Phil Ballo is a library professional with significant involvement in maker technology. He holds master's degrees in history and in library and information sciences. Before his current career as an instructor, he worked as a freelancer using open-source software to do basic web development, graphic design, computer tech, video editing, development (Python scripts) and whatever else ended up on his plate. In addition to his freelance work, Phil has presented at the American Library Association conference multiple times. He has written several articles and book chapters on technology. Phil resides in San Diego and is working on a game using the Godot game engine.