As a Temple University student majoring in public health, Lillian Klasen wasn’t quite sure what her career would be, but knew that she wanted to help people live healthier lives. In her current role as a software engineer at nonprofit Benefits Data Trust (BDT), she is still working with the public good in mind — just from a different vantage point.

Klasen’s career in tech began in BDT’s call center six years ago as a benefits outreach specialist. She helped potential benefits recipients across six states apply for programs such as SNAP and LIHEAP using Benefits Launch, an in-house Ruby on Rails application that consolidates each paper application into one screening. Benefits Launch assists older people or those in a rural area who may have trouble accessing applications.

“When I started in the call center six years ago I had no idea what a software engineer did,” she told Technical.ly. “BDT really believes in promoting people from within, so I had the opportunity to join the tech team about five years ago in a role as a project coordinator. That opened my eyes to what a software engineer was.”

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