Overview

Overview

I’m a technology leader with a focus on aligning the strategy of the business with the execution of technology. I lead teams and projects with that focus always on top of mind. My entire career has been spent collaborating with business owners to execute successful projects for our customers. Whether as a developer or a team leader, I have been directly responsible for the delivery and performance of the solution in the eyes of the customer. I’m unique in that while highly technical, I have been customer-facing my entire career and I have a polished and professional communication style.

I have over 15 years of experience delivering successful Web-Based Solutions using Service Oriented, Cloud-Based Platforms and Strategies. I understand the complex relationship of scale, cost, operational support for a solution and it is my job to right-size these solutions for the greater organization and our customers.

I always lead with a team mentality, we succeed and fail together. We support each other, we avoid silo’s, and encourage open honest communication… even then those discussions are difficult. I believe that anything worth doing is worth measuring, as such, I believe real-time publically available KPIs & prioritized backlogs are an important part of the relationship between IT and the greater organization. Technology is a costly and highly strategic part of any organization and with that comes a responsibility to show value and work transparently.

From a tactical and operations standpoint, I focus on repeatable consistent automated processes. I am keenly aware of technical debt, I advocate for best practices, and I’m always focused success for greater organization which always supersedes the priorities of a single business unit.

Work History

• 2015 – Senior Director of Strategic Information Technology for the NCTC
• 2011 – Senior Solutions Architect for the Blue Valley School District
• 2012 – Technical Editor for Packt Publishing
• 2006 – Lead Developer for Sure Merchant LLC
• 2005 – Web Developer for Sposto Interactive
• 2003 – Lead Web Developer for the CIS Deptartment at KSU
• 2002 – Web Developer for the SANTOS Research Lab

Education & Certifications

Skill Set

Experience Advising Executive Level Staff - 9 Years

Management over Creative Resources- 6 Years

Project Management - +4,600 Documented Hours

Management over Technical Resources - 9 Years

Senior Level Software Developer Responsibilities - 10 Years

Technologies

Project Management and Leadership Style

• Over 4,600+ hours of documented Project Management Experience.
• I have served in a management role with direct reports for over 8 years. Including interviews, performance reviews, and in rare cases termination of team members.
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has a great section on Management which I have modeled for years. It guides a manager to genuinely work to help improve your team members and understand their motivations.
• I focus on fostering a culture of open honest communications. My teams focus on the goal and succeed as a team, not as individuals.
• Experience in, Waterfall, Agile, Scrum Master certified

Creative Leadership and Management

• Aligned all aspects of large enterprise level projects with Corporate Brand
  Presented multiple creative defenses to executive level staff and large audiences
• Managed “Design by Committee” approval processes within projected timelines which included multiple executive level members
• 5+ Years of direct management over creative resources
• Experienced in all aspects of the creative process, specifically
  • Stake holder interviews
  • User profiles
  • Content audit and analysis
  • Information architecture
  • Wireframes
  • Usability testing
  • Creative concepting
  • Final client design acceptance

Communication Skills

• Lead all training for the VU-IT Platform, presentations for larges groups (50+ people). Recorded Presentation
• 9+ Years of presentation experience with executive staff and large audiences.
• I have written many SOW’s and managed many RFP’s from the whiteboard phase to awarding the bid.
• I lead multiple committees which consist of C-Level staff.
• 10+ years of experience as a customer facing senior developer.

Networking & Security

• Architected multiple applications which bridged both internal and DMZ”ed networks built with least privileges managed at the SQL Server security level.
• Architected solutions for scalability, cost effectiveness, performance, and hardware requirements (for example SSL off loading on load balancers opposed to IIS Servers). Managed external and internal DNS, aided in configuration of WAF (F5), and communicated application requirements to the networking staff.
• PCI-DSS authority for the Blue Valley School District
• Project Highlight – School Center Authentication Solution