books and coaching). Update in 2023: I’ve started taking anti-depressants, and that has also made a huge positive difference in my wellbeing. I’ve since stopped but it helped me a lot.
  • I read a lot about anything. I basically eat books for breakfast. I also apply what I learn from them, and share my lessons throughout my writing.
  • I have a degree in Portuguese & French Literature. I also won a scholarship to study at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, for 2 years. I loved spending my time researching Science Fiction and Media Culture.
  • I learned how to code when I was finishing my Literature degree. I enrolled in a Computer Science degree later but dropped it after 1 year to achieve my dream of moving abroad.
  • I’m on my path to being the first millionaire in my family. I believe that gaining economic power is key to do the changes I want to see in the world.
  • I love exercising! I hike, I practice pilates, climbing, skiing, I do lots of bodyweight exercises. I’m always pushing myself to try new things to challenge my body and mind.

I am @stefannibrasil.me on BlueSky. Say hi :)

Want to get in touch? Send me an email at stefanni at hexdevs dot com.