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Speaker Bios

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A

Beau Ambur
Beau Ambur is the founder of San Francisco-based BAX Corp., where he develops Macromedia Flash on the Internet, CD/DVDs and mobile devices to create games, entertainment pieces and applications for companies like Atom/Shockwave, Macromedia, Chrysler, Ford, Warner Bros., and Cisco. Ambur also contributed to the development of the Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX. While working with Macromedia, Ambur developed several of the Communication Components, including SimpleConnect, Whiteboard, and AudioConference. Ambur was the lead developer on the Macromedia Flash MX Rich Internet Application "Intro" (http://www.2intro.com). He is also President of the oldest and largest Macromedia user group, the San Francisco Macromedia User Forum. His web site can be found at http://www.ambur.com.

B

Angela Buraglia
Angela is the co-author of Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips as well as a contributing author to Dreamweaver MX Magic, a contributing author to The ColdFusion MX Web Application Construction Kit, and the lead technical editor for the Dreamweaver MX Bible. She started DreamweaverFAQ.com in June of 2001, and with the help of Dan Short has built it into the invaluable resource it is today. Whenever time permits, she enjoys creating extensions for Dreamweaver.

C

Ray Camden
Raymond Camden is a senior software engineer for Mindseye, Inc. Raymond is co-author of the "Mastering ColdFusion" series published by Sybex Inc as well as the ColdFusion MX Developer’s Handbook. He also presents at numerous conferences and contributes to online webzines. He is a contributor and technical editor of the ColdFusion Developer’s Journal. He and Rob Brooks-Bilson created and run the Common Function Library Project (www.cflib.org) an open source repository of ColdFusion UDFs.

Josh Cavalier
Josh Cavalier is the founder and director of Interactive Fun!, a digital media solutions and training firm. He has been in the print/multimedia/web design industry for over eleven years, and has worked in various digital media fields including medical visualization, digital photography and printing. Josh has a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Mike Chambers
Mike Chambers has been creating applications integrating Macromedia Flash with server side technologies (ColdFusion, Java, ASP, and PHP) for a number of years. He is currently the Product Manager for Developer Relations for Macromedia Central. He has written and spoken extensively on Macromedia Flash and Rich Internet Applications and is co-author of "Flash Enabled: Flash Design and Development for Devices" as well as "Generator and Flash Demystified." Mike received his Masters in International Economics and European Studies from the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1998.

Robert Crooks
Robert Crooks is Director of Curriculum Development at Macromedia. He has co-authored many Macromedia authorized training courses including Developing Rich Internet Applications with Macromedia Flash MX.

D

Mike Downey
As an experienced instructor, web app developer, and multimedia producer, Mike has helped thousands of Macromedia customers to create better online experiences. In his new role as Producer, Mike and a team of talented designers and developers are building new online seminars incorporating the best rich multimedia technologies to deliver the ultimate web-based learning experience.

Steve Drucker
Mr. Drucker is the CEO of Fig Leaf Software based in Washington, D.C. He is a Certified Macromedia "Master" Instructor for ColdFusion MX, Macromedia Flash MX, and Dreamweaver MX, as well as a Certified Macromedia Flash MX developer, Dreamweaver MX Developer, and Advanced ColdFusion MX Developer. He has also authored numerous technical articles for the CFDJ and delivered a series of seminars about integrating Content Management Systems, E-Commerce Systems, and Web-Portals using multiple products and platforms.

Daniel Dura
Daniel Dura, along with his brother Josh (http://www.joshdura.com), is co-founder of Dura Media LLC (http://www.duramedia.com), a leading Rich Internet Application development firm based in Dallas, Texas. They have both been involved in numerous projects, including development of the Macromedia DevNet Resource Kits (DRKs). From his early days developing applications using Pascal, C++, and Java, Daniel has always been fascinated with devising ways that individuals can use computers to enhance activities in their daily lives. His first introduction to Flash was in the days of Flash 4, but became obsessed with the technology when Flash 5 was released. A self-proclaimed Macromedia Flash evangelist, he has worked in many fields including education and telecommunications, where he has always been able to convey the value of the benefit of Macromedia Flash based technologies to executives and employees alike. His most recent speaking assignment was at Flash Forward 2003 in New York City where he spoke about the DRKs. He was recently named a member of Team Macromedia, focusing on Macromedia Central, and runs a blog found at http://www.danieldura.com.

E

Ben Elmore
Benjamin Elmore has been an active member in both the Allaire and Macromedia community for over 6 years. During that time Benjamin has worked very closely with Macromedia in both product development and promoting their products to Fortune 500 companies around the world. In particular, Benjamin worked as a Macromedia Product Evangelist, demonstrating and consulting on proper architectural adoption of their server technologies. Benjamin’s focus has been in Application Design and Construction. Benjamin is also a Certified Macromedia Instructor and a frequent speaker at both international events and at local user groups. Benjamin loves to talk and share ideas. He can be reached at ben@benelmore.com.

Joyce Evans
Joyce J. Evans is a training veteran with over 10 years of experience in educational teaching, tutorial development, and Web design. She has received Editors Choice Awards for several of her books which include Macromedia Studio MX Bible, Dreamweaver MX Complete Course, Web Design Complete Course, Fireworks MX Zero to Hero as well as earlier version books on Fireworks. Joyce is active in the Fireworks community and is a Team Macromedia Volunteer. Her work can also be found in the Macromedia Design/Developer center. She can be reached at Joyce@JoyceJEvans.com . Her Web site is www.JoyceJEvans.com .

Troy Evans
Troy Evans is senior product manager at Macromedia. Evans is responsible for product management for Macromedia Flash Player client products related to Mobile and Devices. Evans has been at Macromedia for four years, where he has been responsible for all aspects of product management for the desktop Macromedia Flash Player prior to moving to the mobile and devices area, often as an active spokesperson for the company with customers, technology and security issues. Prior to Macromedia, Evans was product manager at Renaissance Software Limited, responsible for Macromedia sales activities within New Zealand.

 

F

Drew Falkman
Drew Falkman is the author of JRun Web Application Construction Kit and co-author of Reality ColdFusion: J2EE Integration, both published by Macromedia Press. Currently Drew offers technology planning, project management, and development services through his consulting company: Veraison, LLC. Drew also speaks at events, writes for numerous publications (including ColdFusion Developer’s Journal and Macromedia’ DevNet), and teaches web development courses at Portland State University. Over the past 7 years, Drew has developed about 200 web applications in all sizes primarily using ColdFusion and Java. Most recently, Drew guided Stampede Cattle Company’s technical direction as "virtual CTO," which included planning and managing the development of their real-time cattle auction (www.stampedecattle.com) using Macromedia Flash Remoting and Macromedia Flash Communication Server. This site was featured on NPR’s "All Things Considered" and other national press venues. Drew is also a member of Team Macromedia, a Certified ColdFusion Developer, and a Certified Macromedia Instructor. You can learn more about Drew at http://www.drewfalkman.com/.

Silke Fleischer
Silke Fleischer is a Product Manager for RoboDemo at eHelp Corporation. Silke has led eHelp's acquisition of several technologies, and is responsible for the launch and development of both RoboDemo and RoboDemo eLearning Edition. Her primary responsibility is to work closely with customers and key influencers in the eLearning industry to communicate their needs and ideas to the research and development team at eHelp Corporation. Silke is a member of the eLearning Guild, ASTD and Society for Technical Communication (STC). She has been a featured speaker at several national and international conferences including STC, eLearning Guild, SALT and Tekom, as well as numerous regional events and chapter meetings.

Ken Fogarty
Ken has been an authorized Macromedia trainer since 1995. He teaches Director, Macromedia Flash, ActionScript, Advanced ActionScript, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver MX for Applications, ColdFusion MX, and Freehand. He also is an authorized CIW- Certified Internet Webmaster trainer. Training clientele dynamics include multinational corporations as well as small privately held companies. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, examples of companies that Ken has done production work for include some of the largest and most reputable companies in the region, including BMW motors, Mercedes-Benz motors, and Merck pharmaceuticals. Ken has a Computer Science degree from Gwynedd Mercy College and has a Masters Degree in Information Science from Penn State University.

Ben Forta
Ben Forta is Senior Product Evangelist at Macromedia, and has over two decades of experience in the computer industry in product development, support, training, and marketing. Ben is the author of the best-selling ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit and its sequel Advanced ColdFusion Application Development, as well as books on SQL, JavaServer Pages, WAP, Windows development, and more. Over ½ million Ben Forta books have been printed in a dozen languages worldwide. Ben co-authored the official Macromedia ColdFusion training material, as well as the certification tests and Macromedia Press study guides for those tests, writes regular columns on ColdFusion and Internet development, and now spends a considerable amount of time lecturing and speaking on application development worldwide.

Ken Fricklas
Ken Fricklas is CTO of Mallfinder Network, the largest provider of mall web site solutions. He has worked with ColdFusion since version 1.5, and has been a Macromedia Trainer since 1999. He is co-author of Sybex ColdFusion MX Developer’s Handbook (2003), and editor for Ben Forta’s ColdFusion Web Construction Kit 4.0 (2001)

G

Dave Gallerizo
Dave oversees the growth and development of Fig Leaf’s consulting services, Web applications development and systems integration capabilities. In his role as Vice President/Consulting Services, Dave is responsible for focusing Fig Leaf Software’s programming and business consulting resources, as well as its innovative spirit, on developing Web applications to meet each client’s business needs. As a Macromedia Certified Instructor, Dave brings to the leadership team a deep understanding of Web application programming, ColdFusion and Spectra development, and entrepreneurial strength. Before joining Fig Leaf Software in 1997, Dave designed and implemented custom client-server software for the Washington, DC area trade association market. Dave graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a BS in Computer Science. He recently served in combat with the 4th LAR BN, USMC, in Iraq.

Shlomy Gantz
Shlomy Gantz is the founder and president of BlueBrick Inc., a Technology Management Consulting firm based in New York. He is a Certified Macromedia Instructor as well as a Certified Developer and is a frequent presenter at conferences and user groups around the world. He currently teaches for Motion Over Time, a Macromedia Authorized Training Partner in New York City. He has over a decade of application development experience, an extensive background in interaction design and project management, and has been building web based solutions since 1996. Prior to founding BlueBrick, he has been a Senior Consultant for Computer Horizons, leading large scale projects for the airline industry. Prior to that he was co-founder and vice president of technology for CoreActive ACG., a New York based consulting group and a premier Allaire partner.

David Gassner
David Gassner is an independent Macromedia-Certified Technical Instructor who teaches courses in ColdFusion and Dreamweaver for Macromedia and for San Francisco-based roundpeg. He has developed courseware and teaches classes in Java, JavaScript, ASP, ASP.NET, HTML, and XML, and has published numerous articles in ColdFusion Developers Journal on the development of ColdFusion with advanced web technologies and techniques such as XML and MVC-style programming.

Brian Ghidinelli
Brian Ghidinelli is the previous founder and principal of vFive, which was acquired by IconMedialab in late 2002. He now serves as Senior Technology Analyst and engineer in the San Francisco office. Brian has extensive experience with Rich Internet Applications and serves on Macromedia customer advisory councils and beta programs.

Michael Gough
Michael Gough is Macromedia’s Chief Creative Officer. An advocate for quality in digital experiences, Michael has been pushing the digital envelope for years. Previously, he was the Vice President of Brand Design at Nike, the Chief Creative Officer of Quokka Sports and the Creative Director of Construct.

Dave Gruber
Dave Gruber is the Sr. Product Manager for Macromedia Central Applications. Macromedia Central defines a new model for Internet applications, blending the best of a desktop environment with the best of the web. Dave also leads the Macromedia Flash Remoting product team. Dave joined Macromedia with the acquisition of Allaire Corp. in early 2001 where he was the Product Manager for ColdFusion. Prior to Allaire, Dave was the Director of Systems Engineering for Bright Tiger Technologies, creators of ClusterCATS, which was acquired by Allaire in 1999 and still ships today with ColdFusion and JRun.

Paul Gubbay
Paul has spent the last several years building the vision and infrastructure in the role of CEO of CyberSage Software. His understanding of the issues that face today's customers and the development tools that are available to solve them played a key role in the direction of the company. Under Paul's guidance, CyberSage focused on emerging technologies such as XML, Java, and Macromedia Flash to deliver leading edge product offerings. With the recent technology acquisition of CyberSage Software, Paul joined Macromedia as a Director of Engineering, where he continues to apply his vision and understanding of customers' needs to Macromedia product offerings.

H

Robin Haffner
Robin Haffner is an Enterprise Technologist with HaffnerGraphic, a company she founded in January of 2000. After earning a Computer Science degree at Roger Williams University, Robin pursued a technical career that revolved around Education. As a perpetual student, a dedicated Instructor and consultant, she has kept ahead of the technology curve. Over the years, Robin has had the opportunity to speak internationally on many topics including venues such as Macromedia DevCon 2001, 2002, Sybase
User Conference Vienna, Austria 1997, Los Angeles, CA 1998, Orlando, Fla. 1999. Currently, Robin is engaged in Flash consulting for large-scale applications in the New York City area.

Lawson Hancock
Lawson Hancock is Product Manager for Macromedia Contribute. Prior to joining Macromedia he held senior product management positions at Art Technology Group, Lotus Development and PC DOCS/Fulcrum. Lawson is a graduate of Florida State University

Alexander Hearnz
Alex Hearnz is an independent agent performing training, development and consulting on various development platforms including Macromedia, Microsoft and Sun. He is a systems architect, designer, developer and trainer with over 20 years of leading edge Information Technology experience. He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Designer and Trainer, a Macromedia Flash MX Certified Developer and Instructor, a Certified Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion Trainer and Developer, and a Sun JAVA2 Certified Developer. Alex specializes in assisting organizations optimize their web development efforts using various tools including Dreamweaver MX, Macromedia Flash MX, ColdFusion MX and JRun by providing hands on training, consulting and development assistance. In his off time, Alex enjoys family time, sports and motorcycling.

Sean Hedenskog
Sean‘s background includes over 8 years of technical training experience. He is currently focused on working with Macromedia and its training partners to deliver high quality training. Sean has been a Macromedia Certified Instructor since 1998, when he was first certified to teach Fast Track to ColdFusion for Allaire. Since then he has gone on to teach hundreds of classes on HTML, ColdFusion, Dreamweaver and Macromedia Flash. He has also helped in the development of some of the courseware. Sean is pleased to return as a presenter at Macromedia MAX 2003.

Andrew Hindle
A web development job in Tokyo, blissfully salary-free, led in quick succession to a stressed bank manager and a paying job as website manager for a British software company. Since then, Andi Hindle has worked as a pre-sales technical consultant for Allaire in Europe, has contributed to two publications with Ben Forta (as technical editor and co-author respectively), and currently manages the Macromedia server business in EMEA. In his spare time, Andi enjoys SCUBA diving and paying his mortgage.

Simon Horwith
Simon Horwith is Chief Technology Officer of eTRILOGY Ltd., a software development company based in London, England. Simon has been using ColdFusion since version 1.5 and is a member of Team Macromedia. He is a Macromedia Certified Advanced ColdFusion and Flash  D eveloper and is a Macromedia Certified  I nstructor. In addition to administering the CFDJ-List mail list and presenting at CFUGs and conferences around the world,  Simon has also been a contributing author of several books and technical papers.

David Hogue
Dave Hogue is the Director of Information Design and Usability at Fluid, a San Francisco-based digital media firm and leader in the field of Rich Internet Application (RIA) design and development.  He leads the Information Design Group and developed and oversees Fluid's Integrated Usability program, which incorporates usability principles and best practices through all phases of design and development.  Dave has worked on projects spanning such diverse areas as RIAs, self-service kiosks, and traditional HTML Web sites and applications.  The projects have included fields such as financial services, entertainment, education, and eCommerce.  In addition to his work at Fluid, Dave is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at both the University of San Francisco and Golden Gate University where he teaches Applied Psychology.

Sue Hove
Sue Hove is the Director of Instructor Readiness at Macromedia. For the last 7 years, she has been building hands-on, technical training for customers using ColdFusion, Dreamweaver and JRun. Sue has been teaching technical training for the last 12 years in the areas of client/server development and relational database management and design.

J

Tom Jordahl
Tom has been a Principal Engineer at Allaire/Macromedia for over 6 years and has spent the last 2 years on the front lines of Web Services. He is one of the implementers of Apache Axis and is the Macromedia representative on the W3C Web Service Description WSDL 1.2 working group. Before getting involved in Web Services, he was the technical lead for the ColdFusion on UNIX products. Tom is currently 'back home' working on ColdFusion.

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Phillip Kerman
Phillip Kerman is a Macromedia Flash programmer and author of the best-selling Sams Teach Yourself Macromedia Flash MX in 24 Hours and ActionScripting in Flash MX. He also conducts Macromedia Flash training workshops around the world. Recently he used Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX and Macromedia Flash Remoting to program a real-time auction for www.stampedecattle.com that sells millions of dollars worth of cattle per hour.

Forest Key
Forest Key is a Senior Product Manager at Macromedia. In his role, he is responsible for defining, driving, and implementing releases of the Macromedia Flash authoring environment. Forest has worked in film, television, and multimedia in both creative production roles as well as in technology development. As a product manager he has contributed to the teams that developed numerous visual effects, animation, and broadcast/film software and hardware products for companies such as Pinnacle Systems, Puffin Designs, and Avid Technology. As a production supervisor, editor and animator his credits range from Star Wars Episode IV to independent films and Super Bowl ads while working at production companies such as George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic and creative studio The Orphanage.

Kai Konig
Kai works as a software architect for msg at.NET GmbH in Neuss, Germany. Starting 1997 with developing in Java and using the former Allaire technologies ColdFusion and JRun since 1999, he also develops Rich Internet Applications using Macromedia Flash MX technologies. Kai also supports the Macromedia community by running a ColdFusion User Group (CFUG Nordwest) in Germany and provides information on MX technology in Germany’s first ColdFusion weblog (Blog in Black). Kai serves as a speaker on several Macromedia-related conferences and regularly publishes reviews and technical articles in the German IT-magazines "i’X" and "MX Magazin". Kai is an Advanced Certified ColdFusion MX Developer, and a Certified Instructor for ColdFusion MX.

L

Andrew Lin
A member of the Macromedia Experience Design Group, Andrew works across product teams to define and design great digital experiences. In his role as Senior Interactive Designer, Andrew led the design on Macromedia Halo components and interfaces for Macromedia Breeze, Macromedia Studio MX 2004, and Macromedia.com. Prior to Macromedia, Andrew was an Interaction Designer at Swim Interaction Design Studio and a Senior Art Director at Modem Media. There, he helped design award-winning web sites for brands such as General Motors, Citibank, and Starwood Hotels. Andrew has a dual-BA in engineering sciences and studio art from Dartmouth College in Hanover , NH .

Tom Link
Tom Link is a Senior Product Support Engineer in the Macromedia MX Professional group, working onsite with clients worldwide to tune and troubleshoot the ColdFusion platform. He is a Certified Advanced Coldfusion Developer.

Erik Larson
Erik Larson manages the Macromedia Contribute business. He was the product manager for Macromedia Contribute 1.0 and has focused on new product development at Macromedia in the areas of user experience, information architecture and content management. Erik is a graduate of MIT and the Harvard Business School, and served as a captain in the US Air Force.

Joe Lowery
Joseph Lowery is an author and extension developer. His books on the Web and Web-building tools are international best-sellers, having sold over 300,000 copies world-wide in 9 different languages. As a programmer, Joseph contributed two extensions to the latest release of Fireworks MX and many, many extensions for Dreamweaver. He has presented at Seybold in both Boston and San Francisco, Macromedia UCON in the U.S. and Europe, ThunderLizard’s Web World and Fawcette Publication’s WebBuilder.

Derek Lu
Derek is a developer on the multimedia marketing team at Macromedia. His group created Macromedia On Demand, a library of seminars used to evaluate Macromedia products.

Kevin Lynch
Kevin Lynch is the chief software architect for Macromedia. Lynch has been instrumental in shaping the Macromedia product family since joining the company in 1996. As chief software architect, Lynch is responsible for ensuring Macromedia tools, servers, and clients are practical, powerful, and enjoyable for its customers. Lynch led the initial development on Macromedia Dreamweaver, which defined the visual web authoring space for professional developers, and he is now leading the team responsible for Macromedia Central, which extends Macromedia Flash beyond the browser and provides a streamlined way for users to interact with information.

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Ethan Malasky
Ethan is a software engineer at Macromedia, and has worked on Central since its inception. His responsibilities include defining and implementing technologies to support the growing Central developer community. He also fixes bugs. Prior to joining Macromedia, Ethan architected client-server software at iHarvest and worked onnetworking and database connectivity at Oracle.

David McFarland
David McFarland is the author of the best-selling "Dreamweaver MX: The Missing Manual" and frequently speaks and writes on Web development and Dreamweaver.

Peter Meechan
Peter Meechan joined Macromedia in 2000 and is Vice President, Mobile and Devices responsible for the Company’s non-desktop software business focusing on the consumer electronics and mobile industries. Peter also serves on Sofinova Partners’ telecommunications advisory board, one of Europe ’s leading venture capital firms.

Prior to joining Macromedia Peter was the General Manager, Platform Software Development Center at Sony Electronics focusing on software products for home entertainment networking and interactive TV. Peter represented Sony in various standards initiatives including a board of director’s position for Microsoft’s Universal Plug and Play and as founding marketing chairman for the consumer electronics industry’s home networking initiative HAVi.

Peter has spent 13 years in the computer graphics industry including management positions at Silicon Graphics’ software subsidiary Alias|Wavefront where he last led business development. At Wavefront Technologies he held management positions in engineering, international operations, and led the Asia-Pacific and Latin America operation. While an animator at MetroLight Studios in Hollywood , his work included the 1992 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy™ Award winning NBC Barcelona Olympics graphics package. Peter was the ACM SIGGRAPH ’95 Conference Co-Chair and served for years on the ACM SIGGRAPH Conference Planning Committee, the international organization on computer graphics and interactive techniques. Peter began his career as a computer graphics software developer in Tokyo , Japan after attending Waseda University in Tokyo .

Peter graduated with degrees in visual design/computer graphics and Asian studies from the University of Oregon in 1985.

Nathan Moody
Nathan Moody is the Director of Interactive Media at Fluid, Inc., andleads its award-winning Motion Graphics discipline. He has worked in nearly every digital creative discipline over the past 12 years, including special effects for film, video editing, illustration, graphic and motion design, sound design, interface design, and more.

At Fluid, Nathan focuses on interaction design and the visualization of complex processes. He has worked on projects for such clients as Avery Dennison, Charles Schwab, Goodby Silverstein and Partners, Hooked on Phonics, the Leakey Foundation, Macromedia, Macrovision, Mattel, The North Face, and Reuters.

Nathan is a also published author on the topics of digital imaging, broadcast design, and special effects. He has taught and presented at the Seybold Seminars, the Adobe Dynamic Media Users Conference, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, the Center for Electronic Art, and many user groups.

Kevin Mullet
Kevin Mullet has been designing and evaluating user experiences since 1989 for a wide range of companies including Sun, Macromedia, Netscape, Yahoo!, Napster, Icarian, Propel, and numerous internet start-ups.  He has worked on everything from web sites and corporate identity to enterprise-class web applications, desktop productivity suites, and high-end production tools for animators, illustrators, and software developers. At Macromedia he led the original Macromedia User Interface effort and was the lead designer for Director 5 and 6, where he earned eternal infamy with long-time users as the guy who changed Command-P from “Play” to “Print.” Kevin holds BS and MA degrees in Industrial Design from the Ohio State University. He has written and lectured widely on experience design and graphic design for user interfaces. He is co-author of “Designing Visual Interfaces: Communication-Oriented Techniques,” which was chosen as one of the top three books on user interface design practice in a CHI 2000 survey.

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Chuck Neal
Chuck Neal is CEO of MediaMacros, Inc. and owner and operator of www.mediamacros.com, one of the leading free web resources for Macromedia Director Developers. He has worked on projects for clients such as Coca-Cola, UPS, Ford Motor, US Marine Corps, BBC, Sony, DreamWorks Records, & Hasbro Toys. He has spoken at the Macromedia Developers Conference, Macromedia User Group Meetings, taught Director classes, and is an active member of "Team Macromedia".

Samuel Neff
Samuel Neff is a Senior Software Engineer with B-Line Express in Washington, DC where he develops RIAs in ColdFusion MX, Java, and Macromedia Flash. Sam is an active member of both the ColdFusion and Macromedia Flash communities, participating in the Macromedia web forums as a Team Macromedia Volunteer and several ColdFusion and Macromedia Flash mailing lists. He has contributed to DevNet, print magazines and books and is a frequent speaker for conferences and local user groups.

Nader Nejat
Nader Nejat, founder of OmegaMedia, helps people express their visual and technical ideas through interactive media. He designs and develops rich media applications, games, & custom software solutions for companies such as Nike, Sony, MTV, Visa, and NBC. He specializes in creating data-driven multimedia applications that create engaging interactive experiences. He also teaches Macromedia Flash classes at San Francisco State University on Advanced Production, ActionScripting, Mobile Design, XML, & Video.

Nilson Neuschotz
Nilson is Founder and President of Motion Over Time, Inc., a Macromedia Authorized Training center in New York City. He is the author of Welcome to Macintosh Multimedia (Henry Holt & Co. 1994.) and Introduction to Director and Lingo for Online Applications (Simon and Schuster, 1999). He also authored several past curricula for the Macromedia training department and articles for Imaging Magazine among others.

Mike Nimer
Mike Nimer started at Macromedia over 4 years ago building and maintaining the Allaire.com, Developers Exchange, and many internal web sites and applications. Following this he spent 3 years in the Consulting Group helping customers with their architecture planning, code reviews and customized training. He is now working as an engineer on the ColdFusion development team.

John Nosal
John J. Nosal has worked for Macromedia in the Technical Support department for the past 9 years. John is currently serving as the Product Team Liaison for the FreeHand team. In this roll John has his finger on the pulse of the customers and relays that information to the engineering team. He also provides regular communication and training for the members of the FreeHand support team worldwide. Prior to working for Macromedia John worked in the needlecraft publishing industry for 10 years were he did technical illustrations by hand and later on Macintosh computers starting with FreeHand 1. Later his roll evolved into a more technical roll with implementing and supporting the computer and software needs of the staff for the publishing and editorial departments of the company. John lives on a small farm just north east of Dallas, Texas with his wife Sherry and two children Rachael and Joseph.

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Allen Partridge
Dr. Allen Partridge runs Insight Interactive, a game-development company. He is the author of Real-Time Interactive 3D Games; Creating 3D Games with Macromedia Director 8.5 / Shockwave Studio. Allen is the host of dirGames-L (the largest online e-mail discussion community centered on game design and creation using Macromedia Director) and of Dir-3DL, (the definitive resource for Director 3D developers.)

Theodore Patrick
Theodore Patrick is founder of PowerSDK Software Corp. Ted currently serves as lead developer for the Open Source PowerSDK Runtime Library for Flash. Launched in April 2003, The PowerSDK Runtime Library provides a reusable framework for building complex Flash applications. Ted has also provided development services to clientele including, Pepsi International, Warner Music Group, Intratainment.com and IshopHere.com among others.

Christine Perfetti
As one of the most requested instructors at User Interface Engineering, Christine Perfetti has worked with dozens of companies on their toughest web design problems. With her extensive knowledge of human factors, task design, user recruitment, and usability testing practices, Christine has been a top-rated presenter at CHI 2001 2002, and 2003, the UIE Research Forums, HFES 2002, and STC regional conferences.

Bill Perry
Bill Perry is a senior consultant at Prosum where he focuses on mobile and wireless application development. He also maintains www.pocketpcflash.net as a Macromedia Flash development resource for Pocket PCs. He is a member of Team Macromedia, has spoken at conferences, is co-author of the book "Flash Enabled", and has worked on several location-based Macromedia Flash applications using Pocket PCs. Currently, Bill is exploring alternative uses of Macromedia Flash applications with smart devices in wireless environments.

Tom Person
Tom is a Senior Web and Learning Evangelist at Macromedia, training and demonstrating Macromedia products at conferences, seminars, tradeshows, schools and universities. Specializing in e-learning, he has traveled and spoken internationally on the benefits and virtues of Macromedia products in the area of on-line learning, training and content development (CBT, CD and wireless), as well as content integration with various LMS/LCMS (Learning Management Systems) and making that content Accessible with W3C and 508 (U.S.) guidelines.

Art Philips
Arthur Phillips has been delivering cutting edge training solutions since 1984. Art holds too many certifications as a Macromedia Instructor, Designer and Developer to list. Art was rated top scorer by Macromedia in both his Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver certifications. Art has assisted in the development and testing of Macromedia courseware and is one of a handful of instructors to be certified in Macromedia courses that teach Rich Internet Application Development.

James Polanco
James Polanco has been working with Macromedia for over three and a half years and is currently a QA Engineer for the Royale development team. James originally joined Macromedia as a Technical Support representative. Over the years, James served as a Technical Support Team Lead for the Shockwave Multiuser Server, Director, and Macromedia Breeze. James has also served as a member of Professional Services, specializing in Macromedia Flash and Flash Remoting.
James is a certified Macromedia Flash developer and has worked with and supported Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Breeze, Director, Flash Remoting, ColdFusion, Dreamweaver, Macromedia Flash Communication Server, and Authorware. He has also written an in-depth article for DevNet about skinning Macromedia Flash MX components. When not playing with multimedia, he focuses on producing, promoting, and spinning electronic music in San Francisco.

Brandon Purcell
Prior to joining Allaire/Macromedia in 2000, Brandon Purcell served in the US Army as a Communication Officer. As part of the Second Infantry Division in Korea he designed and implemented a dynamic web based, database driven, tactical command and control system providing up to the second updates of equipment, personnel, and significant activities to commanders. As a Instructor for the US Army Computer Science School he was responsible for the development and training given to U.S. Army personnel, Department of Defense civilians and foreign national students for courses on web design, web applications, database design, Windows NT, and network security. During his tenure with Macromedia he has supported ColdFusion, Jrun, Flash Remoting, and has written whitepapers and articles on clustering and high availability. Currently he is working as an escalation engineer for the Server Support Organization.

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Holly Quarzo
As Chief Creative Officer, Holly Quarzo directs and oversees all visual creative aspects for echo11media, inc., a full-service custom eLearning development and Macromedia Authorized Training company. By strategically integrating user-centered design with interactive multimedia technology, she concepts and creates effective and impactful elearning applications. Holly’s expertise includes diverse facets of computer-based graphic design, Web design and multimedia. Holly is also a top Macromedia certified instructor and Dreamweaver MX subject-matter expert. She teaches Macromedia Flash MX, Dreamweaver MX, and Fireworks MX. She holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts, Graphic Design and Computer Graphics, from Indiana State University, where she graduated with distinction, and a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Arts from the University of Rochester.

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Dan Radigan
Dan Radigan is a Quality Assurance Lead at Macromedia. He lead the design of the PHP server technology in Dreamweaver MX. He spends most of his time coding in PHP using Dreamweaver. He’s been using PHP since version 3.0 and spends about equal time between the Windows, Macintosh, and Linux builds of PHP.

Bob Regan
Bob Regan is the senior product manager for accessibility at Macromedia. In that role, he works with designers, developers and engineers from around the world to communicate existing strategies for accessibility as well as develop new strategies. Bob has a Masters degree from Columbia University in Education. He is an author contributing to several books including Constructing Accessible Web Sites, the Flash Usability Guide, Dynamic Dreamweaver MX and the Webmasters Handbook.

Julia Ridgely
Julia Ridgely is government systems engineer for Macromedia. A frequent speaker at Macromedia Users Groups, conferences, and seminars, she has helped implement intranets for the Air Force, Corning, and Fannie Mae, among others. She has created Contribute training strategies and led hands-on training sessions for a number of government and private organizations. Julia holds Macromedia certifications in Flash and Dreamweaver MX.

Eric Rosen
Eric is Learning Strategist with Saba , the leader in Human Capital Development and Management applications. Eric is author of SCORM Detective, the first contribution to the ADL SCORM Third Party Tools Forum. Eric designs and delivers workshops on e-learning standards such as SCORM and AICC and contributes to CLO Magazine. Currently, Eric is VP-Programs for the Silicon Valley Chapter of the International Society for Performance Improvement and is pursuing an online Masters degree in Instructional and Performance Technology at Boise State University .

Gary Rosenzweig
Owner and Chief Engineer of CleverMedia, which specializes in expert Shockwave and Flash programming. Gary is recognized as one of the top Macromedia Director Lingo and Macromedia Flash ActionScript programmers in the world. He has written ten books, including Using Director MX Special Edition.

Abigail Rudner
Abigail Rudner is a passionate and dynamic designer and educator. She teaches web design, web graphics, illustration, and photo illustration and digital video production with love and enthusiasm for clients all across the U.S.A. Abigail is the Author of several Web Design Training books including Fireworks Fundamentals (New Riders) and Best Selling Dreamweaver MX Hands-On-Training with Garo Green (Peach Pit Press). Using a synthesis of design methodology, visual thinking, computer graphics tools and techniques, Abigail inspires and teaches students how to design and produce with purpose.

Rob Rusher
Rob Rusher is a Principal Consultant with AYC, based in Denver, Colorado, which is an e-business integrator, providing professional services for Internet strategy and development. Rob is an active member is several user groups and web forums regarding ColdFusion and Java development. As a Certified ColdFusion Instructor Developer, he has helped ColdFusion developers across the country create fast and secure applications through on-site consulting, presentations, publications, and training.

Peter Ryce
I can’t believe that I’ve spent 24 years with computers - and I still own my Apple II and Apple Lisa! During high school and university I did consulting – doing things like programming relational databases (remember when people did that?) Then I spent 3 years as IT manager for KPMG (the suit and tie era.) Next was 2 years teaching, training, and developing CBT for graphics products (teaching Director 2 among others.) And for the last 12 years I’ve been in software product management and marketing (A|W - Maya, Director, Flash Communication Server, etc) except for a brief, but fun, stint as Executive Producer at Shockwave.com during the bubble.

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Jim Schley
Jim is Principal QA Engineer for the ColdFusion product line at Macromedia. Jim’s primary responsibilities include testing and optimizing ColdFusion product performance. Jim has worked for Macromedia and Allaire since June 2000. He has over six years experience building web applications with ColdFusion and has built e-commerce and enterprise web applications for such customers as the U.S. Mint, FAA, Pfizer, The BOC Group, and Schering-Plough. Jim is an alumnus of the Johns Hopkins University.

Leo Schuman
Technical training, complex data reporting, and application development have been central to Leo’s career for nearly ten years, with four years focused on teaching web application development. As a Macromedia Certified Instructor and Developer for Macromedia Flash, JRun, and ColdFusion, he leads classes in Macromedia Flash MX Actionscript, CFML, SQL, XML, Java Servlets, and related presentation technologies, for Macromedia, and its partners, bringing Macromedia products to life in student’s hands.

Laurent Sellier
Laurent Sellier is a Senior Product Manager at Macromedia in the Mobile and Devices Group. Throughout his career, Laurent actively participated in defining and building end-to-end solutions that enable Wireless Operators to introduce value added services. Prior to joining Macromedia, Laurent worked at Inktomi where he was the lead Product Manager in their Wireless Division. Previously, Laurent worked in Cap Gemini Ernst and Young Research and Development facilities for the Telecom Industry in Atherton. He started his professional career at Vivendi in Paris doing Product Management and Business Development in their Internet Division. Laurent received a Bachelor of Science from a leading University in France - Ecole Speciale des Travaux Publics (ESTP) in Paris - and attended University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in its Master of Science program. Additionally, he holds a Master of Business from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) in Paris.

Dave Simmons
Dave Simmons is a Principal Engineer in the Macromedia Flash Communications Server MX and Macromedia Breeze Engineering group at Macromedia. He has been an employee of Macromedia for over ten years. The past several years have been spent developing Macromedia Flash player and server technology. Prior projects have included the design and implementation of the Shockwave Multiuser Server and the Director Multiuser Xtra. Dave also was Project Manager and lead engineer for SoundEdit 16. In a prior life, he spent 8 years living in Tokyo and Singapore developing software products for Asian markets.

Simon Slooten
Simon is founder and CEO of Prisma IT, a Macromedia Alliance Partner. He has been one of only a handful of Macromedia Certified Master Instructors in the world since 1997. He has over 20 years of (international) experience in the computer industry in software development, consultancy and training. Simon is the manager of the dutch CFUG. He is a regular speaker and has spoken on Macromedia/Allaire Developer Conferences in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He manages the Dutch ColdFusion User Group.

Mike Sorrentino
Mike Sorrentino has been involved in IT consulting and web application development for over six years. In his role as team leader of the Atlanta office for Fig Leaf Software, Mike is responsible for architecting and developing customized solutions for a variety of industries and platforms. Mike is both a Macromedia Certified Instructor and Developer. Prior to joining Fig Leaf Software in 2001, Mike designed and implemented custom web applications as a consultant for CSC Consulting in Houston, Texas. Mike graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.E. in electrical engineering and a B.S. in mathematics.

Jeanette Stallons
Jeanette Stallons is Curriculum Architect at Macromedia where she is the technical lead for defining the scope and content of the Macromedia Authorized Training curriculum. In addition to guiding the curriculum, Jeanette also writes some of the courses. In the last year she co-developed, wrote, and built the Developing Rich Internet Applications with Flash MX and Advanced ColdFusion MX Development courses. Between product cycles, Jeanette divides her time teaching the courses, training, certifying, and supporting instructors world-wide to teach the courses, building intranet and Internet applications, and speaking at conferences. Jeanette has a boundless enthusiasm for learning and teaching, with a particular interest in programming languages. For the last 5 years, she has immersed herself in the web world, building web applications and teaching various web technologies. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in the engineering world, writing simulations and solving problems using her degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.

Ruth Stryker
Ruth Stryker is a freelance Macromedia Certified Instructor and Developer based in San Francisco. She has been teaching and using both Fireworks and Dreamweaver since they were introduced over five years ago. One of her favorite aspects of Fireworks is being able to design the layout for a page, "slice it", and then have Fireworks generate HTML code which can be opened and modified in Dreamweaver. Ruth can be reached at ruth@ruthstryker.com.

Mike Sundermeyer
Mike Sundermeyer is SVP of Product Design at Macromedia. Growing up surfing in Santa Cruz has given him a love of the experience. Growing up with traffic lights that deliver 2-minute reds at 3am has given him an idignation for bad design. At Macromedia, he used applied indignation as the lead UI designer for Dreamweaver, and contributed to the conception and design of Contribute, Breeze and other products. Prior to Macromedia, Mike led various design and development projects at Gain technology, a multimedia startup, and Sun Microsystems. Surprisingly he actually has a degree, a B.S. in EE/CS from UC Davis.

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James Talbot
James has been with Macromedia for three and a half years. Before he came to Macromedia he was a project manager in the e-learning space. James started out as a Sales Engineer where he traveled around the world visiting customers and doing seminars. After the Allaire merger, he moved from California to New York City and worked for the Macromedia Educational Services team. He has put together the entire Macromedia Flash curriculum (along with Matt Boles) as well as assisting with other products, and co-authored the Developing Rich Internet Applications Course and Advanced ActionScript for Applications course. James has also worked directly with the Macromedia Flash engineers and provided guidance on future product direction. He develops curriculum, teaches courses, performs instructor certifications, and assists with consulting assignments. He has also worked on many of the Macromedia certification exams as well as contributing to Macromedia Press books, and has spoken at numerous conferences and trade shows. James has also worked on various Rich Internet Applications for TV Guide, AOL/Time Warner and Road Runner Interactive.

Jeff Tapper
Jeff Tapper is the Chief Technologist for Tapper.net Consulting. He has worked on a myriad of projects, for clients including Toys R Us, IBM, Allaire, Dow Jones, American Express, M&T Bank, Verizon, and Allied Office Supplies, among others. As a Macromedia Instructor, he is currently certified to teach all of Macromedia’s courses on ColdFusion and Macromedia Flash development. Jeff has been a member of the ColdFusion development community since 1995, and has co-authored 3 books on internet application development: "Allaire Spectra e-Business Construction Kit," "Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion 5 Application Development," and most recently "Dynamic Publishing with ColdFusion MX." He is also a frequent speaker at Macromedia Development Conferences and user groups. He is pleased to be speaking again at Macromedia MAX. Jeff formed Tapper.net Consulting to focus on developing Rich Internet Applications and empowering clients through mentoring.

Nathanial Thelen
Along with the founders of Userplane, Nate has successfully co-architected Userplane’s evolutionary web-based software model. Leveraging FCS and OOD, Userplane’s apps lead an emerging industry with a suite of communication applications deployed by clients such as Honda and Red Bull. Before founding Userplane, Nate served as CTO for PBJ Digital where he built and managed the technology division. Prior to PBJ Digital, Nate was a software engineer with Microsoft and US Web CKS.

Kevin Towes
Kevin Towes is the author of the book, Flash Communication Server MX, published by Macromedia Press. He is an active speaker and author of many articles focusing on the integration of ColdFusion and Macromedia Flash Technologies. His strong background as a professor at Ryerson University in Toronto. Kevin has a unique understanding of Macromedia Server and Tools technologies. Kevin is currently working on a training program for the Macromedia Flash Communication Server.

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Josh Ulm
Josh UIm is creative director for ioResearch Studios. ioResearch is a complete interactive production studio based in Marin County, California. With roots in filmmaking, architecture, engineering, and design, we specialize in creating Flash-driven interactives that engage the imagination and evoke the spirit of discovery. The studio fosters a broad client base, ranging from museum and cultural institutions to software and technology leaders. Over the past seven years, this diversity has empowered us to pioneer award-winning and emotionally valuable Websites, CD-ROM’s, multimedia installations, and kiosks. This year we finished productions for Microsoft, Sony, Macromedia, and developed the “Mars Encounter” exhibit interactives for Chabot Space & Science Center.

Trained as a filmmaker, Ulm earned his B.S. in Film Production from Syracuse University in 1994.  He has since pursued his interactive work in a dedicated effort to further the storytelling potential of the medium. In 1997, he founded the progressive online gallery titled “The Remedi Project,” now a part of the SF MOMA’s permanent collection. As a partner in ioResearch, his designs continue to garnish awards in every major design competition and have been published in numerous publications. He has extensively spoken and taught workshops in interactive theory and application, including 2003 presentations at SXSW, and Flash Forward.

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Glenda Vigoreaux
Glenda Vigoreaux has been a Certified Macromedia Instructor and Developer for the last 5 years. She is currently heading the web development division for Business Systems Consultants, Inc. the most successful reseller and services provider of software for associations in the greater Chicago area.

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Dave Watts
Dave Watts founded Fig Leaf Software with Steve Drucker in 1992. As CTO, Dave drives the technology vision and enhances Fig Leaf’s competitive edge by developing the company’s performance tuning practice and monitoring its best practices. Recognized as an expert in the ColdFusion community, Dave has been developing browser-based applications with ColdFusion since version 1.5. He co-authored The ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, first and second editions. As a Macromedia-certified instructor, Dave combines exceptional teaching with course development. Dave specializes in the integration of ColdFusion with external technologies.

Michael Williams
Michael Williams is a software engineer at Macromedia. In his role, he is responsible evangelizing and implementing technologies related to Macromedia Flash. Prior to Macromedia, Williams spent three years doing research and development at the Walt Disney Company. He was also a member of the Macromedia Flash Advisory Board. At Disney/Go.com, Williams developed and implemented web content and applications for various corporate sites including Disney.com, Disneyblast.com, Movies.com, ESPN.com, and ABC.com. Williams helped Disney to create core systems and standardize on a single platform after the acquisition of Infoseek.

James Williamson
James is the Director of Training at Interactive Fun!, and has over nine years of print design, web design and digital prepress experience. In addition to his work with Interactive Fun!, James is the President of the Charlotte Society of Communicating Arts and a member of the Curriculum Advisory Board for the Art Institute of Charlotte. He has been a featured speaker at several events, including DevCon and Flashforward and his latest projects include being a contributing author in the latest Flash Magic book from New Riders.