Savas Expands Development Team: Meet Alex Manzo

I am beyond thrilled to join the Savas Labs team as a junior front-end developer. I came to Savas after a year working with NETE. Before that, I spent my days, nights, and weekends working in athletics video production. I’m probably the only member of the Savas team who could produce a live basketball broadcast without breaking a sweat.

I decided to pursue a career in web development because I love to constantly be learning, solving problems, and the general thrill of seeing a project come to life. I was drawn to Savas specifically because of our mission and core values. I was particularly drawn to the idea of a company focused on this idea of “creating positive change.”

This stood out to me in part because of a personal side project - an All-Gender Bathroom Finder. This project started out of a desire to continue to hone web development skills both on the front and back-end, but I knew it would make a big difference for me to work on something I was personally invested in.

Being a non-binary person, going to the bathroom is a needlessly stressful experience. Have you ever been racked with anxiety standing outside bathrooms deciding which one is safer for you to use that day? I have ?‍♂! I wanted to create a tool to help me keep track of spaces where I know it’s safe to use the bathroom. Eventually, I’d love to continue adding to and improving it so the entire trans and non-binary community can have a tool for this purpose.

Seeing the Savas mission around creating positive change and projects like the Durham Civil and Human Rights History Map showed me that this was a place I could come work on projects and with clients I know I’ll care about.

As far as other things you should know about me, consider this list a great primer:

• My personal favorite form of communication is in GIFs. Our fearless leader even said “For realz, Alex makes me hate GIFs a little less”. If that’s not a great compliment, I don’t know what is.

• On Sundays in the fall, you can probably find me watching the New York Giants. After my grandpa passed away when I was young, I promised my dad I would take up the mantle and root for the team with him. It was cute when I was 7, but my spouse has told me it’s less cute now. Something about yelling at the television.

• I’ve read Harry Potter so many times one of my books is literally broken in half. My spouse and I also make it a point to rack up first place finishes in Harry Potter trivia.

• Our household revolves around our two dogs, Jasper & Patch. The pair bring a delightful amount of dysfunction into day-to-day life. Jasper has already made a visit to Savas headquarters.

I’m excited to be part of the Savas Team and get to work!