about me
What I Do
WEB DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
I make professional, functional, responsive websites. I believe in helping people by connecting them with tools and information.
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
I’m a writer. I write about all things but mostly I focus on digital marketing, web development, technology, and human issues.
DIGITAL MARKETING
I have nearly two decades experience with email marketing, social media, SEO, and helping companies navigate the digital ecosystem.
Work Process
DISCOVER
IDEA
DESIGN
DEVELOP
TEST
LAUNCH
resume
WORK HISTORY
Oct 2021 -- Present
Program Manager -- Web Experience
SAE International
In June 2023, assumed expanded responsibility to oversee the management of the Fullsite's entire portfolio of websites, leveraging demonstrated expertise and trust in handling critical web operations.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including IT, business, and marketing, to develop and enhance a robust website platform that enables users to seamlessly request, build, and launch websites. Work closely with a team of developers, guiding their efforts in creating new platform-wide functionality that benefits all sites, while partnering with their direct manager to ensure alignment. Engage with business stakeholders to translate feature requests into scalable solutions, driving continuous improvements and fostering innovation across the platform.
Developed a strategy for and executed on the strategic of a comprehensive vision for the SAE.ORG redesign project, combining content, taxonomy, user--focused best practices and technology to create a personalized user experience for the complete customer journey
Led the successful completion of the design portion for a complex website redesign, which offers opportunities to mobility engineers at all stages of their professional journey, from grade school to college, and into the job force and retirement
Collaborated with multiple teams with competing priorities to ensure alignment and cohesive design strategy.
Expertly maintained Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets, ensuring seamless website operations and exceeding performance expectations.
Lead a highly productive team of digital communication professionals, fostering collaboration and achieving exceptional results in an agile environment.
Collaborated closely with the business stakeholders to identify and implement continuous improvements to the website, aligning with evolving user needs and industry trends.
Aug 2020 - Oct 2021
Director of Marketing
NextLink Labs
Managed holistic digital marketing strategy to 1100% increase website clicks, 1400% jump in impressions, and 700% increase in users to the site.
Led redesign of company website from inception to completion including conceptualization, journey pathing, UI/UX, SEO strategy, template design, and lead generation activities.
Define content strategy for and develop, manage, and curate content strategy for the brand including management of writers.
Developed social media strategy for reaching, engaging, and establishing audiences on Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, and other social media platforms.
Expanded network by connecting with SMEs, marketing professionals, and key target audience members in the area.
Jun 2020 - Aug 2020
Digital Project Manager (Contract)
The Church Online
In this contract position, I manage a team of three developers that built and fixed websites for churches across the country. These sites are built in WordPress and Joomla!.Aug 2018 - June 2020
Senior Web Developer
Webbula
At Webbula, I served as project manager and front-end developer in a project to build and launch a graphical user interface for the company’s email hygiene platform. I used REACT, HTML, and CSS to build the GUI and worked with an offshore developer to architect the REST api.
In addition, I served as a digital story teller, creating blog posts, case studies, videos, and for lead generation across multiple channels.
I managed development of website assets, content, and other digital collateral to improve SEO, traffic, and UI/UX for the corporate WordPress website.
Jan 2016 - Aug 2018
Tech Team Lead
VIQTORY (Formerly Victory Media)
I was promoted to Tech Team Lead in Jan 2017 after taking over, restructuring, and completing an ongoing project in one month. My promotion put me at the head of the company’s five-person Information Technology team.
Implemented agile development process to aid in development and maintenance of integrations between company (WordPress) websites and Salesforce CRM.
I led the strategic planning and execution support for all facets of digital marketing, with a specialization in social media, SEO, SEM, and mobile.
Prior to my promotion, as Digital Marketing Manager, I developed and designed websites using PHP, HTML, CSS, customized SQL DBs and integrated into other systems. I personally extended themes by developing plugins and writing shortcodes for gijobs.com, stemjobs.com, militaryfriendly.com and militaryspouse.com.
In addition, I integrated WordPress with Salesforce, MailChimp, and other marketing automation platforms to perform drip campaigns, nurture leads, and manage marketing funnels.
Jan 2011 - Jan 2017
Director of Marketing
Gray Matter Systems
Created, managed, and executed marketing plan and activities for Gray Matter Systems, a channel partner of GE Intelligent Platforms (Now GE Digital).
Conducted marketing activities across various channels that contribute to sales in nine-state territory.
Led efforts for lead generation through various channels including email, social media, Web, and advertisements. Leverage existing content in the form of white papers or case studies (or create my own) to fuel lead generation efforts. Position company as “thought leader” by holding regular webinars covering critical topics relevant to our vertical markets.
Handled coding of company website, microsites, email newsletter templates, and interactive experiences. Deploy common-sense SEO practices. Utilize PHP/MySQL for internal and external Web and database integration. HTML/CSS/jQUERY/ Javascript for Web experience.
Coordinated live events, ranging in size from intimate “lunch and learns” to large-scale conferences. Responsible for creating collateral for event including microsites, mobile apps, course materials, and promotional items (lanyards, bags). Coordinate tracks and speakers.
Responsible for producing marketing collateral for myriad uses. Utilize Adobe Creative Suite to create logos and treatments for events, build templates for white papers, data sheets, line cards, and corporate slide decks. Establish branding guidelines for consistency.
Sept 2009 - Jan 2011
Director of Marketing
Simio LLC
Completed transfer and complete redesign of www.simio.biz to www.simio.com, including development, maintenance, site architecture, optimization, and marketing.
Managed companies’ CPC campaigns (Google Adwords) as well as advertisements in other electronic media.
Placed www.simio.biz on Google’s for five of eight critical application area key words - all above page one. Responsible for delivering complete site redesign in four weeks - removing graphic-based structure and implementing a current, content-driven, SEO-rich and user-friendly website.
Jan 2006 - Sept 2009
Senior Web Producer
Hanley Wood Business Media
Raised ecohomemagazine.com’s traffic over 100,000 page views in under a year. ecohomemagazine.com named best website in Launch Category in 2008 by B2B Magazine. Overhauled one website in legacy content management system, launched two more in Tridion, and redesigned one brand’s newsletter. Washington, DC.
Promoted to Senior Web Producer in 2007.
Worked as liaison between business, editorial, and tech department to create requirements, prioritize work into iterations, assist in development, and manage updates in Agile environment. Played key role in CMS rollout, development, and launch. Following promotion, charged with training colleagues in content management system and assisting in launch of new websites, both in locally in Washington DC and abroad at satellite locations in Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Responsible for editorial tasks associated with planning, constructing, and maintaining greenproductsandtechnology.com, the first Hanley Wood website launched under the Tridion content management system. Redesigned greenproductsandtechnology.com, recreated the site in its entirety, retooled the information architecture, and re-launched the site as ecohomemagazine.com.
Managed editorial aspects of ebuild.com, transformed InDesign and Quark files to HTML to bring print magazine content from various publications to the Hanley Wood’s online product catalog.
Responsible content creation and dissemination for three email newsletters -- a twice-weekly blast to over 100,000 subscribers and weekly message to 40,000 users.
EDUCATION
2003
B.S, Communications (Emphasis in Journalism)
Slippery Rock University
Program Management Skills
Cross-Functional Team Leadership
Strategic Program Management
Stakeholder Collaboration & Engagement
Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management
Agile Methodology Expertise
Digital Marketing Skills
Leadership
Strategy
Writing / Editing
Design / Development
Email Marketing
BI / PM Skills
Asana / Basecamp / Jira
Google Analytics / Search Console
SEM Rush
Coding Skills
PHP
HTML5
CSS3
jQuery
WordPress
Gatsby
REACT
Design Skills
InDesign
XD / Figma
Photoshop
Illustrator
TESTIMONIALS
Destiney Lydon
Senior Web Content Specialist, SAE International
If you are looking for an individual who can lead with authority and create cohesive user experiences, Ian is your guy. Between his impressive skillset in designing digital experiences, ability to manage large organizational projects, and growth mindset, Ian is the ideal person to take your website presence to the next level. As his direct report in his role as Program Manager, Web Experience, he has been one of my biggest advocates, supported my professional development, and has approached difficult times with an open mind.
Matt Crouch
Director, Business Development @ Frequence
Ian is one of those rare mangers who naturally serves as both leader and mentor. I worked for Ian as an intern and then as an employee at Gray Matter Systems. He is one of the most creative and intelligent individuals I have worked for. In his role as Director of Marketing, he has a supremely unique ability to understand complex technologies and articulate a message in clear business terms to customers. His passion, experience, and desire to empower those around him reinforce his ability to lead and collaborate.
Alec Dann
General Manager, B2B Online @ Hanley Wood Business Media
Ian is one of the most creative and energetic web professionals I've worked with. Among our web editors, he was our super-user -- the guy everyone went to for help with our new content management system. As a web editor he was innovative and incredibly productive.
Thomas Scala
Staying Sharp Quality Senior Advisor @ AARP
Ian is a straight-forward and dedicated Web producer. He works hard at any task with a sense of leadership that helps everyone around him work better. His wit is as dry as a desert and his enthusiasm as deep as an ocean.
David Sturrock
Vice-President, Products @ Simio LLC
I worked with Ian for over a year. He had the unenviable task of taking over after a disastrous consulting engagement had practically destroyed our web site and our SEO. Ian redesigned our web site structure and content to organically bring us to page one on important keywords within a year. Ian was particularly adept at converting rough copy into effective marketing material.
