Background
I grew up in Ballwin, MO of St Louis county and I graduated from Parkway West High School.
College
I attended the University of Missouri in Columbia. Here I pursued a degree in computer science due to my growing interest in technology and programming. I received a Bachelor of Computer Science and a Minor in Mathematics in 2004.
I was employed by the University of Missouri to assist as a Teaching Assistant for an Object Oriented Design course using Java while I continued to complete my degree. I was responsible for independently creating required lab exercises to addressed the current topics of the course. I hosted weekly labs to both teach the subject matter and assist with lab programming assignments.
Professional Career
I am currently a Senior Developer with management responsibilities including several junior and senior developer direct reports at W Energy Software. I previously held a position as Technical Consultant at MasterCard. I was part of the Mobile and Emerging Solutions team. I held a position as Senior Software Specialist at Brown Shoe. I provided software solutions for many different corporate departments with a primary focus on the retail division. I was previously a Senior IT Analyst employed at AT&T for 4 years. I developed Java EE web based solutions providing applications and services to AT&T Network Engineers.
Goals and Aspirations
I actively seek opportunities that challenge me to utilize new technologies. I have expertise in both evaluation and utilization of software products and libraries to determine the best solution for given requirements. I pursue opportunities that allows learning a new methodology, technology, or architecture paradigm.
Vision and Ideology
I am a strong proponent of the utilizing open source technology for achieving professional grade products. I have knowledge in both commercial software solutions and open source technology and I have concluded that in most cases it is beneficial to use an open source counterpart when available. I feel that companies which choose to embrace open source solutions support innovation at a level beyond the boundaries of their own company goals by strengthening and building communities for open frameworks and libraries. The evolving requirements of communities along with the openness of the development process allows for great flexibility and gives direction towards a common goal in shaping the project to suit the changing needs of its users. Support for such open source solutions is acquired through a community user base, commercial support, or a range of independent contractors for hire. Open source utilization allows specific application customization while avoiding commercial vendor lock in and diminishes and future expenses for support or licensing fees.