About Bryce

“I’ve always been fascinated by systems: how different people, personalities, and moving parts come together to create something bigger.

That curiosity eventually led me to systems engineering, where one of the earliest lessons I learned had almost nothing to do with engineering.

In class, we were asked how a hotel should solve complaints about slow elevators. Naturally, we came up with technical answers: install another elevator, make them faster, optimize the system.

The actual solution? Mirrors in the lobby.

People were less frustrated when they had something else to focus on.

That lesson stuck with me. The best solution is not always the most technical one.

After earning my degree, I worked for a defense contractor, helping influence design and risk mitigation. Later, when my career shifted into Environmental, Health, and Safety, I started spending more time with the people actually doing the work.

That was humbling.

On the shop floor, “engineer” was not always a compliment. I began to understand why. A perfectly clean design means very little if it does not reflect the reality of the people expected to use it.

That is where the ‘recovering’ part began.

I still value the rigor, structure, and problem-solving mindset engineering gave me. I use that lens every day. But I have also learned that people are not predictable systems. You cannot optimize someone into trust, collaboration, psychological safety, or belonging.

Today, I try to bring both perspectives together: the analytical mindset of an engineer and the empathy to recognize that the human side of work is often where the real solution lives.”