Speaker Biographies
Jeff Barr | Joe Biglin | R Blank | John Bristowe | Sheelagh Carpendale | Duane Dunfield | Derek Featherstone | Nathan Gilliatt | Dwayne Hammond | Trina Histon | Paul Hoffert | Gordon Kurtenbach | Jeremy Morgan | Jim Omer | Jim Parker | Mike Patterson | Peter Sametz | Thomas J. Shelford | Greg Sutton | Rob Swick | Mark Van Langeveld | Doug Whatley | Hank Williams | Mike Wood | David Wortely |
Jeff Barr is a long-time member of the Amazon Web Services team, where he holds the position of Senior Manager of Cloud Computing Solutions. In this role, Jeff watches large-scale industry and customer trends within the cloud computing space, seeking to understand the current state and future direction of the industry. Jeff joined Amazon in July of 2002 and has also held the positions of Senior Software Developer and Senior Web Services Evangelist.
Barr has a longstanding interest in Web services and programmatic information interchange. He has held development and management positions at Microsoft, KnowNow, eByz, and Akopia and was a co-founder of Visix Software. He earned his bachelor's degree in computer science from American University and performed graduate work in computer science at George Washington University.
Joe Biglin
TrainingPort Strategies, LLC
Joseph Biglin is the founder of TrainingPort Strategies, LLC and works with corporations and organizations to help them better understand the opportunities, and challenges, associated with the utilization of "gaming" technology, "virtual worlds" and other technology-driven learning methods to educate their associates. Prior to founding TrainingPort Strategies, LLC, he was a founding partner of BreakAway, Ltd.
BreakAway is a leading developer of entertainment games and business simulations that use virtual worlds and game technology to build solutions for real-world problems and deliver game-based tools and experiences to educate and change the way people explore ideas, make decisions and communicate more effectively. Prior to BreakAway, Biglin has spent his career working for major corporations in the Finance, Retail and Transportation industries, in various roles within Training, Organizational Development, Human Resources and Operations Management Biglin earned a BS from Towson University and a MBA in Finance from Loyola College
R Blank has been an interactive designer, developer, author and teacher for 15 years. He is currently CTO of Almer/Blank, an Adobe Alliance Partner based in Venice, California that specializes in video and application development for the Flash Platform, for Fortune 500 clients including E! Entertainment Television, Apple, DirecTV and IKEA. R is also co-founder and Training Director of the Rich Media Institute, providing specialized workshops for interactive media professionals around the world and online at richmediainstitute.com.
R is the lead author of 'AdvancED Flex Application Development' from Apress and was one of the first 50 certified Flash developers in the world. Additionally, he founded and runs LA Flash, an Adobe User community of over 4,000 industry professionals. R also teaches Flash on the engineering faculty at the University of Southern California. Previously, R co-founded Wildform, where he co-created Flix, the first video encoder for Flash (now owned by On2). R has an MBA in Entrepreneurship from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BA in History from Columbia University.
John Bristowe
Microsoft Canada
John Bristowe is a Developer Evangelist with Microsoft Canada and is based out of Calgary, Alberta. John has many years of experience developing software for operating systems such as the BeOS, variants of Linux and UNIX and, of course, Windows. He has also spent a great deal of time building Web and rich client applications. John is passionate about assisting the technical community in Canada and spends much of his time talking to students, teachers, and professionals in the industry. You can read more about John and his team\'s activities at the Canadian Developer Connection Weblog at http://blogs.msdn.com/cdndevs/.
Sheelagh Carpendale
University of Calgary
Sheelagh Carpendale is an Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Calgary, where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Information Visualization and an NSERC/SMART/iCORE Industrial Research Chair in Interactive Technologies. She is the recipient of several major awards including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award (BAFTA) for Off-line Learning, and was a finalist for the Canadian New Media Awards in 2008. Also, she has been involved with successful technology transfer to Idelix Software Inc. Her research focuses on creating interactive visualizations of information, currently including: visualizing uncertainty particularly in medical data, visualizing biological data, developing visualizations to support computational linguistic research and the development of methodologies to support collaborative data analysis with visualization. Sheelagh Carpendale’s research in information visualization and interaction design draws on her dual background in Computer Science (Ph.D. Simon Fraser University) and Visual Arts (Sheridan College, School of Design and Emily Carr, College of Art).
Duane Dunfield
Red Hot Learning Inc
As Co-founder of Red Hot Learning, a learning strategy & development company, Mr. Dunfield has provided thought leadership on games for health at Brandon Hall’s Innovations in Learning Conference, games for learning and media at the Online News Association (ONA) conference, games for civic engagement for the Conference Board of Canada, and briefed provincial officials. He also has advised the Committee of Concerned Journalists a consortium of reporters, editors, producers, publishers, owners and academics worried about the future of the profession, on new ways to engage audiences, by adapting proven learning techniques from learning applications, computer simulations and serious games to journalism.
Duane has led game design and development projects with internationally recognized clients including the EA Game Innovation Lab, the LA Times, the Childrens Hospital of LA, the Annenberg Foundation, CADE, Pop & Co (New York), as well as a number of other national and international organizations.
Derek Featherstone
Further Ahead
Engaging, surprising, and inspiring, Derek Featherstone is an internationally-known authority on accessibility and web development, a respected technical trainer, and author. Creator of extensive courses and workshops on Web Technologies, Ajax, and Accessibility for web applications, his approach never fails to champion the cause of web standards and universal accessibility. As founder of Further Ahead, he has been an in-demand consultant to government agencies, educational institutions, and private sector companies since 1999. He is the Group Lead of the influential Web Standards Project.
Nathan Gilliatt Nathan Gilliatt is the principal of Social Target, a research and consulting firm focused on helping companies establish social media intelligence capabilities and management practices. Nathan is a recognized expert in the social media analysis market and the author of the Guide to Social Media Analysis, the worldwide buyer’s guide to tools and services for listening to social media. Nathan specializes in making connections across functional boundaries, taking advantage of a background that includes both technology and business management roles in research, education and corporate environments. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Nathan also holds an M.A. in communications management from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.
Dwayne Hammond
Algoma University
wayne Hammond serves as the Strategic Advisor for the Masters in Computer Games Technology (MSc.CGT) program at Algoma University, and Studio Director for Algoma Games for Health, a serious games development studio in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. Dwayne's experience in the computer games industry has been substantial and varied, having worked in a number of capacities with companies ranging from start-ups to international industry leaders and on teams large and small for companies such as Pseudo Interactive, Gameloft and Rockstar Games. Dwayne has worked on development teams for both consoles and the mobile games industry, on titles such as, Full Auto 2, The Warriors and the award winning "Derek Jeter 3D Baseball 2005".
Trina Histon, PhD
Kaiser Permanente
As director for Kaiser Permanente (KP) Care Management Institute (CMI) Weight Management Initiative, Trina Histon, PhD, is committed to finding a public health approach for the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity in children, adolescents, and adults. Dr Histon collaborates with clinicians, researchers, insurers, and policymakers in an effort to identify practical, effective, non-surgical approaches for the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity. She joined KP and CMI in 1998.
Dr. Histon attended the University College Cork, in Ireland, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in applied psychology and her Doctorate in health psychology. She went on to work as the lead for Cork University's Master of Health Psychology program, and served as Associate Professor for the University's Bachelor of Arts undergraduate program for mature students. Working with the University hospital, Dr Histon also designed and conducted research to create CABG/MI intervention programs.
Paul HoffertPaul Hoffert is Chair of the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, Chair
of the Guild of Canadian Film Composers, and former President of the
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. He is on the Faculties of
York University and Harvard University.
He was director of CulTech Research Centre (19991-2000) where he
developed advanced new media such as video telephones and conducted a
$100 million trial for distributing digital media online.
Mr. Hoffert has nine gold and platinum recordings and four Juno Awards for his rock band Lighthouse. In addition, he is a best-selling author of books about thriving in the Information Age and a text for composing new media music. In 2001 received the Pixel Award as the New Media industry’s Visionary. In 2005, he received the Order of Canada for his contributions to music and media.
Dr. Gordon Kurtenbach is the Director of Research at Autodesk where he oversees a group researching innovations in digital design tools. The group focuses on the areas of human-Computer interaction, simulation, and sustainable design methods. Prior to Autodesk, Gordon was the head of research at Alias which researched advanced technologies for products such as Maya, AliasStudio, SketchBook and PortfolioWall. Prior to Alias, Gordon was a researcher at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center working on wall-sized display systems. Before Xerox, Gordon was a member of Apple's Advanced Technology Group researching gesture-based input techniques. Gordon holds a B.Sc. from University of Saskatchewan, and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from University of Toronto. His research interests in the field human-computer interaction include input devices, bi-manual input, high degree of freedom input, menuing systems, UI for 3d graphics, human motor control and perception. Gordon has many research publications and over thirty granted patents.
Jeremy Morgan
Saskatchewan Arts Board
For almost 20 years, Jeremy Morgan has been actively involved with the arts and cultural communities in Saskatchewan. Jeremy is currently the executive director of the Saskatchewan Arts Board and had been chief executive officer of Wanuskewin Heritage Park since its opening in 1992 until 1999. Prior to his employment at Wanuskewin, he was the general manager of the Saskatchewan Council of Cultural Organizations, now known as SaskCulture Inc.
Jeremy has served as a member of a number of boards and committees, including chair of the Minister’s Heritage Advisory Council and chair of Tourism Saskatchewan. He is also a board member of the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Cultural Management and former president of the national Association of Cultural Executives. In a previous life, he served on a municipal council and a district school board in Nova Scotia and worked as executive director of the Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia.
Jim OmerJim Omer is the President of “Rival Interactive” based in Springfield VA, USA. Rival Interactive is software development company focused on commercial and educational video games and applications.
Mr. Omer has lead the US Military Joint Staff’s effort to create a video game learning tool called "Joint Force Employment.' The game combined the excitement and entertainment of leading commercial gaming graphics with practical learning goals and objectives. In addition to the creation on numerous interactive CD/DVD software titles, Rival has leveraged its interactive game based technologies and solutions to their web based learning and training products. As a government contractor, Rival Interactive, has created web based interactive learning and education projects for the Joint Chiefs, US Marines and US Air Force. Currently, the Rival team is working to combine its game and web technologies to create unique online training for the health care industry.
Jim Parker
University of Calgary
Mike Patterson
Human Factors International
Mike is a Project director within HFI’s Boston office. As such, he leads teams building a user experience approach for clients including Citi, American Express, Ernst & Young, and Kodak. In this role he brings together his usability, information architecture, and visual design skill sets to achieve innovative, usable designs that delight the customer.
Peter Sametz
Saskatchewan Arts Board
Peter Sametz was recently appointed to the position of Associate Executive Director, Program and Finance, with the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Peter has been with the Arts Board since May 1993 during which time he has led numerous studies and projects, including the Arts Board’s participation in Saskatchewan’s Centennial, while also having the responsibility for the management of the agency’s finances. Peter has also served as Acting Executive Director on a number of occasions and has been a mainstay with the Arts Board.
Thomas J. Shelford
Author, "Real Web Project Management: Case Studies and Best Practices from the Trenches" and Executive Vice President,
Promotions.com
Thomas Shelford is the author of "Real Web Project Management: Case Studies and Best Practices from the Trenches,"\" a leading on-the-job reference for IT professionals. He currently works in New York City as the Executive Vice President of Business Development at Promotions.com, an interactive marketing agency which has produced, developed and hosted the largest online promotions in the world, including McDonald's Monopoly.
Prior to Promotions.com, he was a founding partner of Project Calibrate LLC, a management consulting firm servicing large media companies and interactive agencies. In the late 1990s, Tom was the Director of Project Management at iVillage.com.
Educated at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis MD, The American University in Washington D.C., and the University of San Diego, he holds a graduate degree in International Relations and a Minor in Mathematics.
Tom is an avid surfer and resident of East Hampton, New York.
Greg Sutton
TinyEyE Therapy Services
Greg Sutton is the co-founder and CEO of TinyEYE Therapy Services. One of the first companies in the world to provide speech language pathology services online. Greg and his sister/business partner, Marnee Brick, have taken their company from being a small start-up to emerging as one of the leaders for telepractice in their industry. Previous to TinyEYE, Greg spent five years as Executive Director for the Saskatchewan Advanced Technology Association. Greg has a bachelor's of commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan, is a windsurfing enthusiast and resides in Saskatoon with his lovely wife Michelle.
Rob SwickRob Swick, Partner, AlphaSearch Internet Marketing, is an Internet and search marketing strategist with over a decade in online leadership and advising roles. His unique industry insight has helped hundreds of companies to dominate their online markets - his clients range from major International Corporations such as Merck, Pfizer, and Sony, to small businesses. An engaging and creative speaker, Rob frequently gives workshops on internet marketing strategy, online brand building, and search marketing. Rob’s company, AlphaSearch Internet Marketing specializes in delivering targeted customers through search marketing and strategic website development and improvement.
Mark Van Langenveld
University of Utah
Mark van Langeveld will be defending his PhD dissertation at the University of Utah (U of U) in their Computer Graphics and Visualization Program this May. Also, he is an instructor in the Entertainment Arts and Engineering Program at the U of U. Active in the computer graphics industry since 1985, he has designed and directed several digital entertainment products for Microsoft, Razorfish, Fathom Pictures, Starwave and LongField Studios, including PC and xBox games, commercial videos, CD-I, websites, interactive TV, and interactive Music videos for both Sting and Peter Gabriel. His passion is to teach computer graphics and he has done so for over nine years at UCLA, San Francisco Academy of Art, and University of Pennsylvania where he helped to establish interdisciplinary programs mixing the arts with technology.
As Founder and CEO of BreakAway, Mr. Whatley has over 20 years of successful game development and management experience in the interactive and advanced technology industries.
Building on his experience in creating video games, Mr. Whatley has positioned BreakAway as the leader in serious game development while pioneering the application of game-based tools and technologies to help organizations better achieve their business goals through improved training, planning and preparation, decision making analysis and collaboration.
Mr. Whatley began his career at America Online where he was instrumental in helping to create the AOL client software. After that, he held senior-level management positions at MicroProse, ABC Sports, and Disney.
Mr. Whatley was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2004 and recognized as a Top 10 Cutting Edge Designer by Business Week in 2006. The company counts Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, National Institute of Justice and the DoD among its clients.
Hank is CEO of KloudShare a software company, focused on the development of a new web 3.0 development platform. Before KloudShare, Hank operated Elroy Networks, a development and consulting company focused on Internet media related technologies. Prior to Elroy Networks, Hank was Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ClickRadio, one of the Internet's first interactive radio services.
Mike WoodBio: Michael Wood is a Category Lead for Motorola’s Consumer Experience Design group. There he leads groups in projects designing mobile applications for navigation, social communication and media consumption. Mike works with product management, software development, marketing and customer account teams to create and tell a specific story around a give product that unfolds to the user through compelling mobile user experiences.
Before joining Motorola Mike worked on Windows-based application design and usability and holds a Masters in Human Computer Interaction. Mike enjoys reading, plays guitar, loves to travel and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer having served two years in Guatemala, Central America with his wife Ali.
David Wortley
Serious Games Institute
David Wortley is Director of the Serious Games Institute (SGI) at Coventry University. He is responsible for the development of the Institute as a brand new self-financing initiative to establish a centre of excellence for the emerging serious games application area. Working with academics, regional development agencies and leading computer games companies, David aims to make the SGI a thought leader and focal point for games based learning, simulation and immersive 3D virtual environments.
David’s career began with a university scholarship from Post Office Telecommunications and has embraced the converging and emerging technologies of telecommunications, computing (IBM), digital media (Mass Mitec) and the creative industries (De Montfort University). He is a serial entrepreneur and innovator with a passion for applying technology to social and economic development.
