James R. Brashear | Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

About Me

I am a developer with a focus on human computer interaction / usability heuristics. This study is how I know that by using this (admittedly loud!) background color, I have caught your attention due to a usability principle called the Von Restorff effect. I have been learning and refining my skills with regards to web development and usability since the late 90s; when the web was a baby and I was too (okay actually a teen at the time). Now I seek opportunities to create technology on the web, mobile, and otherwise that I can apply my (cue Liam Neeson voice) very particular set of skills.

HPN Worldwide, Inc.

Chief Technology Officer

September 2016 - Present

HPN is a 35 year old company which tracks wellness and health for organizations around the country. I came on board after the sale of Avyd to take over as Chief Engineer, and my duties quickly grew into the CTO role. HPN offers cutting edge technology solutions for companies to track their employees' health, wellness, and general well being for various benefits programs, lower insurance costs, and incentives. As with many well established companies, and companies in HIPAA environments, the IT and infrastructure at HPN was needing overhauled to be modernized, and that is where I currently reside; happily leading my team to see HPN become the most technologically capable wellness company in the industry.

Avyd, Inc.

Chief Technology Officer

March 2016 - September 2016

Despite the short time spent on this project, as a new startup in the e-sports industry Avyd turned a lot of heads and created a lot of buzz. We spent the summer of 2016 creating the ultimate platform for competitive gamers to compete against each other; and conducted several major gaming events. As with many startups, Avyd did not make it as a product very long before a larger competitor took notice and bought out the startup (learn more here). I was instrumental in working first hand on investor relations, all development assets including outside and offshore resources, and overseeing the IT infrastructure for our 20,000+ square foot facility in beautiful downtown Orlando Florida.

Fast Forward Academy

Chief Technology Officer

December 2011 - March 2016

I came on board as employee #4, and the 1st technology employee of this e-learning startup. While at FFA, we created a unique and powerful e-learning platform, and filed an application for a patent (https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140255901A1/en) on a new way to handle e-learning content. With over 150,000 users, several million in annual revenues, and a full web development team I recruited, FFA to this day is a leader in e-learning technology.

Kaplan University

Lead UX/UI Developer

May 2008 - December 2011

Was responsible for leading the front end development of the organization's Professional Education division websites. This included the design, the development, and the directing of the User Interface Development Team. This position utilized all of my programming skills (especially with regards to usability, UX/UI), SEO, management skills, inter-departmental presenation and collaboration and more.

Sleeping Giant Studios

Search Marketing Manager

November 2005 - April 2008

Was responsible for heading up this agency's consulting service of performance based search engine marketing services. We offered search engine optimization services with guaranteed pricing. We worked with several major brands including Mathews Inc., McPherson Guitars, Autumn Records, Savings.com, and many more. My unique skillset of strong front end HTML, CSS, and Javascript programming skills were heavily utilized in this position as we would often make website re-structuring changes to help optimize the sites while not impacting the website's original appearance or functionality.

ExploreWisconsin.com

Web Developer / Designer

January 2003 - October 2005

Designed and programmed web pages and full e-commerce sites for the organization's 1500+ clients. I was responsible for all aspects of design, programming, and SEO. I owe a significant portion of my understanding of search marketing, and e-ecommerce business to this position, as I was awarded the pleasure of working with several industry best minds to learn from

Tools Of The Trade

Below are programming languages, and skills I bring to the table.

  • HTML5

    I have been coding in HTML5 since the early days of mobile in 2011.

  • CSS/LESS/SASS

    I've been building websites with CSS since the early 2000s, and have been creating "syntasically awesome style sheets" with SASS for several years as well.

  • PHP/MYSQL

    I've been coding with "LAMP" since the early 2000s. Having built several major software platforms including those used at Kaplan, and Fast Forward Academy, I know how to leverage these open source technologies to handle high traffic and usage.

  • Python/DJANGO

    I have coded with Python since the mid 2000s, and have built numerous freelance web projects using it. Including most recently a web application for users to select artwork they would like ordered on custom frames and sizes.

  • Java

    Java and I are good old friends. Beginning in the early 2000s I started coding desktop applications, and my love for Java development has since grown into Android application development, desktop applications, and websites.

  • Scala

    Wanting to learn functional programming methods, I began learning Scala, a JVM based Haskell alternative. I have been using Scala now for several years, and the jury is still out with me on whether I think it's awesome (some days!) or a poor Haskell alternative (other days!)

  • Platforms

    I have built applications against several major cloud platforms (Amazon and Microsoft), and numerous websites against Amazon Web Services, Authorize.net, and hold certifications in several PHP frameworks (including Zend).

  • Project Management

    I am a certified SCRUM Master, and have led (and recruited) many developers over the years. I work well with people, and know how to develop applications in a way teams can work together for the greater good using industry standards and best practices.

Now You Know Me

If you feel you have a position or project that you'd like to talk to me about, I would love to hear from you!