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 am 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 have changed and I decided to direct my online community work to 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:

  • 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. It’s also good to not contribute to animal cruelty.
  • 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 run, I ride my bike, I do yoga, I do lots of bodyweight exercises, hiking.

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

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