Back when I moved to Austin in 2010, I was thrilled to be leaving the rat race that was DC. I was looking forward to a place when people did not watch presidential speeches to joint sessions of Congress in bars as if they were the Super Bowl and instead sat on patios with their friends eating chips and queso and drinking local craft beers while listening to live music.

I looked forward to a cheaper and easier way of living where summers were hot but not nearly as unpleasant and winters did not bring 50″ of snow in just a few days. It was a new life with new opportunities and new experiences far away from the northeast where I had lived almost all of my life.

I did not expect it would come to an end short of 2 years after I made that bold move. But it’s coming to an end, barring some unforeseen hitch.

I’m moving back to DC in the middle of July. Beginning mid-may, I will become a Fed. You heard that right… a Fed. I’m pleased to have accepted a position within Department of Agriculture to become Deputy Director of Online Operations – a far more senior position than I could have imagined since my only Federal job experience was on the corporate contracting side with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and CSC. However, I am uniquely qualified for this role.

The role is a new one that lies somewhere between an operations style role surrounding technical execution and communications where I’ll have my hand in some of the online community aspect. Mostly, it’s a technical role though. And WordPress is heavily at play here.

In a way, this is a dream job. To be able to use my WordPress experience to help direct a portion of public policy related to critical infrastructure around some of America’s greatest domestic assets, enabling analysts to develop partnerships with state and local school food programs, among other things… it’s incredibly sobering.

So while I don’t start in DC until July 16, I’ll be beginning my role on May 14 at the USDA office here in Austin.

Regrettably, I have to move, but I do so with a tremendous amount of perspective and new experiences from Austin to live with. One thing I take away from Austin is the importance of locally grown vegetables and grass-fed beef… this perspective will help make this role even more effective.

Thank you to all my friends here in Austin. I’ll be back. I love this place too much not to come back.