Introduction

Each of us have a unique set of characteristics and skills which arise from the complex intermixing of a variety of factors (e.g., genetic predispositions, family background, education, experiences, cultural milieu, and intentional choices). On this page I’ll share with you my past work experience and attempt to highlight the specific characteristics and skills which have come to the fore in my life and which I intentionally invest in deepening.

For a briefer summary of my experience see my LinkedIn profile.

Core Characteristics Summarized

I am not better than another person, but I may be a better fit for specific positions than another (as they may be than I). If I am to describe myself in a succinct manner I’d say:

• Adaptable – I am able to learn new subjects and technologies on an as-needed basis and doing so is one of my primary forms of recreation.
• Analytical – Present me with a problem and I will find you a (good) solution. I’m oftentimes able to step into a situation and see a solution which has escaped consideration thus far.
• Quirky – Food is more about survival than enjoyment (doesn’t keep me from having a major sweet tooth!), given the choice I’ll read aloud (even in public), I use a sit/stand desk, I have simplistic/functional/comfortable tastes in clothing etc. etc.
• Relational – I’m an introvert but that doesn’t mean I don’t like people. I’m not the life of the party but I care deeply about people and invest significant effort into creating productive working relationships and ensuring that any organization’s most important asset (it’s people) feels heard, valued, and empowered.
• Scrappy – Give me something worth fighting for and I’ll keep fighting when others have given up hope. I don’t mind being the underdog nor taking flack for a cause I believe in.

Primary Employment Narrative

From 2003 through 2015 I worked primarily in Information Technology and part-time in a church or I worked primarily in a church and part-time in IT. From 2015 to the present I have combined these two and now work for Liquid Church doing IT.

From 2002 to 2005 (while an undergraduate student) I worked as a Computer Lab Worker, then Computer Lab Supervisor and IT Technician for Cairn University. You can see the Secondary Employment Narrative below for details on my work in these positions.

In 2005 I joined a young internet startup, Collages.net Inc. I was responsible for all systems and network infrastructure and successfully scaled Collages’ IT infrastructure over a period of exponential growth between 2005 and 2008. From web servers running IIS and network load balancing to Microsoft SQL Servers providing a database back-end, from Cisco firewalls and switches to Dell and HP servers and storage arrays I managed a wide variety of technologies.

During my time at Collages I would oversee a smooth transition of IT equipment, infrastructure, telephony, and internet connectivity as the main office transitioned to a larger location as well as a move between data centers of our web facing systems.

In 2008 I returned to my alma mater, Cairn University, as a Systems Administrator and Senior Support Specialist. I would become deeply involved in replacing most of the server architecture, transitioning from VMWare to Hyper-V, and developing software applications using ASP.NET, VB.NET, HTML, CSS, LINQ, Entity Framework, and SQL Server. I was a key player in the implementation of CRM software including Microsoft Dynamics CRM and FrontRange GoldMine.

Meanwhile in 2003 I had begun leading a team of volunteers who ran the youth group at my local church, Calvary Community. In 2004 I interned in an Assistant Pastoral role at the church and while the internship ended, the responsibilities and role never did. In 2009 I took on the primary Pastoral role at the church and in 2013 had the opportunity to leave Cairn to take on the Pastoral role full-time which I would fill through the end of 2015.

My responsibilities at Calvary Community provided me with numerous opportunities to grow my leadership and management skills. In addition to regularly teaching and preaching, I led numerous volunteers, interns, and part-time staff in the churches’ ongoing operations.

This included leading board meetings, scheduling volunteers and interns, providing ongoing leadership and skills training, leading creative outreach initiatives, and budgeting.

The church was intergenerational and socio-economically diverse and it was my pleasure to continuously work towards understanding and cooperation between varying perspectives.

Meanwhile I was also busy with a part-time IT consulting business. I had begun developing websites for various organizations in the late 1990’s and never stopped. As my competencies in IT Systems grew so did the number of clients I provided systems and network architecture and support.

I would recommend to an organization struggling with an archaic IT infrastructure a complete overhaul of their systems. I would oversee the purchasing and installation of the entire system over a single weekend. The company’s employees would leave on Friday and when they returned on Monday morning their entire system would be upgraded and ready to go.

The infrastructure at these organizations varied as did the industry specific software they utilized – from concrete mixing, truck tracking, and accounting software to church management (CRM) and SharePoint intranets I’d make sure it all was functioning – and stayed functioning.

In 2015 I would combine two of my loves – IT and the non-profit sector by taking a position with Liquid Church first as their Web Manager where I oversaw the complete rewrite of the churches’ extensive website and then transitioned into the role of IT Director.

As IT Director at Liquid Church I oversaw the IT infrastructure across six separate campuses, the central offices, and several smaller branch offices. Since joining Liquid we have launched three new campuses – one fixed and two mobile – and overhauled a large warehouse to serve as a permanent campus and central offices for the church.

I’ve researched, purchased, and overseen the acquisition, installation and management of servers, storage arrays, network infrastructure, wireless networks, CCTV systems, and building access control. I’ve even led the acquisition and installation of fire alarm systems and networked HVAC controls.

Currently I am transitioning out of Liquid Church. I am onboarding our new IT Director and working on some web development projects as well as providing expertise where needed.

Primary Narrative Summary

• Liquid Church – 2015-Present – IT Director, Website Coordinator, Software Developer.
• Independent IT Systems Contractor – 2006-2015 – Clients included Kwasny & Reilly Law Firm, TDS Concrete, and Christian Life Center.
• Calvary Community Church – 2009-2015 – Elder and then pastoral leadership.
• Cairn University – 2008 – 2013 – Systems Administrator for Technology Services.
• Collages.net Inc. – 2005-2008
• Independent Web Developer – 1999-Present – Clients have included DeBaun Art, Mountainview Enterprises, First Baptist Church of Westerlo, Faith’s Hats, Haycock Camping Ministries, and so on.

Secondary Employment Narrative

From 1998 to 2003 I worked as a farmhand for a local farmer (Mrs. May; Westerlo, NY) whenever she needed me. The work mainly revolved around stacking (and unstacking) bales of hay but also occasionally included working with sheep or mucking out a pen.

In 1999 I began working part-time for a local computer store in Greenville, NY performing computer repairs and providing customer service. This only lasted for a short time before the business closed as computers were still somewhat sparse, especially in the country.

Around this same time I was an independent contractor for StudyWeb, an educational web directory, where I was a contributor to the section on the American Civil War. This came to a rather abrupt end with the dot com crash of 2000.

In 2000 I began working for Enid and Fred Stettner’s  Wild Thymes Farm, a small manufacturer of gourmet foods created by Enid. I performed a number of different duties involved in the manufacturing and shipping of these foods. When Enid learned I could do web development she drafted me to work on the Taubman Institute website.

In 2001 I began attending Philadelphia College of Bible (PCB), which would soon change its name to Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU), and is now Cairn University.

I worked a number of short gigs as a student including phone fundraising (Phone-A-Thon), administrative assistant (to the Director of Academic Marketing), recruitment materials production, and custodial.

For much of my college career I worked first as a Computer Lab Worker (2002) and then as a Computer Lab Supervisor (2002-2005). In the latter position I created best practices, wrote a training manual, led training sessions, and managed the student employee schedule.

Eventually this led to be me being noticed by the IT Department at Cairn and taking on a help desk position while also continuing my work as a computer lab supervisor. When I graduated from Cairn in 2005 the intention had been to bring me on full-time with the IT Department. As fate would have it, my position was cut from the budget at the last moment, leaving me with more than a little anxiety about what I would do next. Thankfully, I was able to continue working for the University throughout the summer and then found a job at Collages.net Inc. which is covered in my main employment narrative.

During the summer of 2002 I took a job as a field stone mason building stone walls and patios. The next summer (2003) I would work for a local lawncare company (I still have a soft spot in my heart for Exmark zero-turn lawn mowers and Stihl weed whackers) until the season for commercial fishing of Alaskan red salmon came around. At that point I headed to Alaska and worked for Comset Fisheries as a deckhand. This was as fun, exciting, exhausting, and grimey as it sounds!

In 2000-2001 I worked a few gigs as a camera operator and was briefly drafted into acting in a commercial. It was supposed to air on cable TV, one of those infomercials – I don’t know if it ever did.

Education

• Cairn University – 2001-2005 – Bachelors of Science in Biblical Studies with an emphasis on Pastoral Ministries.
  • 6 credits on leadership and management
  • 9 credits on effective communication, presentation
  • 18 credits on psychology and counseling
  • 28+ credits in traditional liberal arts, sciences, etc.
  • 50+ credits in biblical studies