Please tell us about yourself, and where you are from.

I am Teresa Lopes, born in Lisbon, Portugal. While living in Portugal, I always divided my time between Lisbon (house/school/work) and Sertã, Castelo Branco (weekends/holidays). At the end of 2023, I decided to move to Berlin and more recently relocated to Amsterdam (got to love the EU 💙💛).

In 2014, I started working as a PL/SQL Developer but quickly (and quite incidentally) became an Oracle DBA.

Several years later (and after countless weekends and nights patching Oracle RACs), I moved into the PostgreSQL space and never looked back!

How do you spend your free time? What are your hobbies?

Although I have lived in cities my whole life, I am much more of a countryside person, so I love to go for walks or hiking. I also spend a significant part of my free time reading.

Any Social Media channels of yours we should be aware of?

Social media isn’t really my strong suit, but I am on LinkedIn.

Last book you read? Or a book you want to recommend to readers?

Just one? 😅

I’ll try to keep it short. Usually, I read more than one book at the same time - I also listen to audiobooks while going for walks or cooking.

One book I would definitely recommend is Die with Zero by Bill Perkins. It changed how I think about money by challenging the traditional retirement model and highlights the balance between financial independence and using your money for experiences at the right time — emphasizing that we should prioritize present joy rather than delaying happiness indefinitely.

Currently, I’m listening to Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning and just finished The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre, which I absolutely loved!

The next ones on my list are Vulture Capitalism by Grace Blakeley and Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday.

I read different genres of books and always have an endless “to-read” list. For technical topics, I follow several blogs and podcasts.

Best drink? Non-alcoholic or alcoholic?

Any red wine from the Dão region (Portugal) or Alvarinho wine (Portugal)! A couple of years ago I tried some German wines and became a huge fan of Riesling ones. And of course, I will never say no to a Weizenbier.

Best food?

I might be biased, but I would say Portuguese cuisine! From seafood and Porco Preto to a delicious Posta Mirandesa, the Doces Conventuais, and the countless recipes for Bacalhau (salted codfish)… Honestly, there is something for everyone.

What does your ideal weekend look like?

As you might have guessed by now, it includes good food and wine 😋. My childhood memories are filled with those long family weekend lunches (that often turned into dinners), especially during summertime. I have quite a large family, and one of the challenges of living abroad is missing these moments. So, everytime I visit Portugal, my ideal weekend is to drive up to the countryside for a family gathering.

Currently in the Netherlands, my weekends are often spent exploring nearby villages and learning about their history.

What’s still on your bucket list?

Oh so many things! So much still to learn! If I can enumerate some of them (no specific order) would be to improve my public speaking skills, spend a couple of months discovering New Zealand and Australia, continue to learn German, overcome my fear of diving, hike the GR 33 in Portugal, get a degree in European History…

On the top of the list is actually living one year in Prato, Italy 🇮🇹

What is the best advice you ever got?

I would say it was “You can always make more money, but never more time”. We all have finite time and sometimes mindlessly waste it.

When did you start using PostgreSQL, and why?

I started managing PostgreSQL databases around four years ago. Back then, the PostgreSQL workload within my team was quite high, and I volunteered to help out while also managing the Oracle DBs. Shortly after, my time became 90% PostgreSQL and 10% Oracle.

Do you remember which version of PostgreSQL you started with?

When I started working with PostgreSQL we had a fleet of servers to manage that ranged from version 9.6 to 12.

Have you studied at a university? If yes, was it related to computers? Did your study help you with your current job?

Yes, I got my masters in Civil Engineering - Geotechnical specialization - which means I learnt all about designing and building tunnels, bridges, dams and all types of foundations and retaining walls.

Although not directly related to computers, my studies really helped me shape my way of thinking and problem solving skills, which I still carry to this day.

Any contributions to PostgreSQL which do not involve writing code?

Absolutely! I am a member of the Organizing Committee for PGDay Lowlands - last year in Amsterdam and this year in Rotterdam - 12th September (save the date). Additionally, I have contributed by giving talks, sharing my knowledge and experiences with others.

What is your favorite PostgreSQL extension?

For sure it’s pg_stat_statements! Recently, I came across pg_profile, which I found amazing - coming from an Oracle background, one thing I still miss are AWR reports. Lastly, not really an extension, but it totally deserves to be mentioned - pgBadger.

What is the feature you like most in the latest PostgreSQL version?

For PostgreSQL17 I would definitely highlight the following:

• Improvements in VACUUM 💚
• Support for incremental backups
• Enhancements in logical replication, specially pg_createsubscriber

Which PostgreSQL conferences do you visit? Do you submit talks?

The 1st PostgreSQL conference I attended was PGConf.EU 2023. Before that, there were some great Meetups in Berlin.

After Prague, so much changed for me - I started to attend more conferences, gave a talk at PGConf.EU 2024 and took part in organizing the PGDay Lowlands.

For 2025, I will be giving talks at PGDay Chicago, pgconf.be and PGConf.DE and plan to attend PGConf.EU in Riga.

One conference that I never managed to attend (yet) is FOSDEM :( - but it is on my list for 2026!

Do you think PostgreSQL has a high entry barrier?

Not at all! It is super easy to get a PostgreSQL Database up and running. PostgreSQL documentation is great and the Community is even better. You do not need any expensive HW or licences to start using PostgreSQL.

Would you recommend PostgreSQL for business, or for side projects?

Yes, without any second thoughts! In my current role at Adyen I have witnessed firsthand what PostgreSQL can do!

Somehow, there is still a belief that open source Databases like PostgreSQL, are not suited for mission critical and huge systems, which I could not disagree more with.

Naturally, there are challenges, but nothing beats the freedom of choosing from where you get your software and support.

Anything else you like to add?

Thank you Andreas for this great interview!

Also, I am very grateful to my current team at Adyen, and a huge thank you to Derk van Veen and Boriss Mejías for their help preparing me for my first talk in Athens 2024.

And, you can not miss PGDay Lowlands in 🇳🇱Rotterdam - 12th September - it will be amazing!