About Derek Houck

Hi, I’m Derek Houck. I was raised in Kansas City, Missouri on chocolate, video games, and Kevin Costner films. I remember rooting in vain for the Royals in the awful years before they rebuilt and won the World Series.

Derek deep in thought with his head resting on his fist.

Derek the Developer

I was there for GeoCities, table-based layout, XHTML, and CSS floats. Nowadays, I specialize in test-driven development using Ruby on Rails and React. I’ve also built sites and apps running Node.js, WordPress, static site generators, and React Native. I have experience with SQL and NoSQL. I create reliable, well-tested web applications.

I reinvented my career thanks to a coding bootcamp, and I try my best these days to support and mentor those now starting their web dev journeys.

As Napoleon in Napoleon Bon Appetit

Derek the Actor

I arrived in Los Angeles in 2003 to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood and pursue a career as an actor. I had some minor success, appearing in Community, United States of Tara, and creating my own web series, Napoleon Bon Appétit. If you want, you can revisit my journey as an actor through this archive of announcements from the previous iteration of derekhouck.com.

In 2018, I stopped submitting myself for auditions and devoted myself full-time towards web development. I think my history in the entertainment industry has given me a unique ability to communicate clearly with my co-workers, understand the needs of my users, and search for creative solutions to the problems I face in my work. It’s also answered the question, “What would Derek look like with antennae glued to his forehead?” You’re welcome, America.