About Me

that's me!

Creative explorer on a mission to make the most with whatever we have.

see my stuff!

who is she? ...do i wanna know?

My name is Penélope, and I am genuinely curious about what makes communities tick.

By day, I lead a development team at Centric Software, building PIM software that actually brings something new to the field. By night (and weekends), I'm building local.foundation, a platform to map and develop communities and regional ecosystems from the ground up.

You'll find me jumping around the Algarve tech scene, mostly through Geek Sessions Faro, where we bring together people who love tech as much as they love good conversation (beer optional). After studying in different Portuguese cities and working with multicultural teams, I've learned that the magic happens when you throw different perspectives into a room and let them solve problems together.

I've got the brain of a software engineer but the restless heart of an artist and I can't stick to just one thing. And why should anyone? So I'm constantly juggling between writing, drawing, organizing events, and somehow accumulating an absolutely unreasonable number of music playlists (90+ and counting... it's a problem).

When I'm not accidentally starting new projects, you'll catch me organizing hackathons like Techstars Startup Weekend and Impact Hackers. I'm still working on that whole "sleep is important" concept, but hey: life's too interesting to waste time being tired!

some core principles

Always moving and connecting

The world is a good place. Create spaces where different kinds of people can solve problems together and find their humanity in each other

Chaos Theory

Proving that you can be organized in the chaos of a multi-passion life. Planning is an essential, but magic happens in the spontaneous moments

this one!

The joy of trying

Life's not that serious. I'd rather be remembered as someone who enjoyed trying than someone who played it safe

Do it scared

Being fearless is misunderstood. You need fear in order to be brave. You just need to do it while scared

current focus

what I'm up to

Building a platform in local.foundation for community builders
Developing a mobile app to make networking meaningful
Leading my team to innovate in the PIM software space
Brainstorming an RPG framework for Impact Hackers
Creating a wheel app for neurodivergent folk
Prepping a new format for future-led people
Finishing my first draft for a space opera book