Portrait of Alyssa Hursh in a bike helmet on the St John's Bridge in Portland, Oregon

I'm Alyssa.

I’m a single woman, and I live in Portland, Oregon

I'm taken. Better luck next time!

I’m tired of swiping on dating apps. I don’t like how it reduces people to six pictures and three sentences, and I don’t like that it turns texting strangers into a full-time job.

I’m self-sufficient and pretty content being single, but I’m definitely open to dating. (My therapist even says I’m “ready.”)

Want to get to know me? Keep reading.

Alyssa Hursh backpacking in the rain Alyssa Hursh backpacking in the rain

If there’s an option to be outside, I’m probably outside

I’ve backpacked 40% of the Pacific Crest Trail, ridden the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Canada to Mexico, and summited a dozen of the Cascades volcanoes.

I tend to enjoy “type 2” fun while it’s happening, even if it’s hailing, even if my socks are soaking wet, even if I haven’t had a proper shower in over a week. I’m always scheming about the next big trip, and I’d leave to ride the Trans-America Trail tomorrow if I could.

Alyssa Hursh in the Great Basin with a large abrasion on her arm Alyssa Hursh on the summit of Middle Sister in Central Oregon
Alyssa Hursh lounging on a Thermarest z-lite sleeping pad in a hay barn Alyssa Hursh making a wild, disbelieving face about a large mud pddle

I’m a software engineer at Amazon

This gives some people feelings. It gives me some feelings, too, but on the balance I love my job.

In 2016, I went back to school through a tuition-free coding bootcamp for women and gender expansive adults. In my application to the school, I promised that if I was accepted into the program I would dedicate myself to helping other underrepresented people find success in tech.

Working at Amazon affords me the opportunity to do that work at scale. In the last three years, I’ve helped 100 women and gender-expansive adults from marginalized backgrounds succeed in their own internships and sign their first full-time offers as software engineers.

The work that I do is creating generational impact for the families of the interns I support. It gives me a strong sense of purpose that gets me out of bed in the morning.

Portrait of Alyssa Hursh listening to noise-canceling headphones, used as a stand-in image to represent her work as a software engineer, lol
Portrait of Blue, a Staffordshire Terrier, wrapped in a blanket on the couch

This is Blue

Blue is my pandemic foster fail.

He’s an 8-year old pittie mix, and he’s my perfect sweet baby angel. Blue’s daily ambition is to sit directly on the lap of a stranger. He’s a little anxious in public and doesn’t like other dogs, so he has to stay home most of the time.

I’m definitely not an introvert

The right word is probably “ambivert.”

My bikepacking crew jokes that I’m the one you want around when it’s dusk and the campground is full — I will start a conversation with anyone, and I’m not afraid to ask a stranger for help when I need it. I’ve lost count of the times strangers have offered me a hot meal and a cold drink out of the back of their camper van.

I’m equally at home on stage in front of 3,000 people, hosting dinner parties and board game nights, chatting up the next person in line at the grocery story, working on a personal project by myself, or watching Netflix on the couch with the dog.

Alyssa Hursh telling a on the Moth Mainstage in Anchorage, Alaska
Landscape image of a gravel road with a cyclist descending Landscape image of a gravel road with a cyclist descending

My friendships run deep

My youngest friend is four, my oldest friend is seventy-six.

I lived with the same Craigslist roommates for eleven years, through the birth of their child up until he started kindergarten. I’ve had a weekly standing date with my cycling partner for five years, and my board game club (which started as a one-off game with strangers at a bar) has been meeting monthly since 2016. I’ve spent nine weeks in the backcountry with my bikepacking crew. I watched my best friend give birth. I’ve made life-long friends in line for drinks at an event, at a restaurant in a national park, and out on the trail. I really believe that most strangers are friends I haven’t met yet. I treasure my friends.

Alyssa Hursh eaching an ice cream popsicle with her friend Stephanie Alyssa Hursh and friends at Kendall Catwalk, Washington
Alyssa Hursh and friends on Boreas Pass, Colorado Alyssa Hursh climbing a tree with her friends Gillian and Adrian
Julie Luce in a tent in a thunderstorm in Washington Alyssa Hursh and friends jumping in front of an old building in Idaho
Alyssa Hursh climbing a tree

I'm looking for partnership

I've wasted enough time dating people who weren't ready for something serious.

I live a full, rich life on my own; I'm only looking for a partner who makes my life sweeter. I'm interested in dating someone who's genuinely interested in and excited about dating me, and who is capable of clear, honest, open communication. I have no reason to settle for less.

Historically, I've dated cis-gender men. Many of my closest friends identify as gender queer or gender expansive. The gender binary is a construct. People of all genders encouraged to inquire.