MICHELLE BAKELS

Michelle is a software developer, community builder, and conference organizer. She works at G2i as Program Director of Developer Health where she focuses on creating initiatives to support the mental and physical health of software developers. She is the co-organizer of React Miami, Chair of the South Florida Tech Hub Foundation, and Vice Chair of 1909.

Events

Upcoming: React Miami

Learn and connect with 500 React developers from around the world while soaking up the famous Miami sunshine! Discover the latest in our ecosystem and gain skills for building fully comprehensive React applications — from the frontend and beyond.

Date: April 17-18, 2025

Location: Miami, Fl

Past: Dev Writers Retreat & Unconference

​DEV | WRITERS | RETREAT is a first-of-its-kind experiment in pushing forward the state of coders-who-write and writers-who-code. ​Helping developers, and people in tech connect and share knowledge easily. Hassle-free blogging and community experience for the creators of tomorrow.

Date: November 7, 2022

Location: Miami, Fl

Community

1909 Board of Directors

1909 is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the holistic growth of entrepreneurs, small business owners, creative freelancers, and innovators.

Role: Vice Chair

Duration: 2022 - Present

Tech Hub Foundation Board of Directors

The Tech Hub Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization committed to nurturing our tech community and promoting STEM education throughout South Florida.

Role: Chair

Duration: 2018 - Present

Work

Developer Health OS

The Developer Health OS is a guide to supporting health in tech and finding restful work through burnout recovery, burnout prevention, and optimium performance.

Role: Co-Author, Developer

Tools: Astro, Vercel

Blog

A space to share long-form thoughts, ideas, experimentations, and explorations.

Topics: Community, Software Development, Public Speaking

GitHub

Check out the latest projects I've been working on.

Tools: React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Astro

Talks

Tech Broke My Heart

Drawing from my own experiences with stress and burnout in the tech industry, I emphasize the importance of addressing health issues among developers, advocating for rest, self-care, and effective time management, and introduced G2I's Developer Health Program to raise awareness and provide resources for preventing burnout.

Presented at: Epic Web Conf

Date: April 11, 2024

Executing on Inspiration with The Vercel Stack

Inspiration can strike at any moment and even surprise you with the direction it will take you. Seizing this opportunity requires the confidence, speed, and determination to execute and deliver on your vision. Learn how leveraging Next.js and Vercel turned the dream of hosting a global React developers conference in Miami into a reality by optimizing for the most important metric of all — AFK.

Presented at: Next.js Conf

Date: October 27, 2023

Contact

Get in Touch

If you'd like to discuss a project, collaboration, or speaking opportunity, feel free to reach out.

Email: michelle.bakels@gmail.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michelle-bakels-2052687a

Follow Me

Stay updated with my latest projects, thoughts, and insights.

Twitter: @michellebakels

GitHub: github.com/michellebakels