As Director for Research and Instruction Services at Brandeis University, David helps lead a team of reference librarians and instructional technologists providing a broad range of services and programs supporting teaching, learning, and scholarship.

David's background is in higher education, instructional technology, and library-I.T. collaboration. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Brandeis, an M.A. in Humanities from Indiana State University, and has taught numerous French, Writing, and Humanities courses. In his years in I.T. at Brandeis, David worked in various capacities related to the support of instructional technology and user services, including managing the Language Media Center, Instructional Technology Resource Center, and Media Services group, as well as contributing to the management of key services-the course management system, model teaching and learning projects, classroom technology support, and public computing services. More recently, David's interests focus on integrating library and I.T. resources in instruction and research and exploring new areas of collaboration between faculty, students, and I.T. and library staff in teaching and learning. David sits on the SIG Masters Committee and the Program Committee, has hosted recent SIGs on videoconferencing and pedagogy, and has presented at the NERCOMP annual conference and at SIGs on student management and course management systems.

Christine has been at MIT in the IT department since 1994. In her most recent position as Manager for Strategic Communications for Information Services and Technology (IS&T) at MIT, she is responsible for both internal communications for the department and external communications to the MIT community, their clients, vendors and the world. She also works closely with the Head of Information Services and Technology (IS&T) at MIT on strategy and planning for the organization. Much of her experience has been to bridge boundaries and to cultivate and maintain relationships within IS&T, between IS&T and other MIT departments and between MIT and other universities.

Prior to joining MIT, Christine worked as a Business Controller for four years at Coral Networks (a start-up corporation) and before that spent six years at Wang Laboratories as a Financial Analyst. Christine has been actively involved in the higher education community with NERCOMP, the Boston Consortium, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She has been involved with NERCOMP as MIT's Institutional Representative (IR); as a collaborator with board members; on the annual SIG planning meeting; and on outreach and promotion of NERCOMP at MIT. She also is very involved with the Boston Consortium and in 2007 worked with several Boston Consortium members (who are also NERCOMP colleagues) to launch an IT and Libraries Communications Community of Practice which meets quarterly. She is a 2009 graduate from the Susan Vogt Leadership Fellows program with the Boston Consortium and a 2007 graduate from the CASE Summer Institute in Communications and Marketing with CASE. Christine received an AS from Marian Court Junior College of Business in 1984 and a BS in Accountancy from Bentley in 1991.

Beatrice Pulliam is currently Library Commons Librarian for Technology & Access at Providence College, where she has been responsible for library technology, Access Services, and Interlibrary loan since 2007. She has led many of her library's new technology initiatives and holds a Master of Science in Library & Information Science from Simmons College and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the NERCOMP Board, Beatrice served on the NERCOMP Program committee for 3 years and as a SIGMaster for many Library and IT oriented programs.

Beatrice is also director-at-large on the Simmons College GSLIS Alumni Board, and has held leadership positions in the New England chapters of the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Beatrice's interests include integrating emerging technologies and user services, UX, library and IT collaboration, and staff development.

Linda Hilton is Chief Information Officer for the Vermont State Colleges, serving in this position since July, 2003. Prior to that, she served at Lyndon State College as Chief Technology Officer beginning in 1999. Because the five Vermont State Colleges use enterprise systems as shared services, Linda’s focus is balancing the competing needs of five colleges (Castleton State College, the Community College of Vermont, Johnson State College, Lyndon State College, and Vermont Technical College) against the efficiencies and economies of scale realized by sharing core systems. Shared systems include the ERP system, a Wide Area Network, Identity Management systems, the Learning Management System, and IT help desk, as well as ancillary systems such as a data warehouse, facilities management, and career services.

Before moving to the northeast, Linda served as a dean and library director at The Haverford School near Philadelphia. Collaboration to realize institutional effectiveness while preserving the brand and unique identity of each college is at the core of Linda’s work with the Vermont state system. In this time of declining New England demographics and tight budgets, the collaboration and professional development fostered by NERCOMP is a critical resource for the continued effectiveness of the colleges and universities that it serves. As part of her engagement in the higher-education community, Linda serves as co-chair of the EDUCAUSE State Systems Constituency group and served as chair and co-chair of the EDUCAUSE Identity Management group from 2006-2010; she continues on that group as a member. She is a member of the 2011 CAMP (Campus Architecture and Middleware Planning) program committee, an event sponsored by Internet2 and InCommon. Additionally, Linda has been actively involved in the national user group for the ERP provider Datatel, serving on their user group board from 2003-2006 and chairing the national membership committee. Linda also sits on the conference planning committee for NERDUG, the regional Datatel User group. Linda has presented at NERCOMP, EDUCAUSE, DUG and NERDUG conferences.

Linda lives in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont on the campus of a private boarding school where her husband is headmaster. Their family includes children, grandchildren, and three lively hunting dogs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Villanova University and a Masters in Information Services from Drexel University.

Mark Berman is Chief Information Officer at MCLA, The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts where he is responsible for all aspects of Information Technology and telecommunications. He came to MCLA from Williams College where he was Director for Networks and Systems for 18 years. Prior to Williams, he was employed at Digital Equipment Corp. as a Consulting Specialist in operating systems and networking issues. Mark has an MS in Telecommunications and Network Management from Syracuse University and a BS in Computer Science from the State University of NY. He has worked in various capacities with data networks, computer systems, and telecommunications for over twenty five years and has been active in professional organizations for most of that time. Mark is a Nercomp SIGmaster for technically oriented SIG workshops and has served on the board of the Consortium for Liberal Arts Colleges. He is also active in Educause where he is on the 2010 annual conference program committee. Mark has been a frequent presenter at the annual conferences of all these organizations.

As client relationship manager at Tufts University, Kara is focused on strengthening relationships and improving the delivery of IT services across Tufts' three Massachusetts campuses. Significant to her role within University Information Technology (UIT), Tufts' central computing organization, is her management of a client relationship team that serves as a liaison between UIT and the university's distributed IT support organizations. Kara's team is responsible for increasing communication and collaboration between IT groups at Tufts in order to improve the quality of information technology services within the Tufts community. Kara joined Tufts in July 2006 as an IT services coordinator, a function that centered on the daily operations of UIT's support center. That position evolved to become an IT client services specialist, a customer focused role that concentrated on problem solving and improving direct communication and interaction between UIT and the university community.

Previous to Tufts, Kara held the position of Regis College ITS helpdesk coordinator, maintaining the institution's helpdesk services and training student employees as well as faculty and staff. The common thread that knits together each of Kara's positions has been her uncompromising commitment to providing the best technology experience possible for faculty, students and staff at her institution.Kara has been involved with NERCOMP since the beginning of her career, starting with attendance at SIGs and the annual conference. Her participation progressed into presenting at SIGs, becoming a SIG Master and presenting at the annual conference. She has acted as Tufts' Institutional Representative for a number of years and served on the program committee for the annual conference for the past three years. This summer Kara was asked to take a more active role in the program committee and is currently serving as the vice-chair of the conference.

Kara received her bachelor of arts in English with a concentration in Secondary Education from Regis College in 2003 and her master of science in Organizational and Professional Communication from Regis in 2006.

George Claffey has been involved in technology and technology education for the past fifteen years. George is currently employed by the Board for State Academic Awards and serves as the Chief Information Officer for Charter Oak State College, Connecticut's largest provider of online learning, and also the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium, a consortia providing ASP based eLearning, ePortfolio, and eTutoring collaborative environments to K-12 and Higher Education entities nationally. He oversees technology operations including the data center that supports over 130 institutions and 100,000 students nationally that use the CTLDC to support their eLearning, ePortfolio, eTutoring, and disaster recovery operations.

Andrea Milligan has been working in higher education for over fifteen years and has a wide array of experience in instructional technology, information technology and library technology. Currently, Andrea is the Director of Distance Learning and Instructional Technology at North Shore Community College in Danvers, Massachusetts. Andrea is also an adjunct faculty member at North Shore Community College and teaches one section of Fundamentals of Computer Concepts. Prior to coming to North Shore Community College, Andrea was the Director of Academic Technology at Framingham State University, where she worked for over twelve years. Before becoming the Director of Academic Technology, Andrea was the Reference and Instructional Librarian at FSU for four years. Through her most recent roles,

Andrea has over nine years of practical and theoretical experience in promoting and facilitating the use of technology as an integral part of the total academic experience; helping faculty in the design and development of Web-enhanced, hybrid and online courses; providing professional development opportunities to faculty in using technology effectively in the teaching and learning environment; assisting and supporting faculty and students in the use of academic technology tools; and maintaining an awareness of the latest instructional technologies and emerging technologies that might have an impact on the teaching and learning environment.

Andrea serves as a NERCOMP co-Blackboard User Group SIG Master along with attending the SIG Master meetings to help plan the schedule of events and assisting other SIG Masters with their SIG planning through the Ubuntu calls. Andrea also serves on the NERCOMP Annual Conference Planning Committee and has enjoyed playing a role in setting the agenda for the conference.

Deborah Saks is the Director of ITS- User Services at Framingham State University. She is responsible for the provisioning and continuous improvement of technical support services offered to students, faculty and staff at Framingham State University. This includes, but is not limited to, management of the day to day operations for the help desk, technology service centers, technical support staff, media services, copy center, computer labs and technology enhanced classrooms. Deborah recommends and often oversees the implementation of responsive service strategies based on strong understanding of the unmet needs of the community.

Ganesan (Ravi) Ravishanker began his career as an Higher Ed IT Professional at Wesleyan after completing his PhD and postdoctoral work in computational chemistry and a Masters in Computer Science. He worked at Wesleyan from 1986-2009 in various roles in IT and from 2006-2009 as the Assistant VP for ITS. He then worked as the CIO in Pace University in NY until Nov 2010, when he moved to his current position as the CIO at Wellesley College managing a merged Library-IT organization. These diverse experiences will help him contribute in a unique way to NERCOMP membership from a leadership role.

Ravi is very interested in new and emerging technologies and their application to teaching and learning. He also is an active participant in social media and has actively tweeted during NERCOMP SIGs, as well as NERCOMP and EDUCAUSE annual conferences. Ravi has been blogging about technology topics as well as managing large Higher Ed technology organizations - http://ravisblog.blogs.wesleyan.edu, http://ravisblog.blogs.pace.edu and http://blogs.wellesley.edu/ravisblog.

He thoroughly enjoys playing golf and angry birds (on his iPad), listening to Tamil film music, and wasting his time watching Tamil films. For a complete list of Ravi's accomplishments, please see: https://blogs.wellesley.edu/ravisblog/about/. Ravi believes that he will be a strong contributor in helping shape NERCOMP's agenda in several important areas such as network security, vendor negotiations, emerging trends in social media and multimedia, and management of a complex organization.

Dawn Thistle has served as Executive Director of Information Technology & Media Services at Assumption College since January 2008. For 10 years prior to that appointment, she was Director of Library Services. In the role of Executive Director of IT she sets the department's strategic direction in consultation with Assumption's administration, Board and faculty. Current projects include completing the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, the ongoing development and support of a new web site and portal, and creating a technology certification program for student staff.

Previously she worked at the College of the Holy Cross as Head of Reader Services and Music Librarian. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, the M.Mus. from New England Conservatory of Music and the M.S. and D.A. from Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

Dr. Thistle is active in NERCOMP, having served on the Program Committee since 2009, Educause, the American Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). She has served as President of the New England Chapter of ACRL, and in 2009-2010 served as Chair of the ACRL College Libraries Section. She is an alumna of the ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute and has served on five NEASC reaccreditation visiting teams. Dr. Thistle has presented at a NERCOMP SIG, ALA, ACRL, ACRL New England, New England Library Association, Massachusetts Conference of Chief Librarians of Public Higher Educational Institutions, NELINET and other conferences on topics including using LIBQUAL survey data, library collection analysis, strategic planning, and Library/IT relations. She has published in CIO Insight, Industry Week and College & Undergraduate Libraries (forthcoming).In recognition of her service to Assumption College and "for [developing] the library as both a learning and gathering space for intellectual and social growth," Dr. Thistle was awarded the President's Medal in 2006. In May 2011 the Assumption College Student Government Association presented her with the "Above and Beyond Award" for her efforts to communicate with and involve students in technology planning.

Dr. Thistle lives with her husband and two dogs in Oakham, Massachusetts, where she enjoys gardening, kayaking, watching the hummingbirds and playing the organ for her church.

Lisa Trubitt is the Assistant CIO for Policy & Communications at the University at Albany, SUNY. Her professional interests range from the professional development and mentoring of staff to exploring creative solutions for organizational challenges and rethinking the role of IT in higher education.
In her current position, Trubitt works with her organization and external stakeholders to make recommendations for improving and administering IT services to the University community. Current responsibilities include: IT policy development; internal and external communications; fostering relationships and working with various stakeholder and advisory groups; and strategic planning. She is also working on: a new IT governance model, refining the IT project management process, and an initiative to improve the work environment of her organization.

The co-founder and leader of the EDUCAUSE IT Communications Constituent Group (ITCOMM), Trubitt has given numerous presentations and authored articles on communications. Policy-related activities include several presentations and service on the former ICPL Advisory Committee. Her NERCOMP service includes membership on the Program Committee, faculty for the Workshop Series for Managers Part 2, and attendance at numerous events as a presenter or participant. Trubitt has served on the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference Program Committee (2009), and was a member and past chair of the EDUCAUSE Professional Development Committee. She holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University at Albany.
 

Karen is Director of User and Technical Services at Wesleyan University. In her unique role, Karen has oversight for both the front end user support operations including Desktop Support and student Helpdesk and the back end technical support team comprised of network administration, data center, and system administrators. Bridging the divide between these mutually dependent, but often at odds groups is challenging and always interesting. Karen and her team provide the foundational support for all other IT operations in the University and provide strategic input regarding systems and infrastructure. Currently, Wesleyan is undergoing a network refresh which will substantively improve bandwidth across campus providing the needed support for future initiatives such as Coursera and the burgeoning use of HD media on campus.

Since joining Wesleyan, Karen has been an active member in NERCOMP. She hosted her first SIG in May 2010 on desktop virtualization and has since presented at two annual conferences as well as participated in two other SIGs including a panel for the 2012 Women in Technology Leadership SIG. For the past two years, Karen has served on the Annual Conference program committee and this year, Karen is leading the online program committee team. Additionally, Karen co-leads the virtual workshop project for NERCOMP bringing low-cost online only content to help the organization expand its reach and engage constituents who are underrepresented in the traditional SIG model. This effort has thus far been extremely effective with 135 sites participating.

In 2012, Karen participated in the NITLE Innovation Studio, a new initiative comprised of project teams employing entrepreneurial and design theory strategies. Karen and her teammates continue to run the only remaining project, Collegiate Collaborations, a community site aimed at reducing the fear and uncertainty of engaging in cross-institutional collaborations. The group has been invited back this year to speak at the 2013 NITLE Symposium in April.

Prior to coming to Wesleyan, Karen spent 15 years at the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, CT where she was IT Director for 10 of those years. Karen focused much time on the importance of broadband access and two-way video installing the school’s first system in 1999. She and a colleague at Gallaudet University organized a conference on two-way video in Deaf education, an initiative that led to 3 conferences over 6 years. She has spoken at numerous conferences on the topic and participated on a panel at the FCC on the importance of ERate to broadband in schools.

Recently, Karen initiated Wesleyan’s membership in National Center for Women in Information Technology Academic Alliance program to help Wesleyan encourage young women in the field of technology.

Karen is energized at the prospect of participation on the NERCOMP board. The organization has been a vital resource for her and she looks forward to helping shape its future particularly the increasing role of online interactive programming. Technology’s ever-changing nature and rapid growth make communities such as NERCOMP vital to success both together and at individual institutions.