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Speakers

(May 1, 2010)

1 Dennis Burton Blog: http://developusing.net
Company: SRT Solutions
Twitter Id: @dburton
Bio: Dennis Burton is a web developer with SRT Solutions whose diverse portfolio includes online learning management systems, precision measurement using high speed data acquisition applications, as well as automotive diagnostic software. Since the beginning of his career, he has been working with systems that require processing large amounts of data quickly. Dennis has been around long enough to be old to some and young to others, but firmly believes that what you do with your time is more important than how long you have been spending it. As an active member of the development community, Dennis serves on the board of the Lansing .NET User Group, the Ann Arbor .NET User Group and as an organizer for the Lansing Day of .NET.


2 Nino Benvenuti Blog: http://nino.net/blog
Company: Avanade, Inc.
Twitter Id: @ninob
Bio: Nino Benvenuti works in the role of Principal Solution Developer for Avanade and is focused on creating enterprise mobility solutions. He has helped to create a variety of device, desktop, and server-based solutions for a diverse set of customers. Nino is active in the Cincinnati .NET community as well as in the Windows Phone forums and newsgroups.


3 James Bender Blog: www.jamescbender.com
Company: The Sophic Group
Twitter Id: @JamesBender
Bio: James is the Principal Technology Evangelist and Application Development Practice Manager for the The Sophic Group in Columbus, OH. James has been involved in software development and architecture for 16 years. He has worked as a developer and architect on everything from small, single-user applications to Enterprise-scale, multi-user systems. His specialties are .NET development and architecture, SOA, WCF, WF, cloud computing, and agile development methodologies. He is an experienced mentor and author. James is a Microsoft MVP for Visual C#. James is an active member of the development community. He is the current president of the Central Ohio .NET Developers Group (www.condg.org) and continues to lead the Columbus Architects Group (www.colarc.org) and is the senior editor of first-party content for nplus1.org, an educational website aimed toward architects and aspiring architects.


4 Len Smith Blog: http://geekswithblogs.net/ignu
Company: Mediacom
Twitter Id: @ignu
Bio: Len Smith has been developing software on Microsoft technologies for eleven years. He is a senior software engineer for Mediacom in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When not writing software, Len is probably thinking or talking about writing software. His passions are all things ALT.NET, Agile and Lean methodologies, Ruby and a fascination with Domain Specific Languages.


5 Brian T. Jackett Blog: http://www.BrianTJackett.com
Company: Sogeti USA
Twitter Id: @BrianTJackett
Bio: Brian Jackett is a Senior Consultant at Sogeti USA specializing in Microsoft Collaboration and BI technologies, primarily SharePoint development and administration for almost 3 years. Brian is a steering committee member of the Central Ohio SharePoint User Group and enjoys giving back to the community through giving presentations, volunteering at conferences, maintaining a SharePoint / .Net centric blog, and contributing to the SharePoint Twitterverse. He also holds several Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications for SharePoint technologies


6 Michael Eaton Blog: http://mjeaton.net/blog
Company: Validus Solutions, LLC.
Twitter Id: @mjeaton
Bio: Michael Eaton is an independent consultant who lives in southern Michigan. Since 1994, Mike has been designing and implementing high quality, robust solutions using Microsoft technologies including .NET and SQL Server. He speaks at regional events and user groups, runs the Kalamazoo X Conference and helps with the Ann Arbor Give Camp. He is a 2009 C# MVP. When not working on projects or spending time with his family, he enjoys blogging, playing his XBox 360 and hanging out with friends.


7 Jamie Wright Blog: http://wrightin.gs
Company: Brilliant Fantastic
Twitter Id: @jwright
Bio: Jamie Wright is president of Brilliant Fantastic, a software development consulting service provider and ISV for software management applications. He has over ten years software development experience in Microsoft technologies and has developing in .NET since the first beta release. He specializes in application architecture, design patterns, object-oriented design, and business objects using the .NET framework. He loves spending time with his family, blogging at http://wrightin.gs, and he is currently getting therapy for his gadget addiction


8 Jim Holmes Blog: http://frazzleddad.com
Company: Telligent
Twitter Id: @JimHolmes
Bio: Father. Husband. Geek. Veteran. Around 25 years IT experience. Co-author of “Windows Developer Power Tools.” Coffee Roaster. MVP for C#. Chief Cat Herder of the CodeMash Conference. Liked 5th grade so much he did it twice. One-time setter, middle blocker, and weakside hitter. Blogger (http://FrazzledDad.com). Quality Lead at Telligent, makers of neat social software. Big fan of naps.


9 Sam Nasr Blog: http://clevelanddotnet.blogspot.com/
Company: Nasr Information Systems
Twitter Id: @SamNasr
Bio: Sam Nasr has been a software developer since 1995, focusing mostly on Microsoft technologies. Having achieved multiple certifications from Microsoft (MCAD, MCTS, and MCT), Sam develops, teaches, and tours the country to present various topics in .Net. He is also actively involved with the Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group, where he has been the group leader since 2003. In addition, he also started the Cleveland WPF Users Group in June 2009, and the Cleveland .Net Study Group in August 2009. When not coding, Sam loves spending time with his family and friends or volunteering at his local church.


10 Jeff McWherter Blog: http://www.gravityworksdesign.com/Blog.aspx
Company: Gravity Works Design
Twitter Id: @jmcw
Bio: Jeff McWherter is the Director of Development at Gravity Works Design (www.GravityWorksDesign.com). In October of 2009, Jeff was awarded with the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for the second year in a row. Jeff is also a published author, with Testing ASP.NET Web Applications published by Wrox Press. Along with being an author and software developer, Jeff is very active in developing programming communities across the country by speaking at conferences and organizing events such as the Lansing Give Camp, which pairs developers with non-profit organizations for volunteer projects. Jeff enjoys profiling code, applying design patterns, finding obscure namespaces, and long walks in the park. His lifelong interest in programming began with a Home Computing Magazine in 1983, which included an article about writing a game called Boa Alley in BASIC. Jeff currently lives in a farming community near Lansing, MI. When he is not in front of the computer he enjoys rock and ice climbing with his smart and beautiful wife; which leads to his favorite activity of all, road trips.


11 Joe Wirtley Blog: http://JoeWirtley.blogspot.com
Company: Wirtley Consulting LLC
Twitter Id: @JoeWirtley
Bio: Joe Wirtley is an independent consultant with over twenty years software development experience. He currently works as a .NET architect and developer on both smart client (WPF, WCF) and web (ASP.NET) applications. He is an active member of the developer community in the Cincinnati-Dayton, OH area and is a member of the Dayton .NET Developer Group board. He has presented at user groups and many community events, including CodeMash and devLink. You can check out his site at http://WirtleyConsulting.com/or follow him on Twitter: @JoeWirtley.


12 Jay Harris Blog: http://www.cptloadtest.com
Company: HarrisDesigns
Twitter Id: @jayharris
Bio: Jay Harris is a .NET developer and independent software consultant in South-East Michigan. He has been developing on the web for 15 years, since he abandoned VB3 for JavaScript because he didn’t have to wait for a compile. With a career focus on end-user experience, he is a strong advocate of practices and processes that improve quality through code, ranging from automated testing, continuous integration, and performance analysis, to designing applications from the perspective of the user instead of the database. Jay is also active in the developer community beyond speaking, including serving as President of Ann Arbor .Net Developers (http://www.aadnd.org) and as an organizer for Lansing Give Camp and Come Jam With Us. When not coding, he is usually blogging to http://www.cptloadtest.com or playing games on his Xbox 360.


13 Patrick Steele Blog: http://weblogs.asp.net/psteele
Company: SRT Solutions, Inc.
Twitter Id: @dotnetmvp
Bio: Patrick Steele is a senior consultant with SRT Solutions in Ann Arbor Michigan. His rich experience includes positions ranging from senior software developer and lead software architect to network and user support. A recognized expert in Microsoft’s .NET framework, Patrick is a Microsoft .NET MVP award winner and is a frequent presenter on .Net at various conferences and user group meetings. He is currently the author of the “C# Corner” column for Visual Studio Magazine (http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/list/c-sharp-corner.aspx) and is helping organize the next Ann Arbor GiveCamp (http://michigangivecamp.org/cms/annarbor/). He can be reached at patrick.steele@srtsolutions.com.


14 Amelia Marschall Blog:
Company: Gravity Works
Twitter Id: @MimiAmelia
Bio: Amelia Marschall is a Partner and Creative Director at Gravity Works (www.GravityWorksDesign.com) in East Lansing. She holds a Bachelors degree from Northern Michigan University in Graphic Design and Marketing. Amelia has over five years of graphic design experience ranging from logos and branding, print media, and website design. She is continually exploring the latest techniques in website design, and has spoken about the topic in the local development community. She also has a love of typography, and can probably identify any font you show her. When she is not designing or building websites, she enjoys swimming, rock climbing, skiing, pottery, and competing in triathlons.


15 David Giard Blog: http://DavidGiard.com http://TechnologyAndFriends.com
Company: Sogeti
Twitter Id: @DavidGiard
Bio: David Giard has been developing solutions using Microsoft technologies since 1993. In the past, he has spoken at Day of .Net, CodeStock, Microsoft DevCares, Microsoft ArcReady, Dot Net University, X Conference and numerous user groups around the Midwest. He is a recovering certification addict and holds an MCTS, MCSD, MCSE, and MCDBA, as well as a BS and an MBA. He is the host and producer of the mildly popular online TV show Technology and Friends (http://technologyandfriends.com). He is president of the Great Lakes Area .Net User Group. He is an avid photographer and has visually documented many of the Heartland community events. You can read his latest thoughts at www.DavidGiard.com. David lives in Michigan with his two teenage sons.


16 David Truxall Blog: http://www.davidtruxall.com/blog/
Company: Sogeti USA
Twitter Id: @davetrux
Bio: David Truxall is a Principal Consultant for Sogeti USA, a nationwide consulting firm. A speaker at events and user groups, as well as a long-time online contributor, Dr. Truxall has over ten years of development experience with Microsoft tools and software. He creates software for both client and server applications ranging from Microsoft Office and Smart Clients to web applications, web services and Windows services. David also is an expert at troubleshooting applications for both performance and buggy behavior.


17 Jon Kruger Blog: http://jonkruger.com
Company: independent consultant
Twitter Id: @jonkruger
Bio: Jon Kruger is an independent consultant in Columbus, OH where he provides technical leadership for software development projects. Jon has over 10 years experience in various different programming languages (mostly C#/.NET) and is always looking for ways to create better quality software and speed up the software development process. Jon is the creator of TDD Boot Camp, a comprehensive test-driven development training course in .NET (tddbootcamp.com). You can follow Jon on his blog (jonkruger.com) or on Twitter (twitter.com/jonkruger).


18 Aydin Akcasu Blog:
Company: A Vision, Inc.
Twitter Id: @aakcasu
Bio: Aydin Akcasu is the founder of A Vision, Inc (http://www.A-V-I.com). He has over 20 years of experience, and provides innovative solutions using technologies such as WPF, Sharepoint, Java, JavaScript, ASP, Visual Basic, VB.Net, C#.Net, ASP.Net, Flash, XML, XSL. He is a part time ‘C#.Net’ instructor at Washtenaw Community College (www.wccnet.edu), and ‘Advanced C#.Net’. He has given many presentations and classes to local area groups, as well as a few in Bangalore, India, in topics such as: ‘Help, I need to learn Javascript’, ‘Cover you ASP’, ‘VB- What is it good for?’, ‘FLASH-in-the-Pants?’, ‘C#, ASP.Net on a Budget’, ‘Introduction to ’C#.Net’, ‘AJAX – A What’, ‘Google Maps API-Wheres’Waldo?‘, ’Wii Will Wii Will Rock You! !! !!!’. He is a frequent speaker at Day Of Dot Net (http://www.dayofdotnet.org) (‘Kids Programming Language’, ‘Introduction to Object Oriented Programming Using C#’, ‘’Microsoft Virtual Earth, Now in 3D’).


19 Mike Woelmer Blog: http://srtsolutions.com/blogs/mikewoelmer/
Company: SRT Solutions
Twitter Id: @mikewoelmer
Bio: Mike Woelmer is a senior software consultant for SRT Solutions, Ann Arbor. He has more than a decade in the field working for both small companies (video game development) and global businesses (ultrasound image analysis applications). His current career focus is in developing .Net desktop applications. Mike holds degrees from both Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.


20 Jennifer Marsman Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/jennifer
Company: Microsoft
Twitter Id: @jennifermarsman
Bio: Jennifer Marsman is a Developer Evangelist in Microsoft’s Developer and Platform Evangelism group, where she educates developers on Microsoft’s new technologies. Prior to becoming a Developer Evangelist, Jennifer was a software developer in Microsoft’s Natural Interactive Services division. In this role, she filed two patents for her work in search and data mining algorithms. Jennifer has also held positions with Ford Motor Company, National Instruments, and Soar Technology. Jennifer earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering and Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Her graduate work specialized in artificial intelligence and computational theory.


21 Mike Ward Blog:
Company: Blue Onion Software
Twitter Id: @blueonion
Bio: I’ve been developing software since the early 80’s. I was the original author of HyperTerminal, the telnet applet that shipped with Windows 95. More recently, I developed one of the first medical applications for image diagnosis written in Silverlight. In between, I’ve authored numerous utilities for Windows including desktop enhancements and programming libraries. Recently, my focus has been on JavaScript and desktop gadgets, mostly, because they’re just so darn fun to write. You can find out more at http://blueonionsoftware.com


22 Jay R. Wren Blog: http://jrwren.wrenfam.com/blog/
Company: XMTP
Twitter Id: @JayRWren
Bio: I have been writing custom software solutions for integrating Windows and Unix since 1998. My blend of traditional system administration and custom software solutions has allowed numerous enterprises to transcend platform dependence. Some of my software is still in use at a state university in Michigan. Recently I have written software to manage specific applications deployed across hundreds of Unix servers and thousands of Windows servers remotely via a Web Management Interface. The system works without an agent utilizing standard Unix remote management protocols such as SSH. Currently I am an independent contractor working on Windows Forms applications for tuning embedded software control modules for a US auto manufacturer. I spend my free time writing more software, baking, and watching far too much television.


23 Brian Genisio Blog: http://HouseOfBilz.com
Company: SRT Solutions
Twitter Id: @BrianGenisio
Bio: Brian Genisio is a passionate software consultant at SRT Solutions in Ann Arbor, MI and an active member of the Heartland community. For over 10 years, Brian has worked with many languages and technologies. Currently, he is focusing on C# and .Net with WPF and Silverlight while exploring dynamic concepts in his static world. He also loves to talk about testing philosophies and methodologies. He can talk your ear off. Just humor him. In his spare time, he enjoys being a cooking nerd which includes traditional barbecue, baking bread, brewing beer and making as much as he can from scratch.


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