As a team of uniquely interdisciplinary individuals, each person's expertise crosses boundaries between the roles listed below.
CEO & STRATEGIC DIRECTOR
Eric Gould Bear
Eric is the founding designer and strategic director of MONKEYmedia. He's a
dancer and a musician, holds degrees in Cognitive Science and Interactive Telecommunications,
and is a Research Fellow in New Media Design at the University of Texas at Austin.
He has been designing human-computer interfaces since 1984 and has published
numerous articles on the subject. Time permitting, he writes the interface design
column for Interactivity Magazine and presents work at conferences on human
factors in computing systems.
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
Janna Buckmaster Bear
Janna Buckmaster Bear is MONKEYmedia's Chief Creative Officer. She brings to our management team experience supervising large-scale productions in the new media and legal industries. Simultaneously, she brings to our design team a Masters in Body-Oriented Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and over 12 years of professional experience working with matters of body / mind / spirit interface and integration. She is responsible for the creative direction of MONKEYmedia's award winning and industry benchmark web site, which continues to garner respect as one of the best interface designs in the online world.
DIRECTOR OF R & D
Susan Hura, Ph.D.
Susan comes to MONKEYmedia from Lucent Technologies Bell Labs where she worked on intelligibility testing, usability, and interface design. As a faculty member at Purdue University she helped found the Purdue Spoken Language Research Group to study novel approaches to computer speech recognition and processing. Susan holds degrees in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin and the Ohio State University. She is an organic gardener, would-be chef, and the proud mama of two gorgeous girls.
INTERFACE DESIGN MANAGERS
Alice May Clark
As one of MONKEYmedia's beloved interface design managers, Alice plays a pivotal
role in supporting our designers, clients and partners. From Vancouver, she
holds degrees in Sociology (University of British Columbia) and Intermedia Studies
(Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design). Driven by an enthusiastic curiosity
about technology, Alice has made her mark on projects ranging from educational
gaming and early TV-Web integration to next-generation eCommerce. As an artist,
her works exploring the possibility of evoking an emotive and sensorial experience
through computer interface have been shown in Alberta, British Columbia and
Texas.
Barbee Teasley, Ph.D.
Barbee comes to MONKEYmedia from the Human Factors group at SBC Technology Resources, preceded by 3 years at Ameritech. Her work in these organizations ranged from unified messaging to iTV to handheld devices. Prior to working for mega-corporations, she was a Professor of Computer Science at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. There, she was a founding mother of the Human-Computer Interaction field, doing research on the psychology of programming and hypertext design. Barbee is currently an elected member of the SIGCHI Executive Committee. For kicks, Barbee enjoys painting, the outdoors and almost anything that includes a mountain.
Scott White
After stints in publishing, audio/video production and even armor-smithing on the Renaissance Faire circuit, Scott White found his way to virtual media in 1995 as a website designer and production manager for Cox Interactive Media. He later worked as an information architect for Scient, where his interest in electronic product design blossomed. On his days off from MONKEYmedia, he can often be found referencing his Visor in the hardware store -- evidence of a deep fascination with the convergence of the digital and physical realms.
INTERFACE DESIGNERS & USABILITY SPECIALISTS
Amy Witte
Amy graduated from the South Carolina Honors College with a B.F.A. in graphic
design and an insatiable curiosity about how the West was won. So she packed
her bags, left the beach, and moved to Austin. She thrives on conquering new
frontiers and meeting professional and personal goals. Natural selection made
it easy for Amy to choose MONKEY. Evolving with the exciting team at MONKEYmedia
inspires her to stay and play.
Donald McCaskill
Inspired by the unique communication opportunities afforded by new technology,
Donald blends his degrees in New Media (RTF) and Speech Communication into a
marriage of innovative design and creativity. By combining the traditional disciplines
of communication with the boundless possibilities of HCI design, he strives
to channel the exuberance of human expression through interaction. Donald seeks
nirvana in the art of kiting.
Ledia Pearl Carroll
Ledia joined us from Girl Games, Inc. where she was resident expert in national
trends and developmental issues among teen girls. She holds a BA in Language
Studies / Linguistics from Wellesley College and worked in the Interactive Cinema
group at the MIT Media Lab. She spent time at Sun Microsystems Usability Lab
conducting formal usability studies and has appeared on CNN's "Business Unusual"
demonstrating interviewing and focus group techniques for research on teens.
In her spare time, Ledia writes freelance for youth about technology issues,
hikes the creeks with her dog and works on renovating her house.
Leslie Ernst
Leslie Ernst brings to MONKEYmedia over fourteen years experience in the arts
and publishing that spans graphic and installation design, photography, and
Web site development. For three years Leslie has run her own design business,
Surface Tension, providing visual design for both print and online media. A
visual artist and educator, Leslie received her MFA from California Institute
of the Arts. Her photo-based works have been exhibited at numerous venues throughout
the U.S. and Mexico. Leslie enjoys kayaking, gardening, hiking and hanging out
with her two Siberian Huskies. She's learning to play the accordion very slowly.
Marc Lenburg, Ph.D.
Marc Lenburg comes to MONKEYmedia fresh from San Francisco where he founded
and served as lead designer for the Terraformer Design Collective. With Terraformer,
Marc applied his incisive problem-solving skills and interest in the ways interactions
with designed objects impact our lives to a wide range of web- and print-based
projects. Marc recently received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University
of California (UCSF) with scientific training in finding creative approaches
to understanding how cells sense their environment. Marc is also a photographer,
printmaker and painter, and is working on a collection of photographs that explores
the many dimensions of physical space.
Mark Freeman
Travelling a winding path that has taken him from Ft. Lauderdale to Boston to
Austin, Mark is an interface designer whose personal inspirations include making
technology more accessible across socioeconomic barriers and creating ways for
humans and computers to engage each other more fully. He holds a BA in Psychology
from Harvard University and a Masters in Communications with a focus on new
media interaction design from the University of Texas. He assures us that 20+
years of school is more than enough, and is happy to spend his free time studying
kendo, playing with his dog Bravo, and collecting myriad wolf-related knick-knacks.
Mike Brooks, Ph.D.
As part of MONKEYmedia's Usability Group, Mike provides expertise in research methodologies, statistics, learning & motivation, and youth audiences. His research foci include exploring effects of video/computer gaming, and how new technologies can enhance educational and cognitive development. Mike earned his doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and is a licensed psychologist. For fun, he likes to spend time with his wife and pets, read, practice martial arts, and (of course) play video/computer games.
Paulus W. Trisnadi
Paulus comes to MONKEYmedia by way of Indonesia. He holds degrees in Studio
Arts, with a focus in graphic design & sculpture, and Radio-TV-Film, with a
focus in human-computer interaction. Along with his contributions in 2D/3D HCI
graphics and animation at MONKEYmedia, Paulus enjoys both industrial and costume
design. His keen interest in collaboration has fueled numerous projects, both
local and international, working with other artists and graphic designers, choreographers,
glass specialists, wood craftsfolk and poets.
Rajiv Ramarajan
An industrial designer and ergonomist by training, Rajiv has designed a wide
variety and scale of projects - from automobile and exhibition design to product
and interface design. Rajiv has degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology
in Bombay and Wichita State University, where he conducted research in accessibility
and on-line media. Rajiv joined MONKEYmedia from marchFIRST in Chicago, where
he led the user interface design for Walgreens.com. His work is driven by an
interest in defining the human touch point. Being new to these parts, he looks
forward to exploring the Lone Star state and its unique psyche & culture.
OFFICE MANAGER
Pauline Shapiro
With over 15 years of office-administration experience in the software and real
estate industries, Pauline keeps our shop running smoothly. She enjoys listening
to all kinds of music, country-western dancing, and her newly undertaken study
of the art of salsa. She was brought up in Australia but moved to the States
in her late teens. As a result, she has an accent that none of us can quite
identify. She likes to travel, spend quiet time with her husband and spoil her
cats (Friskito and Boo).
CONTROLLER
Gina Durbin
All work and no play makes a bean-counter ñ not Gina. Energetic and ready to
samba, she keeps us on our toes. This Texas CPA joins MONKEYmedia with a background
in public accounting. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
from the University of Louisville and loves to travel.
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Marge White
Marge has considerable experience in the high tech arena, and brings a degree
in Business Management and a background in large-scale event planning. She's
spent many years in the aerospace industry, supporting the Space Shuttle Program
at ITT. Most recently, Marge was executive assistant to the leadership team
at Trajecta, Inc. Her extensive relocations as a military dependent (one of
which was Berlin) prompted her to stay in contact with some of her friends by
becoming a certified Amateur Radio Operator. Her other interests include skiing,
jogging, painting, baking and quilting.
SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATORS
Ben Hogue
Ben recently returned to Austin, which was his home during the 70s and 80s.
He holds a BA from St. Edward's University and an MSIS from Pitt and has been
doing systems administration and computer consulting since 1988. Ben likes to
do woodworking projects and play music. He comes with the dust and goes with
the wind. No one knows his true shoe size. He enjoys writing about himself in
the third person. His kneecaps belong in a museum. Once while on safari in Africa,
he awoke to find himself in Massachusetts instead. Women want him, fish fear
him, or vice versa. He plots the overthrow of petty 12th century dictators.
They don't care. His favorite color is ultra violet.
Kent Livingston
Kent came to database, network, systems and Web work via marketing and management work. His technical 'obsession' is with communication systems because of its potential for positive effect on individuals and communities. He has worked for Borders, Doubleday, Springer-Verlag, Elsevier, Kodansha, Target Stores, St. Edward's University, Apple, Motorola, and Special Olympics keeping networks, servers, Web systems, and even people happy. He's spent time in Japan, West Africa, Australia, and Europe. His most miraculous experience was the birth of his son, Quentin.
AURAL DESIGN
Gerry Bassermann [Opus 9]
David Hannibal
VISUAL DESIGN
Ellen Buckmaster
Keith Petrus [ENGINE]
Laura Strong
INTERFACE DESIGN
April Canaday
Emilia Crowell
Sharon Knippa
Henry Manning
David S. Richard
Nick West
CODE ENGINEERING
Deb Ayers
John Kim
Serge Lourier
Troy Whitlock
S. Todd Wilkens
JAPANESE LOCALIZATION
Naoko Amemiya
VIDEOGRAPHY
Kevin George
Richard Robertson
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Gray Holland [Alchemy
Labs]
Mark Eastwood
MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL & MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING
MOTO Development Group
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Mark Garcia
Lin McKissick
INTERNS
Brian Cook
Jeremy Gibson
Tina (Teatime) Ho
Josh Kerr
Arie Stavchansky
Karen Thiesen
Wei Yeh
GOOD KARMA
Abbe Don
Richard Gould
Lisa Lopuck
Sam Macmillan
Nathan Shedroff
Dewey Winburne