Anne Barela
Consulting Engineer at BarelaTech LLC
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolAnne Barela is a consulting engineer and maker-educator with 13+ years of hands-on experience in electrical engineering, IoT, and embedded systems, and a decades-long background in global technical security and federal program leadership. She transitioned from a Senior Foreign Service career managing technical and physical security worldwide—leading a 500-person division and major multi-billion-dollar contracts—to authoring tutorials, two books, and hundreds of maker-focused guides that teach microcontroller-based electronics from fundamentals to creative projects. At Adafruit she edits the Python on Microcontrollers newsletter and contributes practical open-source IoT projects (sensors, e-ink displays, Bluetooth integrations) that bridge low-level hardware control and accessible user experiences. A former TS/SCI-cleared engineer and diplomat, she combines crisis- and interagency-management chops with deep technical writing and documentation expertise—evidenced by thousands of edits to Diplopedia and extensive Adafruit content. Based in Chicago, she runs BarelaTech consulting, advocating STEM education and enabling others to turn electronics ideas into working, well-documented systems.
13 years of coding experience
34 years of employment as a software developer
California Institute of TechnologyBachelor of Arts - BA, Mathematics/Physics Combined Major, Bachelor of Arts - BA, Mathematics/Physics Combined Major at Whitman CollegeNational Foreign Affairs Training Center, Arlington, VA, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Arlington, VA at US Foreign Service Institute
previous aptitude in german, finnish, and bulgarian
Github Skills (12)
adafruit-circuit-python10
bluetooth-le10
btle10
bluetooth-low-energy10
py10
integrations9
hardware-interface9
sensor9
sys9
system-integration9
embedded9
i2c7
Programming languages (13)
Github contributions (5)
adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides
Apr 2018 - Jan 2023
Programs and scripts to display "inline" in Adafruit Learning System guides
Role in this project:
Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT Developer
Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT DeveloperContributions:950 reviews, 1678 commits, 1249 PRs in 4 years 9 months
Contributions summary:Anne's commits focus on code for interacting with hardware sensors (accelerometer, camera, compass) and displays (e-ink) and using these in conjunction with Bluetooth connectivity to create projects, with specific examples including a weather station, an animated picture frame, a door unlock mechanism, a temperature monitor, and a wearable collar. The contributions focus on low-level hardware control, user interface, and software integrations, as well as using Bluetooth to connect devices. The user has demonstrated working knowledge and application of sensors, displays, and IoT devices.
adafruitarduino-library
adafruit/makecode-newsletter
Jun 2019 - Aug 2021
A newsletter devoted to Microsoft MakeCode. News, information, happenings, etc.
Contributions:1335 commits, 1 PR, 1264 pushes in 2 years 2 months
makecode
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