About me
I am a veteran with over 26 years of federal service, specializing in graphic design, educational training, leadership, and administration. I hold a Master of Science in Education and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design, with a proven record of success in roles such as Staff Sergeant and Lead Design Instructor at the Defense Information School, as well as Design Program Chair at Westwood College. Currently, as a Visual Information Specialist at Indiana Dunes National Park, I create and manage media projects and lead a team of staff, volunteers, and students while also performing duties as the Chief of Interpretation and Education.
I encourage you to explore my design portfolio as evidence of my creativity, technical skills, versatility, problem-solving abilities, and professional growth, capturing the essence of my unique design approach.
Experience
Indiana Dunes National Park, Porter, IN
Visual Information Specialist and Assistant Chief of Interpretation and Education
Full-time – 40 Hours per week
October 2024 – Present
Performing dual roles as Assistant Chief of Interpretation and Education and Visual Information Specialist (see design experience in the next section).
Operational Leadership
- Oversee staffing at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center and Paul H. Douglas Center of Environmental Education, delivering programs and educational opportunities to approximately 2.5 million visitors annually.
- Represent the Interpretation and Education Division on the park’s Leadership Team, ensuring alignment with park goals and priorities.
- Supervise and support a team of 8 permanent and 10 seasonal interpretive rangers, interns, and volunteers; act as Park Liaison facilitating partnerships with community groups.
Budget and Reporting
- Contribute to the division's financial planning and budget management, overseeing a $1.2 million budget and managing discretionary funds: report on division tasks, needs, and productivity.
- Friends of Indiana Dunes Partner Liaison for requests and reporting.
Indiana Dunes National Park**, Porter, IN
Visual Information Specialist (1084) GS-11
Full-time – 40 hours per week
February 2001 – Present
Creative Design and Team Management
Lead and manage the production and design of various media projects, including pamphlets, posters, infographics, newsletters, park exhibits, studies, videos, social media platforms, digital media content, mobile apps, and web pages. Oversee and collaborate with contractors on media projects as a FAC-COR. Work collaboratively with teams to identify communication objectives and implement design concepts for critical, complex projects. Engage with Government Publishing Office-approved printing companies to ensure project quality.
Digital Visitor Experience Design and Management
- Manage and create content for the Indiana Dunes National Park website, attracting 2.576 million annual views.
- Oversee and create content for social media platforms, including Facebook with an organic reach of 3.4 million viewers, Instagram with a reach of 458K, and the NPS App with 266K users; facilitate geocaching activities for 1,615 users.
- Created virtual ranger tours and Jr. Ranger Fishing videos hosted on the park’s website and YouTube for digital explorers.
Visitor Experience Design and Projects
- Design, print, install, and maintain exterior exhibits, including 107 trailheads, orientation maps, kiosks, and waysides, viewed by 2.5 million park visitors.
- Redesigned 24 different trailheads at Indiana Dunes, contracting the custom design kiosk hardware and designing the panel inserts. Designed and installed all trail map installations, bulletin installations, and park orientation maps for visitor orientation, safety, education, and resource protection.
- Created five interactive waysides for the Paul H. Douglas Center and managed the fabrication design contract.
- Coordinated and designed graphics for the “61: Exhibit Celebrating Indiana Dunes as the 61st National Park,” filling a 6,500 sq ft exhibit space with 12 exhibit stops within a 90-day lead time.
- Developed the Art Walk in the Dunes program, featuring creative pop-ups, artwork displays, custom waysides, and audio interpretation that engaged park visitors, volunteers, partners, and surrounding art communities.
- Designed and developed the annual 24-page Singing Sands Park Guide, distributed to 15K recipients annually.
- Developed a graphic icon system for each location in the park to help unify the disjointed portions of Indiana Dunes.
Supervision, Communication, and Administration
- Supervise a visual information team of three, ensuring the delivery of high-quality graphic, social media, web, and video services.
- Supervise 4-6 volunteers annually and manage the Artist-in-Residence Program.
- Collaborate with various departments and park partners to meet the park's communication goals and enhance public engagement.
- Collaborate with rangers and subject matter experts to develop graphic content that support programming aides and education.
- Work with contracts for park needs as a FAC-COR and use PMIS interface.
- Worked as a collateral Wildland Firefighter from 2013 to 2020, gaining deployment and Incident Command (IC) experience.
Westwood College – River Oaks Campus, Calumet City, IL
Design Program Director and Design Instructor
Full-time – 40 hours per week
September 2001 - September 2013
Leadership & Management
Recruited, trained, managed, directed, and evaluated faculty in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, and Animation.
Curriculum Development
Directed the development of training materials, instruction delivery, and curriculum assessment, focusing on the practical application of design tools.
Instruction
Taught and integrated the Adobe Suite of products, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, After Effects, Audacity, and more to enhance students' software proficiency.
Facilities Oversight
Managed resources including 100 Macs, 25 PCs, 125 software loads, and various multimedia equipment (scanners, printers, video and digital cameras, green screens, lighting kits, kiosks).
Student Supervision
Supervised approximately 1,200 students, providing academic advising, scheduling, recruitment, retention, placement, and counseling.
Collaboration
Worked on curriculum development and program issues at a national level for 18 school locations.
Accreditation & Compliance
Maintained ACICS education standards and played a pivotal role in preparing faculty and staff for HLC accreditation candidacy; conducted academic audits within the Chicago region.
Defense Information School, Fort Meade, MD
Lead Multimedia Instructor / US Army Staff Sergeant (E6)
Full-time – 40 Hours per week
May 1997 - September 2001
- Supervised the multimedia section for the graphics design course.
- Designed and instructed multimedia and Internet projects.
- Created course lesson plans, electronic presentations, student texts, and software demonstrations.
- Instructed and art directed over 1,200 students on multimedia projects and design theory.
- Ensured that 34 Macintosh and 18 PC systems were upgraded and always maintained.
US Center of Military History, Washington, DC
Combat Artist / Staff Sergeant (E6)
Full-time – 40 Hours per week
September 1993 - May 1997
- Created award-winning artworks in various traditional media, displayed in military museums.
- Managed the studio, planned deployments, and organized art exhibits.
- Prepared electronic presentations, illustrations, and itineraries for the Chief of Staff of the Army.
- Held Top Secret Clearance to work in the Pentagon.
- Prepared the Pentagon’s Pershing conference room for presentations.
Education
- Graphic Design and Media Development
- Leadership and Team Supervision
- Cross-Departmental Communication
- Educational Program Development
- Community Engagement and Liaison
Master of Science in Education, Instructional Design and Technology
Purdue University Northwest, Hammond, IN
GPA: 4.0
2009
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Communication Design
Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago, IL
Dean’s List
Key Skills
Social Media and Web Skills
Photography and Video Editing Software Skills
Software Skills for Design
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Illustrator
- Microsoft Office
- Meta Business Suite
- Hootsuite
- Google Analytics
- Content Management System
- NPS App
- YouTube
- Geocache
References Available Upon Request
Photography and Video Editing Software Skills
- Contract Officer Training FAC-COR
- NPS Fundamentals 1 – 5
- Wildland Firefighter (Red Card)
- Advanced Imaging Course
- Webmaster Training Course
- Instructor Training Course
- Electronic Imaging Course
- Leadership Course
- Basic Graphics Course
Photography and Video Editing Software Skills
- Adobe Lightroom
- Adobe Premiere
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Audacity