Supporting Open Source Software for Education
Kuali
At first glance they look like nice, normal people. Then you share a need or a problem you have and synapses fire, pulses quicken. How could we solve that problem? What pieces can we pull together? Who else across education has seen this problem or has this need? How could we connect with their efforts and their expertise?
Our zeal is not to convince you of a cause, but to support you in your own quest for better. And better is different.
CEO and President
What I do at rSmart:
As one of rSmart’s founders, over the years I’ve gotten to wear most of the company’s hats before passing them on to our incredibly capable staff. As CEO and president of rSmart, I now spend most of my time at the intersection of rSmart, the Sakai and Kuali communities, and our customers, where I focus on optimizing the role rSmart plays in the emerging open-education ecosystem. There are a lot of things I love about my job, but one of the most gratifying is facilitating the work of great people who are passionate about making open education happen.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Being a member of the Sakai and Kuali communities and participating in groundbreaking, socially important work with amazingly smart, talented people. Also, getting to effect meaningful changes in the way IT supports education.
Enjoying the outdoors in Arizona with my wife and two daughters; traveling; brewing; digital photography; and playing with the latest tech toys.
Learn more about me:
Chief Technology Officer, Founder
What I do at rSmart:
As one of rSmart’s founders, I take a leadership role in the company’s adoption and use of various technologies. I also work on the suite of Kuali applications and am engaged in hands-on development and the leading and mentoring of larger technical teams. What I like best about my job is my ability to have an impact on a project like Kuali and on all the schools who use it, whether it be through training, custom development, or just being a good community member.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Business Development
What I do at rSmart:
I have several roles within rSmart. As chief financial officer, I oversee the company’s day-to-day finances as well as its overall financial strategy. I’m also in charge of rSmart’s human resources, administrative, and legal operations. As vice president of business development, I lead rSmart’s efforts to share our open-source solutions with institutions around the world. These efforts proceed directly through the work of our Sakai and Kuali sales teams and indirectly through our work with strategic partners, like IBM, who integrate with rSmart solutions. I like being part of a company that is bringing something innovative and exciting to the education sector, especially when it means also providing great value. What I enjoy most about my job is building teams across our organization and implementing rSmart’s strategic plans.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
CIO
What I do at rSmart:
My role is to help define our strategy for our engineering, services, information technology and project management teams as well as manage the growth of our services and hosting businesses. I manage the technical vision for rSmart’s software and hardware architecture. My goal is to develop a service experience that creates outstanding customer satisfaction. The best thing about my job is working with and coaching such talented professionals.
In the community:
I have spent the past 15-years helping local Arizona Clients leverage technology and grow their business. I have previously served on the Arizona Network Technology Council. While I’m new to rSmart and the Sakai and Kuali community, I’m looking forward to the future collaboration.
Feathers in my cap:
I have several industry certifications (i.e. Microsoft MCSE, Avaya Sales Certification).
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Christopher J. Mackie, Ph.D. is a technology professional with more than 20 years of leadership, management, philanthropic, and consulting experience in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, including: education; healthcare; information technology; libraries; museums; the arts; and environmental protection.
Chris has been a technology change-agent throughout his career. After college, he participated in a series of startup ventures in healthcare and information technology. He then returned to graduate school in order to study policy making and leadership in higher education, as part of a successful transition to the nonprofit sector. While a graduate student, he also served as a consultant, researcher, and evaluator for state-level educational policy and regulatory agencies.
Most recently, Chris served as a program officer for the Program in Research in Information Technology (RIT) at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. RIT’s mission was to support the development of information technology infrastructure and applications aligned with the nonprofit missions of Mellon’s grantees in higher education, libraries, museums, arts organizations, and environmental conservation. At Mellon, Mackie helped to guide more than a dozen global-scale, collaborative, open-source software projects—including Sakai and Kuali—toward and into wholly self-sustaining status.
Chris has consulted with a wide range of domestic and international nonprofits and NGOs on strategic technology planning, organizational design, leadership development, and institutional advancement. He serves on the Boardor as technology adviser to several nonprofit and for-profit ventures. A published scholar on education, energy, healthcare, and information technology policy, and a sought-after speaker on topics such as cyberinfrastructure, technology policy, technology strategy, and technology funding, he holds an A.B in International Studies from the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, an M.Ed. in higher education policy from the University of Michigan, and an M.P.P. and Ph.D. in International and Public Affairs from Princeton University. He lives in Princeton, NJ and New York City.
Bob is the founder and chief executive officer of OnCorps. He is also the managing general partner of OnCorps Capital. He is the retired chief technology strategist for Accenture. In this role, he served as the chief strategist for the firm’s $11 billion global software, systems integration, and technology consulting business. At Accenture, Bob led the firm’s entry into software-as-a-service and open sourcing and helped cultivate the firm’s technology presence in China. Prior to Accenture, Bob was a division president at Perot Systems [now Dell Services], reporting to Ross Perot, and helped take the company public. Bob is a director of SkySQL AB and Open Logic. Bob is an Overseer at the Boston Museum of Science and a member of the Dean’s Alumni Council at The Harvard Kennedy School. Bob was named one of the Top 25 consultants in 2005 and holds a master in public administration degree, with a concentration in political economy, from Harvard University, where he studied under the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Tom Schelling. Bob also received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. Bob lives in Boston.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Chairman, Founder
What I do at rSmart:
As one of rSmart’s founders, I fill a leadership role within the company and evangelize for the advance of open-source technologies. For the past forty years, my professional life has centered on bringing innovative software to colleges and universities around the world. Through my work with rSmart and the open-source community, I have become increasingly convinced that the best, most innovative and sustainable software for these institutions is open. A large part of my job is spreading the word, helping open source become the business model for the development and distribution of software in the higher education marketplace. The most gratifying aspect of this work is seeing the open-source community grow in education and collaborating with so many exceptional people.
In the community:
Longtime, active member in the Sakai and Kuali communities
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
President/CEO, NetPro
A 26-year veteran of the technology industry, Kevin comes to NetPro with a strong history of sales and marketing leadership, as well as software operations, strategy, fundraising and mergers and acquisitions expertise. Prior to joining NetPro, Hickey served as the President & CEO of Apriva, Inc.and Homebid.com, leading both companies to acquisition by industry leaders. Kevin spent six years as President & COO at Viasoft, Inc., where he helped grow company revenues from $18 million to $83 million and assisted in a successful initial and subsequent public offering prior to its sale. Hickey started his high-tech career at IBM, serving for 12 years in several key marketing and executive business management roles. He currently serves on the board of directors/advisory council of Shea Commercial, the Fiesta Bowl, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Arizona, and NetPro. Kevin graduated from Niagara University with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Partner, Desert Capital Investments
Mr. Timothy “Tim” Curtis Louis is married to Amy Hagan Louis and has four children; Henrietta (13), Madeline (10), Curt (8) and Clark (3). Tim Louis has spent the last twelve years in venture capital as the principle of Desert Capital Investments, LLC. Mr. Louis has financed several successful ventures including Frye-Louis Capital Management, Mobility Electronics, The Schirf Brewing Company, True Gravity Enterprises, Integration Consulting Group (ICG), rSmart, Titus Cycles, Inc and CLV, Inc. Tim has served as a board member of companies such as Johnson Polymer, Inc (an affiliate company of S.C. Johnson Wax) and non-profits such as A.T. Still University, Desert Voices Oral Learning Center, and The Phoenix Art Museum. He has been an owner/director of Frye-Louis Capital Management, Inc., a high net worth family asset management firm based in Chicago. The firm was sold to Credit Suisse Private Bank in 2002. Mr. Louis is an active member of The Phoenix Thunderbirds. He has served as their Little Chief (Vice President) and is currently Tournament Chairman of the 2008 FBR Open. Tim is the Maitre (President) of the Phoenix Chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux. He has enjoyed collecting modern art since 1985 and is an avid collector/drinker of Bordeaux wines. He is a golf enthusiast and is also passionate about mountain biking and road biking. Tim has run two marathons (3:52 best time) and competed in several duathlons, triathlons, x-terra triathlons and road and mountain bike races. Tim also likes fly fishing, hiking, water skiing and snow skiing. Mr. Louis has a BS in Communication Disorders and an MA in Audiology and Hearing Impairment from Northwestern University, and an MBA in Financial Management and Markets from ASU.
Chairman, Borland Software
Mr. Olsen has served as Chairman of the Board of Borland Software since August 2006 and as a director since February 2005. Since 2004, Mr. Olsen has been a private investor. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Olsen served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Business Objects, a provider of business intelligence solutions. Before joining Business Objects, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Marimba, Inc., a provider of Internet infrastructure management solutions, from July 2000 to October 2000. From 1993 to 2000, Mr. Olsen served as president of the Design Realization Group of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Before joining Cadence in 1993, Mr. Olsen held the position of partner, Strategic Services, at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Olsen holds a Master of Science degree in Management Science from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University
Executive Administrator
What I do at rSmart:
I may not be “all things administrative,” but I believe I am “most things administrative” here at rSmart. I provide administrative support to the CEO, CFO and most anyone else who’s gutsy enough to ask. I thoroughly enjoy making life easy for the folks at rSmart.
In the community:
By supporting those who are heavily involved in community work, I support the community
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Sales Administrator
What I do at rSmart:
As Sales Administrator, I am involved in spreading the word about Sakai and Kuali solutions, and help with the webinars and other resources the rSmart Team provides.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
rSmart Regional Sales Manager- Sakai Northeast, Mid Atlantic
What I do at rSmart:
As the Regional Sakai Sales Manager for the Northeast and Mid Atlantic territories, I have the tremendous privilege of meeting and presenting the rSmart Sakai CLE solution to educational institutions, K-12 schools, and colleges & universities. There’s been an explosion of interest and movement toward open source technologies in academia, and it’s been very exciting to represent rSmart, and an open foundation like Sakai whose dual purpose are centered on a 100% commitment to education.
There are many reasons why I love and am so passionate about my responsibilities at rSmart. If were to list a few, they would be:
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Being a dad is the single greatest experience in the world for me. My passions include camping and fly-fishing for trout, and these activities take me to some of the most beautiful and remote places on earth. I also enjoy hiking, being in the outdoors, and Italian cooking.
Learn more about me:
rSmart Channel Manager
What I do at rSmart:
In my role as an rSmart Channel Manager, I assist schools and partners wanting to learn more about Sakai and the Sakai community. My work entails learning about a school’s academic technology environment, understanding their challenges, and matching Sakai’s abilities to meet their goals and solve their problems. Along with visiting college campuses and meeting amazing people, I enjoy working with an incredibly intelligent and dedicated group of people at rSmart extremely passionate about open source software.
In the community:
General advocate, focused on educating people about the power of the Sakai community and the advantages of open software
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Marketing Specialist
What I do at rSmart:
As the Marketing Specialist at rSmart, I coordinate all of our email campaigns, webinars, conferences, resources, advertising, and assist the Sakai and Kuali sales teams where needed. I also handle the logistics of any conferences rSmart participates in throughout the year, including the Sakai conference, the Kuali Days conference, and EDUCAUSE. My main focus is to ensure that rSmart’s brand and communications are truly representative of who we are as a company, and was the lead on rSmart’s most recent website re-design project. The best part of my job is that I am part of a team who is changing technology in education (as well as making it better). rSmart creates a very supportive work environment to each of its employees, which inspires me to believe in and support our mission.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
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Kuali Solutions Consultant
What I do at rSmart:
As the senior Kuali sales consultant at rSmart, I help educational institutions understand Kuali software and get to know its amazing community. I also help negotiate the unique procurement processes involved in educating, implementing, and supporting open-source software. The best thing about my job is working with a talented group of people who share my focus on and commitment to making a positive difference in education.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Financial Consultant
What I do at rSmart
I am a functional consultant for KFS (Kuali Financial Systems) . My role will be to help our clients leverage the full potential of KFS modules as adapted to their particular business requirements. This job will entail transitioning clients from legacy systems to KFS, as well as pre-production testing and training on KFS. I think my prior background (20+ years College/University accounting manager, CPA) will help me in discussions with clients about best methods to make KFS work for them.
In the community:
I’m new to rSmart having been here only a few weeks now. Plan on getting with the community thru Kuali Collaboration teams for KFS.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Functional Consultant
What I do at rSmart
I provide consulting services for the Kuali Financial System to our clients in the Kuali Community. I will be assisting clients with implementing the software, business processes and enabling decision support allowing better access to information and decision making. My background in higher education financial administration and years of implementing, developing and defining financial and human resource systems for a large number of small, medium and large colleges and universities is well suited to my current role. What I like best about what I do, is bringing my years of experience to colleges and universities to help clients effectively and successful achieve success with their implementations.
In the community:
• I look forward to getting more deeply involved in the Kuali Community and being able to contribute.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Sr. Technical Consultant
What I do at rSmart:
I am a new member of the Kuali Services Team. My role will be to assist clients with their implementations of the Kuali Financial System. This means I’ll be heavily involved in writing conversions from and interfaces to legacy systems - and providing new reports that enhance client usage of KFS.
The best thing about my job is the opportunity to make a positive difference in the daily lives of my customers by allowing them to utilize the full potential of KFS – while I get to work with some really intelligent people, both in the communities and at rSmart. Along the way, I’ll get to improve my technical skills in the java and cloud environments.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Project Manager
What I do at rSmart:
As a project manager at rSmart, I work with our clients on the implementation of Kuali products . My major emphasis is to ensure that the client’s expectations are met and that we deliver on time and on budget. What I love most about this job is that the open source community is focused on the customer and meeting the customer needs.
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Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Java Developer
What I do at rSmart:
I help to customize and further enhance the core functionality for the Kuali Financial System for clients. The best part about my job is that I get to work with intelligent people who teach me new things everyday.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Sakai CLE Support Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
As a support engineer at rSmart I work with the team to fix technical issues with Sakai. The best thing about my job is working with a great group of highly knowledgable people who love working as a team to deliver the best software possible.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Java Developer
What I do at rSmart:
I am a Java developer on the Kuali Financial Systems project, currently a lead developer on the Kuali Travel and Entertainment Module. I originally started working on the KFS project while I was a Senior Java Developer at the UofA in 2005 – 2008. I really love the innovation in the Community Source model and especially rSmart’s role in that ecosystem.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Blog: http://www.warneronstine.com
Twitter: @warneronstine
Java Software Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
A java developer working in Kuali software development since 2010. Having worked in Kuali software development outside rSmart since 2005, Java Enterprise application development since 1998, and software development since 1994, I share my experience within my team and throughout rSmart. I enjoy promoting new ideas and new ways of doing software development and problem solving. Science and technology are unexplored frontiers, and we are the pioneers/explorers. We take the leap for the sake of forging ahead.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
I have been working on my B.S. at the University of Arizona for 16 years. I enjoy speaking out for Open Source Software and working on Open Source Projects. I enjoy proving that regardless of the source, if it draws power, it can run Linux. As much as I enjoy writing software, I love to work with my hands. I have a growing woodworking hobby. Furniture making/improving is part of that hobby. I am also very fond of amateur photography and film-making. I experiment with HDR photography and mix that love with film-making for HDR film sequences. Another thing I really love is remixing sound for my amateur films. This includes music. I have written several pieces of software to improve my creative process for producing unique images, motion pictures, and sound.
I cannot do it all by myself. Between working and school and random sugar comas, there just isn't enough time for all my projects. I have a beautiful and understanding wife that holds me accountable to always start what I finish. She more than supports me. She edifies me and refreshes me. I also have a 10 year-old daughter and a 5 year-old daughter. They not only remind me why I do it all, but they provide me with the necessary manpower so I have time to sleep at night.
Administrative Liaison
What I do at rSmart:
At rSmart, I help new employees navigate the HR documentation and work with staff on new candidates, the initial candidate phone screens and communicate with recruiters. I also help with Accounts Receivables and Purchasing. I love working with the people at rSmart. They are the most intelligent people I have ever worked with and always willing to help!
In the community:
Active member in the Sakai and Kuali community
Feathers in my cap [specific achievements/awards + degrees, certificates]:
After a successful career in customer service and support, I earned a degree in Business Management from Western International University.
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Java Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
I mainly work on the Kuali Financial System's Travel and Entertainment Module doing java development. I also help out in the other flavors of Kuali when needed. The best part about my job is that I work with great people who make the work environment fun. I also love woking with new technologies.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Quality Assurance Analyst
What I do at rSmart:
My role as the Quality Assurance Analyst for the Sakai CLE team is to help ensure quality of our product. I am responsible for the functional testing of the software as well as creating and updating test scripts and existing test automation. I am also working to create a new framework to make our automation easier to maintain. The best things about my job are the fantastic people I get to collaborate with and knowing my contributions will ensure our customers will have as little problems as possible.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Technical Support Specialist
What I do at rSmart:
My role in the Kuali Foundation is to provide excellent customer service to the community of users and developers who help make Kuali possible. By assisting with any technical issues that arise in the community, I help to alleviate these issues and make everything run as smoothly as possible. The best thing about my job is representing rSmart in the Kuali Foundation and helping all of the members of the community.
In the community:
I work with the community everyday and help to support its efforts to make Kuali an integral part of campus management. I plan to be a fixture at the annual Kuali Days conference and instrumental in moving the community forward in terms of its technical prowess and functionality.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Director of Subscription Services
What I do at rSmart:
I have the privilege of working with a great group of people to set the standard in the market for remarkable customer service and value. What I enjoy most about this position is working with our customers to ensure their success with the Sakai and Kuali applications. Ultimately, my job is all about making our customers' lives better.
In the community:
I’m brand new to the Sakai and Kuali Communities, but I’m looking forward to becoming involved in both communities as I gain more experience.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Blog: http://gettingsmarter.posterous.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/paulmtracy
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmtracy
Google+: http://gplus.to/paulmtracy
Kuali Java Developer
What I do at rSmart:
My role is somewhat unique at rSmart as I act as a Kauli Coeus contributing developer on behalf of West Virginia University. I help develop the Kuali Coeus product for the community, and also provide Coeus expertise for rSmart projects. The best thing about my job is getting to work with great people from all over the country as well as being surrounded by exceptional people on a daily basis.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Java Support Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
I provide support to our Kuali Financial System & Kuali Coeus clients. This includes resolving any issues that they may come across. One of the many high points of my job is working with passionate people who love what they do and are always willing to help when needed.
In the community:
Active member in the Kuali Community
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Customer Relations Manager
What I do at rSmart:
I provide vision partnership and support, liaising between the rSmart team and our amazing customers; deliver training and lead configuration sessions when appropriate and as part of the implementation process; create and facilitate webinars; work with project managers and support staff to communicate customer needs and to absorb and maintain processes. I love the open source movement, and I love Sakai. But really, the best thing about my job is the people. The opportunity to get to know so many people, their institutions, and their narratives is a real gift.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Client Evangelist
What I do at rSmart:
I work with clients to ensure their success with rSmart’s products and services. As a client advocate, I develop deep relationships with rSmart customers, helping them get the most from their relationship with rSmart and the larger education and open-source community. I maintain regular contact with clients to support their teaching, learning, collaboration, and e-portfolio projects, to evolve new rSmart technologies and services, and to spread open-source solutions to their peers and neighbors. My favorite part of my job is speaking to new audiences about rSmart, Sakai, and the advantages of open education.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Solutions Delivery Director, Sakai and Kuali
What I do at rSmart:
I work with our Professional Services Team to implement Sakai & Kuali applications at universities and colleges. It’s exciting to see how well Kuali & Sakai fit their requirements and transform their processes to be more efficient and responsive to the campus’ needs. As the leader of the rSmart Project Management Office, I work to adopt global project management standards into our projects. I also strive to make sure that our delivery consultants are at the right place at the right time and have what they need to provide excellent customer service to our CLE & Kuali clients.
In the community:
Active member in the Sakai and Kuali community
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Application Support Analyst
What I do at rSmart:
I fix and troubleshoot support tickets submitted through the rSmart Support Network (RSN) for our Sakai CLE clients and internal staff. If necessary, I sometimes troubleshoot tickets through web meetings so our clients can show me exactly what they are experiencing and we work together to resolve the issue. There are a couple of things about my job that I love. The first is working in open source. I love the collaboration and the ability to make software your own. The second is the pride I get in helping a client resolve a problem. There is nothing better to me than helping and collaborating with our client or resolving their issues on the back end.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
Currently working towards my Information Technology degree
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Happy Hours on Friday at 4 PM
Case Operations Manager
What I do at rSmart:
As the Case Operations Manager, my time is dedicated to providing quick and accurate responses to all support cases. I also make sure our support resources are focused on each of our customer's needs. Prior to becoming the Operations Manager, I provided Tier 3 support for our rSmart Sakai CLE customers, worked on troubleshooting issues and developed solutions for our clients and rSmart’s CLE distribution. The best thing about my job is working with an amazing group of people with a lot of passion for what they do.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Development Manager
What I do at rSmart:
As the development manager at rSmart, I oversee the design, development, and release of rSmart’s Sakai CLE distribution. Part of my job is tracking innovations in community and contributed code and implementing rSmart enhancements. I also provide senior technical assistance to our services and support teams. The best thing about my job is being part of an exciting and flexible company whose challenges always keep me sharp.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Camping; woodworking; home improvement projects; and chasing my kids around
Senior Software Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
I am fully engaged with getting the next generation Kuali Student system developed and into the hands of higher education institutions. As an active member of the Kuali Student development team, my day-to-day activities are consumed by software development activities related to Kuali Student. Most recently, I’ve been focusing on the areas of build automation, Maven customization, GWT development, and deploying software applications into a cloud environment. The best thing about my job is using cutting edge open source technologies while working with talented, passionate people to create software that is a real difference maker in the education space.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Java Support Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
I diagnose and fix bugs in the Kuali Financial System software on behalf of our clients. The best thing about my job is that I get to work on all parts of KFS, and I am always working on something different every day.
In the community:
As a new member, I have only fixed a few bugs for the community so far. I look forward to contributing more in the future.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Technical Consultant
What I do at rSmart:
I assist clients in their implementation of the Kuali Financial System, with particular emphasis on the legacy data conversion. I also assist with the documentation for implementing the Kuali Coeus proof of concept project. I am also heavily involved in writing interfaces and reports to enhance client usage of the Kuali Financial System. The best thing about my job is I get the chance to work with some brilliant people and there is a lot of scope for improving my technical skills.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Guitar Playing, Jigsaw puzzles, Crosswords, Soccer (the real football), Rugby (a real man’s game), Ice-Hockey
Learning new skills, debugging problem code, solving problems, Interaction with clients to assist in resolving their problems.
Learn more about me:
Automation Development & Load Testing
What I do at rSmart:
I am heavily involved in the Kuali Student project. I developed the Kuali Student’s load automation framework and deployed and supported Kuali Student’s first cloud environment (EC2). I profile Kuali Student releases and work on improving the performance and reliability of the software under load. I have over 11 years of experience in developing, testing, delivering and supporting Web and mobile software and have developed automation frameworks, process management tools and test management systems in use across several large QA organizations. The best thing about my job is being part of team using really innovative solutions to produce a quality product that’s very much in demand.
In the community:
Currently working on the Kuali Student Performance team as well as the Database Change Management team
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Lead Systems Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
I am the Lead Systems Engineer at rSmart and am responsible for providing systems integration, software configuration and installation, and hardware architecture planning for both Sakai CLE and Kuali customers. I am also the senior consultant for our support team and provide guidance and advise customers who need help designing and implementing LDAP integration and SIS integration into the Sakai CLE. The best thing about my job is that I get to work with a great group of people who all share the mission of improving education through open source software.
In the community:
Active member in the Sakai and Kuali communities
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Senior Software Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
My responsibility is to aid in the development of a mature and stable Sakai deployment in our CLE offering to meet our client’s needs. The best part about my job is the ability to work with so many people and groups within the Sakai Community to understand the needs of higher education and to translate them into a deliverable product through the adoption of community code and the development of tools at rSmart.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
MS in Management Information Systems, received 2008
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Learn more about me:
Senior Kuali Consultant
What I do at rSmart:
I work with clients to review their business processes and configure the Kuali Financial System (KFS) to support their functional requirements. I draw a lot on my experience as the functional author of the IA FRS financial system. I also had a career in higher education administration, during which I was vice president for business and finance at The Rockefeller University. A favorite part of my job is visiting campuses. I enjoy advising on best practices and contributing to optimal solutions using KFS.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Consultant
What I do at rSmart:
I work with clients to implement the Kuali Financial System in their campus environment. What I like best about doing implementations is being an effective change agent and ensuring that customer’s needs and requirements are being met.
In the community:
Active member in the Kuali Community
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
At work, I enjoy working with people – fellow employees and customers alike. I also truly enjoy the experience when I can provide value-added services and solutions to both rSmart and our customers.
Beyond, I enjoy travelling, dining out with friends, spending quality time with my family
Software Engineer
What I do at rSmart:
My role at rSmart is to aid in the development and design of Sakai deployment in our CLE offering to meet our client’s needs. The best thing about my job is a having the privilege of working with a dynamic group of people who knows the value of working as team. No egos, just good honest teamwork.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
BS in Computer Science from Devry University ‘97
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Project Manager, Subscription Services
What I do at rSmart:
My main focus is making sure our clients get the services and support they expect to receive from rSmart. If they need it, I deliver. I handle all upgrades, patching, customizations, third-party integrations and hosting needs for all of our current clients. In my former life, I was a one man QA team here at rSmart. In that role I was responsible for the ensuring the quality of the rSmart Sakai CLE. I also write manual functional test scripts, develop automated functional scripts (Selenium), and work with the Community to develop a Continuous Integration Testing model for Sakai (Selenium and TestNG).
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
I am a father of 3 boys (all under the age of 6), so presently unable to get a boat floating
Program Manager
What I do at rSmart:
As a program manager at rSmart, I work with our clients to aid in their implementation of our Sakai and Kuali products. From project initiation to transitioning the project to our support team, I manage our talented project team at rSmart to ensure our client’s implementation needs are met. What I love most about my job is working with our innovative clients to help make their open source initiatives a reality.
In the community:
Active member of the Sakai and Kuali communities
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Information Architect
What I do at rSmart:
As a writer for rSmart, I have several different roles. I create/update the documentation we provide for the CLE, including the User Guide, online Help, and release notes; I also help maintain and expand the Knowledge Base in RSN. In addition, I write our Smart Talk newsletters for Sakai and Kuali. The best part of my job is learning about the latest contributions to Sakai and Kuali and sharing what I learn with others.
In the community:
My primary involvment with the Sakai community is through my role as an information gatherer. I may work with community members when creating documentation for a specific tool; I also monitor all of the Sakai community mailing lists, to see if any of the topics being discussed might be the basis for new articles in the Knowledge Base.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Being involved with so many talented and creative people, both at rSmart and in the Sakai and Kuali communities, who are determined to improve education through innovative technology
Senior Consultant
What I do at rSmart:
I am the Senior Consultant for rSmart’s Kuali Coeus implementations. The best thing about my job is knowing that I will need to confront challenging problems in my daily work, but not always knowing exactly what they will be; there is no danger of ever becoming bored – a truly debilitating condition.
In the community:
Ultimately, everything we do is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of global research and education which, hopefully, will improve the quality of life for everyone. This, by necessity, is a collaborative enterprise, which is extraordinarily challenging, but also exhilarating. Working with others engaged in this effort has been a most rewarding experience, far exceeding the ever present frustrations. For me, this has proved true regardless of the setting, whether at an institution of higher education, a professional organization like NCURA or SRA, or a research oriented commercial enterprise like rSmart. It is the shared dedication of the people joined in this common effort that has led to the establishment of so many friendships and has made my career in research administration so enormously satisfying.
Feathers in my cap
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Jazz aficionado, Tennis – both playing (a slowing deteriorating game with age, but think of the alternative) and giving tours at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I.
Systems Administrator
What I do at rSmart:
My primarily responsibility at rSmart is to unite people with technology. As Systems Administrator, I dabble in just about anything related to the application of technology in the lives of our clients and staff. My favorite part of working at rSmart is working side-by-side with our incredible team, and our collective effort to make open source software a dominant player in academia.
Feathers in my cap:
BS in Software Engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Configuration Manager
What I do at rSmart:
At rSmart, I prepare and deploy releases and patches to QA and production environments. I also define, document, coordinate, execute and validate the build process for multiple projects and develop and implement SCM release plans, procedures and processes. I configure, maintain and administer rSmart’s source control repository and coordinate site releases with QA, product management team, engineering, DBA, and the network operation group. I also evaluate and recommend alternative tools and methods for improving processes around release and configuration management, develop and maintain rSmart automated installation solutions, build release process and unit testing
The best thing about my job is that I work for an amazing company, with a very smart and friendly team who strives to keep current on all the information related to our jobs so that we can provide the best service to our customers
In the community:
I have been collaborating with the Kuali Foundation in topics related to Configuration Management.
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Kuali Services Manager
What I do at rSmart:
I lead to the Kuali services team in order to provide best-in-class services to customers implementing or considering Kuali. I also serve as the technical lead on many Kuali implementation projects and assist customers in making decisions on the technical aspects and best practices for a successful project delivery. The best thing about my job is working with customers through the adoption of Kuali and seeing a solution transitioned into production, thereby contributing to the ongoing success of both the institution and Kuali.
In the community:
Active member in the Kuali community
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Going off-road in my Jeep on the weekends
Java Engineer/Manager
What I do at rSmart:
As a Java Support Engineer/Manager, I am responsible for extending and customizing the core functionality of the Kuali Financial System as well as provide LDAP authentication for our Kuali customers. The best thing about my job is I am surrounded by some of the hardest workers and greatest minds I have ever encountered.
In the community:
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Family, friends, movies, concerts, computers, yard work, pets and plants
I enjoy engaging in technology focused discussions that teach me new ways of doing specific tasks. I also enjoy creating new functionality that makes everybody’s job and life easier and better.
Sr. Systems Administrator
What I do at rSmart:
I oversee all IT aspects of rSmart including but not limited to day to day IT request, data center hosting maintenance, management and implementations.
In the community:
*Active member in the Sakai and Kuali community
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
Software Developer
What I do at rSmart:
As a software developer, I review our Sakai CLE support tickets that prevent our client’s to running a smooth operation to their Sakai CLE installations. My job is to make sure we find and resolve any code related issues in a timely manner. These fixes are also part of the upcoming release and updates to Sakai CLE, which contributes to a more robust software application.
In the community:
As a new member of the Sakai Maintenance Team, we are involved in watching over the product architecture, fix bugs, apply patches, and help manage the issue tracker. We are able to contribute to the Sakai community by keeping the Sakai product maintained
Feathers in my cap:
What floats my boat at work and beyond:
The social environment, continuous personal growth, and adapting new technology – a front that comes packaged with the open source community.
Good Food, Good movies, and Good Beer.
Connoisseur of new technology and gadgets.