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A Year of Change and Persistence

Jess Lee on March 31, 2026

This marks the ninth year of our WeCoded celebration. While each year has had its highs and lows, this one feels especially noteworthy. We are witn...
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FrancisTRᴅᴇᴠ (っ◔◡◔)っ

Hey @jess! Hope you are well. Thanks for sharing your experience so far!

The way I see it, I see that you and your team made many great milestones that I never seen! Being able to create Dev and still continuing on for more than a decade is very impressive. Not a lot of people have that consistency to keep building on the project that they loved and being able to bring communities together on this platform. That should be an inspiration for others who are thinking of creating their own platform and building their own communities. I am proud to be part of this community you have built!

I never really thought about more of why the pronouns are important. For me, it's just being respectful to others. I remember someone calling me a "she" back then even though I was not remotely close in looking like a girl! Although it didn't really offended me, I can see how it can be offended by others if I were in their shoes.

Great work and congrats on the Dev + MLH! I wish to see what is in store in the future. I hope you will still connect with us and engage with the community with us like always as time progress. It's always good to hear you and @ben leaving comments throughout the whole Dev.to space! Keep at it no matter how big you get. That's how community survives!

Thanks for sharing Jess! Great work :D

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Jess Lee

Thank you @francistrdev! Also know that I have your email bookmarked in my inbox and plan to reply soon! Been a bit swamped today 😅

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FrancisTRᴅᴇᴠ (っ◔◡◔)っ

Sounds good! No rush. I am here all day today if you need anything!!

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Jem

Love this.

I've been an avid reader of @blackgirlbytes, @dynamicwebpaige, and @maame-codes for a while now. Glad to see them mentioned here 🙂

Def going to follow @codebunny20, @katcosgrove, and @railsstudent now too!

Since we're at it, I want to shout out @bekahhw and @adiatiayu as two others who've authored some great posts that have made my learning journey much easier!

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Giorgi Kobaidze

What the BPJ team has done is nothing short of legendary and I'm confident there's even more great things ahead for you!

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Paulo Henrique

As developers, we are the architects of the interfaces the world lives in. We have the power to push back by building systems that refuse to force people into categories that don't fit.

A lot clicked inside my head when I noticed that basically all clothing stores tried to be inclusive by excluding. I saw an e-commerce with the categories "Men" (and tons of subcategories), "Women" (and tons of subcategories), and "Plus Size". So I couldn't simply choose "Men's clothing."

Designing systems and features that go beyond the basics and let people feel truly included, embraced, and respected is a challenge and denotes a real concern with how we want to be seen and see others. Loved your quote.

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Ava Barron

The reframe on leading through influence instead of direct authority that the part that hit. That kind of leadership can be very invisible 🫠 You can become the force multiplier for everyone around you, but on paper it might look like you're not doing anything.

All your work is hidden in DMs and 3hr Zoom calls that don't neatly tie back to you or a Jira ticket. It's the hardest kind of impact to really prove and the easiest to overlook, and the fact that you named it so clearly... relatable.

Thanks for sharing @jess

btw PBJ is such a dope nickname

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Jess Lee

Thanks @abarron!

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Johnu Marattil

Really thoughtful piece, Jess - the “leading through influence” framing and the reminder that interfaces can quietly enforce or remove barriers both landed strongly.

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Swift

Really proud to have you on the MLH team @jess . You are truly an inspiring leader, thank you for setting a powerful example for our community!

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leob

Good read - yes I believe things will turn around and change for the better, there's always hope ...