How I Read a React Component
A render-order rule, a Smart/Dumb split, and a filesystem habit. Three small commitments that make a React component readable in five seconds.
Software Engineer
Kelly Mears
15+ years building infrastructure for mission-driven organizations. Open source maintainer, nonprofit technologist, and full-stack engineer making the web work for people who are working to change it.
Prefer to learn about me in the terminal?
Selected Work
View all work experienceCarrot
2022–PresentSenior Engineer
SaaS platform serving real estate investors and agents with lead generation and marketing tools.
Roots
2018–2024Core Maintainer
Open source tooling for the WordPress ecosystem — build systems, starter themes, and developer infrastructure.
Tiny Pixel Collective
2017–2022Principal Engineer
Consulting studio for progressive nonprofits, tenant organizing, and advocacy organizations.
Other98
2014–2017Technology Director
Digital infrastructure for a national grassroots advocacy network.
Featured Projects
View all projectsRecent Writing
All writing blog postsWhy Anthropic's Treatment of Opus 3 Matters Whether or Not AI Can Suffer
We can't resolve whether AI models have experiences. The way we treat them matters anyway.
The Signal in a Reducer
The argument over reduce is about style. The signal is in the types.