Professional life
I am a seasoned IT professional with over 24 years of experience in Solutions Architecture, Team Leadership, and Project Management. My passion for technology began at the young age of 16, when I started working at America Online’s call center as a technical support agent. In no time, I found myself training new hires and testing KB & CRM solutions.
I joined Technical Management SolutionS (TMSS), where I built the Microsoft Windows infrastructure for the headquarters, which bid on government work. While there, I implemented one of the first SaaS systems, Computerized Maintenance Management Software(CMMS), for our customers.
Later, I joined SAIC as a Desktop Support Technician to get my foot in the door at Sandia National Laboratories, where I began my Cyber Security career. I was nominated as the Cyber Security Representative for the corporate computing environment and soon found myself working on the F-22 program as a Senior Systems Administrator at General Dynamics.
Eventually, I became homesick and took a temporary contracting position at GAITS in New Mexico for Sandia National Labs. After earning my bachelor’s degree in Information and Communications Technology from the School of Engineering at New Mexico State University, I was hired into Sandia National Laboratories. It was here that I truly married all my skills and experience. I joined the team as the first hire and quickly realized that most servers were in warning, out of date, and vulnerable. Armed with a $350,000 budget, I created a team and ended up with a $1.3 million budget within four years, implementing Agile methodologies and upgrading all hardware and end-user machines. I also introduced other cloud-based technologies, such as on-premise SaaS, IaaS, DaaS, and PaaS, to create a more efficient and cohesive infrastructure. This experience made me realize my love for Project Management and making technology work efficiently together with people. I fully integrated our system into the corporate network for flawless interconnectivity. I also reached out to other IT groups to create a support system to help each other achieve better results faster by sharing information. I was also able to offer services to outside organizations. Leveraging the team’s skillset, scrum and customized services, Finally I was able to turn a fading IT group into an asset for the entire department.
My configuration management expertise includes Linux scripting (bash, sh), Ansible, VMWare Weasel, and administration of RHEL (4,5,6,7,8), Windows (7, 8, 10, 12, 16), and MacOS servers and desktops. I am also administered SAN storage clusters, including Sun Storage, NexSan, and NetApp, as well as the backup system on Legato Networker, Bakbone/Quest. My experience in cybersecurity, included being an ISSO, vulnerability remediation, security management, and system hardening (DISA STIGs).
As I continued my career, I was able to work on many exciting and challenging projects. One of my major projects that allowed me to garner more buy-in was the deployment of a disklesss Classified Linux system with GPU support. This solution greatly reduced the waiting time for scientists and modeling crews on the HPC clusters by allowing dedicated systems at their desktops to run their problems.
In another Solutions Architect role, I built a VMware ESXi cluster with vCenter that would automatically set up the ESXi environment. I then imported my Ansible Virtual machine that would automatically build out the infrastructure virtual machines, including IDM, Splunk, DNS, Gateway, Nagios, and other custom customer Virtual machines, all of which were (STIG)hardened and ready to go. This solution started off as a quick way to rebuild a very important satellite ground station into a turn-key deployment for anyone who needed something similar. With it, we were able to build up other systems quickly for other groups within Sandia Labs.
In addition to my technical skills, I also developed strong leadership and project management abilities throughout my career. I have managed three teams of five IT professionals and have led numerous projects from inception to completion. I have also honed my communication skills, both written and verbal, which have been essential in collaborating with stakeholders and ensuring successful project outcomes.
When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my family and exploring the great outdoors. I have a passion for hiking, camping, and fishing and have explored many of the national parks in the United States.
Looking back on my career, I am proud of the many accomplishments that I have achieved and the challenges that I have overcome. I am excited to continue growing and developing my skills and expertise in the field of information technology and look forward to the opportunities that the future holds.