Jonathan "J." Tower

Jonathan, or J. as he's known to friends, is a husband, father, and founding partner of Trailhead Technology Partners, a custom software consulting company with employees across the U.S., Europe, and South America. He sits on the board of the .NET Foundation, is a 12-time recipient of the Microsoft MVP award for his work with .NET, as well as being a frequent speaker at software conferences around the world. He doesn’t mind the travel, though, as it allows him to share what he's been learning and also gives him the chance to visit beautiful places like national parks—one of his passions. So far, he's visited 58 of the 63 U.S. national parks.

J. is also passionate about building the software community. Over the years, he has served on several non-profit boards, including more than a decade as president of the board for Beer City Code, Western Michigan's largest professional software conference. Outside of work, J. enjoys hiking, reading, photography, and watching all the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars ceremony each year.