Team Q&A: Sarah Betterton – Quality Assurance Engineer

Whether through travel or education, Sarah Betterton is invested in exploring ways to improve the world around her and fight the climate crisis. As a Quality Assurance Engineer, Sarah is committed to ensuring that our utility partners receive only the best. Join me in formally welcoming Sarah to the Virtual Peaker team!

How did your previous life prepare you for Virtual Peaker?

I’ve always been passionate about problem-solving and sought out jobs where I could make a positive impact. I taught high school math for several years, and, in the process, I met several students who I felt could benefit from learning life skills with the help of horses. I started and ran an equestrian program for the students at my school. I saw such wonderful results that I, along with my co-founder, decided to start a 501(c)3, Windborne Equine Education, aimed at teaching at-risk youth and adults life skills through horsemanship. While the nonprofit isn’t my full-time gig, we continue to welcome students on weekends and some evenings.

I come from a family of engineers and found a passion and interest in learning about software development. After I decided to move away from a career in teaching, a local software developer friend of mine suggested I apply for Code Louisville. I’ve participated in 3 sessions from Code Louisville and have found a love for learning all things software and creating my projects!

When I began studying with Code Louisville, I knew I wanted a job working with a company that is making a positive impact. I am so grateful to have landed at Virtual Peaker with a team who is working to do our part to solve the climate crisis.

Tell us about your role at Virtual Peaker.

I work as a Quality Assurance Engineer at Virtual Peaker. My team’s job is to assure that our products and web applications are functioning as they should. We do some coding for automated and manual tests, and we communicate with the client success team, developers, and, on occasion, our clients directly. If we find a bug, and we try to find most bugs before the software is in production, we alert the developers so that they can deploy fixes. That way our clients have the best experience possible with our products.

How do you personally engage in sustainability efforts?

My husband, Joey, and I own a sustainable sawmill in Crestwood, KY: C&W Sawmill and Woodworking. Joey coordinates with tree service companies to rescue logs that would otherwise be taken to a landfill. He then mills the logs into live edge slabs or dimensional lumber.  We either sell the lumber or use it to build custom orders such as dining tables, coffee tables, shelves, countertops, etc., which curbs the deforestation that has so dramatically heightened the climate crisis. I purchase the majority of my clothing second-hand, along with quality furniture.

What can you tell us about yourself?

I’ve traveled to 14 different countries: Ireland, England, Wales, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Dominican Republic, Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia, and my family spent time living in Limerick, Ireland when I was a teen. I enjoy learning about different cultures and exploring new places. I love spending time outdoors with my family and our excessive number of pets. I have two children, 3 horses, a pony, a mini donkey, 3 dogs, and a cat. I also enjoy making quilts, crafting, and basic woodworking.

About The Author

Bill is a serial entrepreneur with a PhD from UC Berkeley in Controls and Artificial Intelligence and 10 years of experience with high performance residential energy management and connected appliances. He was previously at GE as an Advanced Systems Engineer in the Connected Home Software Group, but left that role in May 2014 to pursue entrepreneurship full time.

Bill grew up in Louisville and returned with his family in 2010 after a long stint in the San Francisco Bay Area. He loves Louisville and is working to make it a better and more attractive city for high tech startups.

More About Bill