The Partners
Mike Rustici [mike.rustici@scorm.com, @mike_rustici]. Mike struck out on his own in 2002 with the intent of building web based software for people as a contractor. Mike’s experience with SCORM, dating back to 2000, quickly led to high demand for his insight, solutions, and products.
At Rustici Software, Mike’s collar sets him apart from the rest of the crew. He represents the company on the ADL Working Groups and LETSI committees. Mike is regularly mocked in the office for being among the top five SCORM professionals in the world. This is only funny because it is probably true.
Tim Martin [tim.martin@scorm.com, @timpmartin]. Tim joined Mike in 2003, adding the exciting LLC part of the Rustici Software LLC name. Mike and Tim had spent several years together at PureSafety collectively deciding what they believed to be good software architecture, great company leadership, and a fun place to work.
While Tim used to be a software developer, he has fallen gracefully into the world of sales. If you’re looking to buy something from Rustici Software, play an inane game, or just get a plainspoken answer to a SCORM question, Tim is the right person to talk to.
The Producers
John Hayden [john.hayden@scorm.com]. Years ago, John was the first one crazy enough to join Mike and Tim here at Rustici Software. We haven’t been able to convince him to leave since. An early arrival and technical abilities mean that John can help with pretty much anything. Today, John is working with high level architecture and curating all of the ideas and evolution of all the products.
Frugality hath no match like John Hayden. When his glasses were too scratched to tolerate, John didn’t buy new glasses. Instead, he went to the local home center in search of buffing compound. If he misses a few things in the code, we all know why.
Jean Godwin [jean.godwin@scorm.com]. Originally hired to do “all the stuff that Tim and Mike just don’t want to do,” Jean still hasn’t left us many years later. Jean is the magical glue that holds together a company loaded with technical people. Accounting, human resources, “requisitioning”, conscience, Jean manages to keep up with all of the “other stuff” without complaint and in less than 40 hours each week!
Jean is also the famous bird lady cited in our developer job advertisement. But that’s not it; she keeps up with horses, and cats, and dogs… and Brad. This makes her uniquely qualified for her role here at Rustici Software.
Ben Clark [ben.clark@scorm.com]. When SumTotal closed its Seattle office and started shipping jobs to India, we jumped at the chance to get Ben to join us. He’s a legitimate challenge to Mike’s throne as SCORM wizard and – bonus! – came complete with collar. (We’re not sure he owns a t-shirt, actually.) Ben’s work with Mike on the ADL Technical Working Group had impressed us for years and as SCORM moves through a necessary evolution, Ben adds to our bandwidth on standards development activities.
Ben is what some folks might call a Yankee and his trips to the Franklin office have involved adventures in grits, fried catfish and turnip greens. He’s also a serious guy who only has one face for the camera, despite David’s best efforts to provoke a different reaction.
Troy Foster [troy.foster@scorm.com]. Troy thinks. Every company needs an ombudsman, and Troy serves that role and others. His work ranges from cosmetics to our testing tool to his all time favorite, server configuration.
Troy makes beer. Troy rides bikes. We discourage combining certain activities.
Joe Donnelly [joe.donnelly@scorm.com]. Joe is here for you, the customer, the prospect, anyone who needs help with SCORM and our products. Part customer advocate, part drill sergeant, Joe helps our customers get what they need and helps projects stay on the straight and narrow. Joe’s also seen nearly as much SCORM stuff as the SCORM Engine, since he’s been supporting it since its inception.
As milo1973 on Xbox Live, Joe is convinced that Halo and NHL 2009 are ripe for SCORM-ifying. He also dreams of winning the Monday darts tournament, someday.
Brian Rogers [brian.rogers@scorm.com]. Brian implemented the SCORM Content Player and the SCORM Engine against the LMS at his former company Evolve Learning. He was so easy to work with and understood things so well that when he came back looking to work with us years later, we couldn’t ignore him. Now Brian provides that same service to our customers. Brian’s built his own LMSs; he’s seen the inner-workings of countless customer LMSs; he’ll help you make yours fit together with the SCORM Engine.
Brian is the first Rustici Software employee to have sons, two of them. At least everyone else with kids has offered the token daughter (Mike and Tim bring five girls to the party.) Brian has been forgiven. Well, sort of.
David Ells [david.ells@scorm.com]. David’s energy and fresh approach have allowed for the Noddy LMS to work in .NET and the Cruise Control automatic testing to be hugely useful. More importantly, though, David has served as the ultimate scapegoat… Are we really out of paper towels again, Ells?
David brought the game of disc golf to the Rustici Software offices, literally. Pretty days inspire battles on the 9 hole course out back, and that means we have to trek David’s 40 pound disc golf basket into the back yard.
Jeff Horne [jeffrey.horne@scorm.com]. What do you do if you thousands of bugs that come out once every thirteen years show up in your yard? Well, Jeff parlayed his insect invasion into 15 minutes of fame on the front page of the Tennessean, in USA Today, on the local news, and a brief moment on the NBC Nightly News. Yes, this video, these bugs, and a charismatic wife were just the right combination.
We’re hoping that Jeff can make the same magic happen with a thrilling standard called SCORM and our business that supports it.
Jena Lawing [jena.lawing@scorm.com]. Once upon a time, Rustici Software was a quiet place, a place where software developers sat in their offices and worked away on problems and there was nary a sound. And then Jena happened. Jena’s energy is like a whippity-cream pie (her word) in the face of a quiet company. (Please don’t tell her that we like it, she’ll only get crazier.)
Jena is working her way through the entire eLearning industry finding the LMSs and content providers who really need each other as part of our eLearningAtlas project. If she calls, please be nice. And don’t hesitate to ask her about her good high school friend, Rebecca Black.
Tammy Rutherford [tammy.rutherford@scorm.com]. Tammy knew what SCORM was several years before she had even heard of Rustici Software, and she’s not even a standards dork. (For standards dorks, see Rustici, Mike, and Clark, Ben.)
Tammy also instills fear in the long time Rustici Software employees because she can run, or swim, or bike, forever. It is this persistence and attention to detail that attracted us to Tammy in the first place. Tammy will be working with our customers to represent them well in the eLearningAtlas, but also to be sure that those same customers are getting everything they need from us.
Chris Tompkins [chris.tompkins@scorm.com]. We knew that Chris was going to fit in here when he told us stories from a prior job in which he visited various Walmarts, teaching the disinterested staff about how to sell satellite radios. When your job will revolve around explaining eLearning standards and educating people about them, patience and teaching become pretty important.
Chris will be calling hundreds of eLearning companies as part of the eLearningAtlas project as well. And he’ll be answering your questions as they come.
Freddie O’Connell [freddie.oconnell@scorm.com]. Freddie brings his lunch in a Hello Kitty bag, and sometimes his lunch is in the shape of children’s cartoons (Elmo, for example.) He only held the Donnelly Cup (last place in Pong) for a few days when he first started working with us.
Freddie’s car used to belong to Daryl Hannah (the mermaid in Splash.) It has a “BIODIESEL” decal on the back window in Old English font. He’s good enough, smart enough, and dog gone it, people like him. We like him, and we like the end-user way that he approaches software development.
TJ Seabrooks [tj.seabrooks@scorm.com].
TJ is full of surprises. He collects tea pots and has his own blog. His musical tastes range from Ke$ha to Jimmy Buffet, and he’s the only one of us that likes the Dixie Chicks.
Before joining our happy team at Rustici Software, TJ worked as a developer for a popular television company. We think SCORM is more fun than televisions, and we think TJ agrees with us.
The hair on his chin has never been shaven. Not once. In his whole life. That’s dedication. We like dedication.
Kevin Glynn [kevin.glynn@scorm.com]. What would you do if a big chunk of your time was spent converting C# code to Java? Kevin wrote a program to do it for him. That’s working smarter.
We worked with Kevin from 2006 through 2010, before he was sent back to Europe (it was a sad day). When the opportunity came up to work with him again, we made it work out. Kevin lives and works in Brussels, Belgium and comes to see us in person every now and then.
Kevin is our man on the ground when it comes to SCORM Cloud infrastructure. He’s the one that makes sure that it’s fast and reliable. Part of his level of success is measured in thousandths of a percent.
He’s a pescatarian. We like to think that it’s not because he loves cows, chickens and pigs, but because he doesn’t like sea creatures.
