Resume

Stephani Roberts

OBJECTIVE

Accomplished developer/producer of multimedia and Web projects seeking to leverage extensive experience in front end development, Flash/video interactive features, Web accessibility and user experience. Highly motivated and eager to roll up my sleeves and contribute to your project on a freelance basis.

SKILLS SUMMARY

Web accessibility testing of web based applications, video, mobile devices, and websites. Evaluate for adherence to WAI WCAG standards and guidelines as well as ADA and Section 508 compliance. Provide specific written recommendations for improvements to code and visual display to increase overall accessibility of websites, video, mobile devices and applications.

Video Production for documentary films: setting up interviews, capturing verite action, photo stills, etc. Tools include Panasonic DVX 100A mini-DV, Sony PC-100 mini-DV, Sony DSC F717 35mm Digital SLR.

Web Project lead: technical requirements gathering, technical documentation and specifications, managing vendor relationships, meeting with and training clients.

Multimedia development, video compression and editing, motion graphics design and animation using Flash, Director, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, OuicktimeVR Authoring Studio, LiveStage, Media Cleaner Pro, Sound Edit 16, and Acrobat.

Comprehensive experience in web and interactive development including, information design, in-depth user interface coding (CSS, XHTML, XSLT, JavaScript), template development, coding for accessibility, client-side scripting, graphic design, image correction, retouching and optimization, web production, cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility, information architecture, interaction design and usability, QA and release engineering.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

MIT's Adaptive Technology Information Center

September 2006-Present

Web Accessibility Consultant actively engaged in the the web development life cycle evaluating initial web designs, screens,and coded pages to ensure that they are accessible and developed with consideration for the widest audience possible. Focus on making web projects accessible to users with learning and cognitive disabilities, visual and hearing impairments and users of assistive technology. Consulting work includes testing, training, public speaking, accessible web development, and specialized research. Member of MIT's Usability team incorporating usability and web accessibility methods where they dovetail naturally into Universal Design.

MIT DCAD

May 2006-September 2006, part-time position

Web and Database Consultant for MIT's internal consulting group. Responsible for shepherding client projects from inception through to completion. Manage initial client needs assessment, help establish partnerships between our clients and our external Design firms. Create initial sitemap and establish underlying information architecture. Act as liaison between clients and vendors through all phases of process: discovery, partnership, development, production, and usability testing. Also responsible for updating numerous client sites on weekly basis, this involves handcoding of XHTML, CSS, and Javascript, knowledge of audio and video file formats, etc.

MIT Administrative Computing

August 2004-May 2006, switched to part-time status on 9/05

Full-time annual appointment as Senior Information Designer for MIT's Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) project. Produced 3 key applications for a 5 year project to take MITs EHS system and develop it for compliance with an EPA consent decree. Applications included hazardous chemical tracking, laboratory inspection and audits, and occupational injury systems. Consulted with end users and business specialists to understand existing business processes and translated findings into usable and accessible front end web interface(s). Designed user interface and created HTML mockups, presented screens to committee, acted as liaison between programmers and business process owners. Wrote functional specifications, managed usability tests and implemented final front end code for an SAP backend. Code written in HTML, JavaScript, and Business HTML (for SAP). Sample screens: http://web.mit.edu/stephani/www/samples/

Skyrope LLC

November 2001-Present - co-partner /board member

Initially worked to build start-up web site, user experience, branding, marketing materials, photography, web mockups, QA testing, and software prototypes to recruit vendor partners and clients. Currently a partner involved in longer term goals and talent recruiting, no longer involved with day-to-day operations. http://skyrope.net/company/index.srp

MIT ATIC Lab

July 2002-August 2004 - Part-time position concurrent with WGBH interactive

Web Accessibility Specialist for MIT's Adaptive Technology for Information Computing Lab and Web Communication Services. Established accessible coding techniques, guidelines, and best coding practices to ensure that MIT's community of web sites are in full compliance with federal and state Government standards and are accessible to the disabled http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/index.html

WGBH INTERACTIVE

January 2001-August 2004 - Full-time Project Oriented Work

Lead web developer for McLean Hospital's Virtual Tour. Developed interactive Quicktime VR content in the LiveStage authoring environment, wrote HTML and JavaScript. http://www.mcleanhospital.org/vr/intro.html

Lead web developer for the PBSKIDS ARTHUR web site. Responsible for HTML, collaborating interaction design for games, usability testing, and Flash production.. http://pbskids.org/arthur/index.html

Web developer and audio editor for the BBC's "The World" (summer 2003). Responsible for front page lead story image selection, writing headlines, updating main stories, and editing the daily program down into segments for streaming audio. http://www.theworld.org/

Lead web developer for Wellesley Campaign Project web site for Wellesley college. Wrote HTML, JavaScript, managed junior developer, collaborated with designer, producer, and Wellesley webmaster. Performed QA and cross-browser testing. Trained Wellesley clients to update the site with Dreamweaver. http://www.wellesley.edu/Resources/index.html

Lead web developer for the WGBH 2002 Annual Report Online version. Wrote HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/about/report/annualreport2002/index.html

Project lead on Commanding Heights, 2002 winner of the coveted British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award in the UK. Engineered the delivery structure of dual versions of the site to address accessibility needs for all audiences. Wrote HTML, JavaScript, SMIL for QuickTime. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/index.html

Lead developer WGBH/PBS Evolution site. Programmed, animated and integrated many of the site's popular multimedia features in Flash. Wrote HTML, JavaScript, and ActionScript. Coordinated the technical team's deliverables with Clear Blue Sky Productions.

Flash Programmer for the following Features on Evolution:

  • An Origin of a Species: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/darwin/origin/index.html
  • Origins of Humankind: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/humans/humankind/index.html
  • Riddle of the Bones: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/humans/riddle/index.html
  • Coral Reef Connections: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/survival/coral/index.html
  • Shelflink.com

    September 2000 - December 2000

    Lead web designer, information architect and usability specialist for Tom and Tom of Nantucket Nectars' online business to business start-up venture Shelflink.com. Launched initial online e-commerce presence. http://www.shelflink.com

    Harvard University Internet Technologies

    September 1997 - September 2000

    Web Specialist for the Harvard Medical School Internet Technologies Group. Over the course of 3 years, played various roles of increasing responsibility including web developer and designer, curriculum designer, R&D specialist, usability engineer, liaison to faculty, and instructor. Highlights at Harvard follow:

  • Led search engine project for intranet portal site. Rapidly learned JSP-like macro language necessary to hand-code dynamic page templates for Excalibur search software.
  • Developed and taught web training classes for staff: Web Overview, Photoshop for the Web, HTML I and II, among others. Successfully trained 360 clients each year for three consecutive years presenting and teaching in a classroom setting. Developed curriculum, wrote documentation and designed illustrations. Created and maintained companion web site, a how-to guide to web development encompassing web standards and practices at the Medical School.

  • TMSI/Imagitas

    1996 August 1997

    Web Developer, Content Editor and Publisher on the Internet Team. Managed content and web site development for MoversNet, the United States Postal Service web site for movers. Created ad pages and updated content on site. Worked as content evangelist managing relationships and developing strategic partnerships with MapQuest, Ryder Trucks, and Departments of Motor Vehicles nationwide. Shot, edited, and produced in-store testimonial videos to illustrate the success of our partnership with the McDonald's corporation.

    EDUCATION

    Emerson College, Boston, MA
    B. A. Visual and Media Arts, Concentration New Media
    Graduated Cum Laude, May 2000
    Inducted into the Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society.
    GPA 3.85/4.00

    FILMS

    2006

    Make Way for the Elephants

    Writer/Director/DP/Editor for this experimental film documenting the 2005 Annual Parade of Elephants. Watch 8 of Barnum and Bailey's beautiful circus elephants begin their journey from MIT's campus and march over Cambridge's Salt and Pepper bridge into Boston for the "Greatest Show on Earth."

    Length: 3:45
    Format: DV
    Status: Postproduction

    2006

    From Commune to Cult (and back again)

    Writer/Director/DP/Editor of this social change documentary about a group of people who met in a Christian commune in the 70s and left when it was deemed a Cult. Now, 25 years later, many find themselves drawn back into the ministry with the conviction that it has turned around.

    Length: TBD
    Format: DV
    Status: Pre-production

    2005

    Writer/Director/DP/Editor of this educational documentary about a childhood friend who is happily raising 6 children, 4 of whom are special needs kids. Three of these children were adopted within a 4 year time-span. How does she do it? Why did she and her husband decide to adopt? How has this decision impacted the lives of her biological children? How have they impacted the lives of their adopted siblings? The love and care abundant in this home will make you re-think the nature of love and the definition of family.

    Length: TBD
    Format: DV
    Status: Postproduction

    2005

    CCs Story: This Time I Married a Woman

    Writer/Director/DP/Editor of this social change documentary about two women in Massachusetts who have chosen to get married. Friends, co-workers, therapists, parents, and an ex-husband of these women are interviewed to gain insight into their interesting journey to the alter.

    Length: TBD
    Format: DV
    Status: Pre-production

    2005

    To Bee or not to Bee

    Writer/Director/DP/Editor of a short documentary about a charming elderly couple running a bee keeping school in Maine.

    Length: 6 min.
    Format: DV
    Status: complete

    Film is currently being highlighted on the Digital Journalist site:
    http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0510/video-platypus01.html

    2000

    The Man Behind the Makeup

    Writer/Co-Director/DP/Editor of this short documentary about Candi Kane, a comedian who earns a living as a female impersonator.

    Length: 6:00
    Format: DV
    Status: Complete

    TECHNICAL TRAINING

    Multimedia: Video and Animation

  • DV Journalist "Platypus" Workshop,
    Rockport Film School, Summer 2005
  • Post Production Process: Video Editing,
    Rockport Film School, Summer 2004
  • Advanced Flash, HTML Writers Guild, Summer 2003
  • After Effects for Animation, Mass Art, Fall 2002
  • FlashForward 2000 Conference, Summer 2000
  • Macromedia Director Advanced Training, FMC, Cambridge MA
  • Understanding and Developing Multimedia Fall Semester 1998,
    Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
  • User Interface and Front End Coding

  • User Centered Design, Bentley College, Spring 2005
  • Information Architecture and Findability Seminar, Winter 2004
  • Usability Professional's Association Conference, Winter 2003
  • Cascading Stylesheets, HTML Writers Guild, Winter 2004
  • Intermediate JavaScript, HTML Writers Guild, Fall 2003
  • Advanced Photoshop, iFactory, Boston, MA, Fall 1998
  • SKILLS & TOOLS LIST

    OPERATING SYSTEMS:

    Mac OS 10.3 and Windows XP -- comfortable on both platforms. UNIX (command line on Linux and Solaris at user level)

    SCRIPTING/CODING SKILLS:

    HTML 3.2-4.1, XHTML, SMIL, XML, CSS, JavaScript, Flash MX ActionScript, Qscript, Lingo (basic loops, custom movie scripts). Perl/CGI (forms, database logic, cookies, etc.)

    SOFTWARE TOOLS:

    Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Image Ready, Macromedia Flash, BBEdit, Director, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Freehand, Homesite, SoundEdit 16, Adobe After Effects, Frame Thief, Media100, Premiere, InDesign, Acrobat, Quark Express 5, QuicktimeVR Authoring Studio 2, Quicktime Pro, LiveStage Pro 3.0, FileMakerPro, Microsoft Access, SAPGUI 6.20

    PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • The Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF)
  • HTML Writer's Guild
  • Boston-IA
  • SIGCHI
  • W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Interest Group (W3C-WAI)

  • > > contact me via email