Introducing Developer Evangelist Michelle (AKA Mish) Duke

Introducing Developer Evangelist Michelle (AKA Mish) Duke

Ahoy everyone ⛵⚓! I’m Michelle (AKA Mish) Duke. Many of you might know me online as MishManners, and I’m thrilled to be embarking on a new voyage as a Developer Evangelist at Twilio. I reside in Melbourne, Australia, and will be working in the region.

Sailing from Hacker to Advocate

My journey through tech has been nothing short of an adventure. Over the past decade, I’ve navigated the world of developer communities, hackathons, open source, and innovation. I’ve charted courses through over 180 hackathons around the world; not just attending them, but organising, mentoring, judging, and even competing. I discovered that real magic happens when people come together to build, learn, and share. And I’ve been hooked on that energy ever since.

For me, hackathons are more than just a weekend sprint. They’re a launchpad for learning, collaboration, and creativity. I love watching people turn wild ideas into working prototypes, and often into real businesses. That passion for the developer community led me to my previous role as a Developer Advocate at GitHub, where I helped developers get the most out of tools like GitHub Copilot, GitHub CLI, Actions, and Projects. I spent time crafting content, running workshops, writing blog posts, giving talks across the globe, and advocating for open source, diversity, and the future of collaborative development.

And yes, I also bring some sparkle from the world of gaming and esports, where I’ve combined my love for storytelling and competition to build vibrant communities and livestreams that connect people across the globe; you might have even seen me live coding on Twitch!

Returning to familiar waters: My Twilio Journey

Twilio has been part of my developer story for years. Before I officially joined the crew, I was already sailing under the Twilio flag. I was a proud Twilio Champion, helping promote Twilio Quest, demoing Twilio at hackathons, and connecting with Twilions around the world.

There’s something really magical about the way Twilio empowers developers to build real-world communication tools with just a few lines of code. I’ve seen firsthand how adding a simple SMS feature or voice interaction can transform an app from "cool project" to "life-changing tool."

So, when I had the opportunity to officially come onboard Twilio, it truly felt like coming home, and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of the team.

What I’ll be doing

As a Developer Evangelist, I’ll be out on the open seas (both in person and online); speaking at conferences, running workshops, hosting livestreams, and helping developers build with Twilio’s tools. Essentially, I’ll be engaging with the developer community, particularly in the APJ (Asia, Pacific, Japan) region. Whether you’re hacking with Twilio Functions, building real-time communication experiences, or exploring the potential of AI + Twilio, I’ll be here to support you, cheer you on, and help you sail smoothly from idea to execution.

You’ll see me across many spaces: Instagram, YouTube, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Twitch, and probably at your next dev event. I’m always up for a chat about code, creativity, collaboration, and maybe a side quest into the world of nerdy culture, games, anime, hiking, or sci-fi.

Let’s set sail together

If you’re building something cool with Twilio, dreaming up a hackathon, have an event coming up, or just want to say hi, drop me a DM. You can find me as @MishManners pretty much everywhere ( GitHub, Twitch, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Discord, Instagram,etc).

Let’s hoist the sails, chart new courses, share, connect, and build something legendary together. ⚓ See you out there on the dev horizon.