A few weeks after we announced Resend to the world, Chris Pennington recorded a video called React Email First Look.

That video blew up, and the quality of his work immediately caught our attention. We kept following his work on the Coding in Public channel and he kept impressing us with videos like (FINALLY!) Email for Developers.

Today, we're excited to share that Chris is joining the team.

Chris has a passion for teaching and will help grow the Resend developer community.

More about Chris

How did you get into software?

While helping a non-profit, I was asked if I knew how to build a website. I had some extra time on my hands and said I would figure it out in my spare time. My brother is a skilled web developer, so I asked for his help and he directed me to learning the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. ”You’ll either be bit by the coding bug or you won’t. There’s not a lot of in between.” Needless to say, I was bit hard and haven't stopped enjoying software development.

Why are you at Resend?

I first heard about Resend through React Email. Like many devs, I have scars from trying to write my own HTML email templates. I was impressed by the clear attention to detail, ease of use, and developer-centric approach. When Resend was announced, I joined as an early beta user and immediately found the same qualities present. Resend so naturally fits with the things I love most. And above all, I'm excited about the people at Resend—their empathy, passion, and pursuit of quality.

Where do you find #inspiration?

I'm a naturally curious person, and those curiosities are inspired by the people around me. I've lost track of the amount of hobbies I've picked up because I saw the spark in someone as they explained "their thing" and I wanted to enjoy it, too! People and their passions inspire me to keep learning, keep exploring, and keep playing.

If you weren't programming, what would you be doing?

In all my hobbies, interests, and jobs over the years, there's been one through-line: I love to teach. Teaching connects concepts and activities to real people and touches all the things I love the most about the curious life. I serve in my church, coach soccer in my community, and pursue fun hobbies and projects. If I wasn’t programming, I'd lean more into those areas of life.

What does your desktop/home screen look like?

I usually hide my menubar and the dock, so it's just a blank desktop background (but since that's not very interesting, here's the desktop background with my dock showing).

Favorite tool?

Nothing beats Raycast. It's slowly replaced so many little utilities and I've written so many custom extensions, scripts, and menubar tools, I've lost count.

Favorite hotkey?

Can I cheat a little? I love the Caps Lock key combined with other keys. I've configured Caps Lock to Hyper key (ctrl+shift+cmd+opt) using Karabiner Elements, which opens up so many more hotkeys. And if I'm in Vim, Caps Lock acts as Escape for Vim keybindings.

Favorite place to visit?

I love the outdoors and love a good hike or an early morning trail run. Most of our vacation time is spent visiting family (since we don't live near family), but we've also come to love the SF area and I'll gladly visit the PNW anytime. It's the people that make the place, though, so take your best with you.

Advice for ambitious software engineers?

Learn the fundamentals. Be curious. Build real projects. Embrace failure as a learning tool. Ask questions. Be humble. Be teachable. Don't take criticism personally. Back yourself. Be thankful.