Meet SAS Education's World-Class Instructors
SAS instructors are recognized both for their outstanding teaching skills and for their standing as thought-leaders in their area of instruction. Every SAS instructor has earned internationally recognized, industry credentials as a SAS Certified Professional and undergoes a rigorous internal certification, on a chapter-by-chapter basis, for each course they teach. They're also very interesting people.Below you'll find personal profiles of a sample of SAS instructors. A new profile will be posted every month, so please visit often.
~~~~~ A-B ~~~~~
What started as an avid interest in science and mathematics in grade school
guided Mark Bailey, statistical training specialist in Wayne, PA, to pursue
independent study in chemistry as an undergraduate at the State University
of New York College at Fredonia. Initially computing on mainframes, he
expanded his academic accomplishments in graduate school at the University
of Rochester while studying the hemoglobin action in blood. Eventually, he
learned how to program all of the laboratory computers for real-time data
acquisition and data reduction. Most of his computing now is in JMP, SAS,
Smalltalk or StarLogo on Windows and Macintosh.
After tutoring every chemistry subject possible in college and graduate school, Mark started his career in applied statistics at Eastman Kodak. He later moved to Abbott Laboratories, where he introduced nonlinear regression techniques for "dose-response" curves and design of experiments (DOE). Those years of experience provided a nearly perfect 'boot camp' to prepare him for his next position when he came to SAS. Teaching SAS courses at first, Mark now focuses primarily on the JMP curriculum: design of experiments and scripting. Acting as mentor to local high school teachers through the Philadelphia Area Statistics Teachers Association (PASTA), Mark's involvement with statistics has transferred to the community. It's no surprise that he's particularly partial to design of experiments and scripting subjects.
Mark's interests and hobbies center around water: fresh-water fly fishing and tying flies, aquaculture, brewing, and canoeing. Family time comes first, however, with his wife and two school-age children.
A favorite JMP instructor, Mark has been known to "stay after class" for individual students more than once to help with a project or further explain the details of a course. "He took the extra time and effort to work one-on-one with me, assuring that I felt comfortable utilizing the software to reap its full benefit," said Dr. Andrei A. Zlota, principal process engineer, Chemical Process Research and Development at Sepracor, Inc. Others described him as "enthusiastic and knowledgeable, particularly about DOE and scripting," "more than willing to answer questions," "well-organized," "clever, enthusiastic," and "witty and easy-going."
Cary-based technical training specialist Richard (Rick) Bell takes the Boy
Scout motto of "be prepared" to heart. Although providing technical
services at SAS for just three years, he has many years of teaching and
statistics behind him. And, not only does he teach several programming
courses, he helped convert one course to a Live Web class and is currently
writing a course to support SAS Financial Management.
Rick earned a bachelor's degree in math from Davidson College, a master's degree in operations research from North Carolina State University, and a MAT in teaching from Monmouth University.
Prior to joining SAS, Rick served in the U.S. Army for 17 years, taught at two private schools in Virginia, at a public high school in North Carolina and at several secondary schools. Naturally, his knowledge in math, statistics and computing programming was shared with and appreciated by many of his students.
If all work and no play make a dull boy, then Rick is definitely not boring. His love of the outdoors takes him and his Scout troop camping, hiking, cycling and canoeing, and he enjoys going with the boys to summer camp in the mountains. Rick also runs recreationally, and, if that were not enough, he recently rode with nearly 1300 riders in the MS150, a two-day, 150-mile bike ride to benefit the National MS Society.
Married for 25 years, Rick is also the father of a son who is a sophomore at Elon University.
Rick's students have high praise for him. "He was an excellent instructor ... had a very good way of describing complex examples in a way that was understandable," one student said. "He took time for everyone's questions, even job-related ones," said another. "Exceptionally knowledgeable, professional and well-spoken, said a third student. Mr. Bell can easily make a complicated, convoluted, and often unintelligible subject, understandable. He's a very good instructor who communicates well with learners at varying levels of SAS expertise." Maybe there should be a merit badge for teaching.
Oct 2004
As with so many users, Michelle Buchecker first became familiar with
SAS as an undergraduate student in college. She served as a lab consultant
while working towards her Bachelors of Business Administration at New
Mexico State University.
"Students had to type in a SAS program that was given to them and analyze the results," Michelle recalls. "When they got errors, they would call me over, and I had to debug a language I had never seen before. So I would casually glance down at their papers and declare, 'I think you need a semicolon there.'"
It wasn't long before Michelle's knowledge of SAS grew, however, when she was hired as a programmer for IBM in 1988. Her position required her to use SAS exclusively in analyzing mainframe SMF data. But after three years of programming and a Masters in Computer Information Systems from the University of Denver, she decided she needed a change.
"I thought, 'I don't want to be a programmer anymore. What do I want to do? I want to teach. What do I know that I can teach? I know, SAS!' At that time, SAS had just listed a position for an instructor in Chicago. Timing is everything."
Thirteen years later, Michelle serves as Chicago's Regional Education Director and is an invaluable part of their regional training program. She specializes in Base SAS, Macro, SAS/CONNECT, SAS/ACCESS and report writing. Michelle says that her favorite part of being an instructor is also her biggest challenge - keeping current on the SAS system.
Her students feel that Michelle is up to the challenge, however. "Michelle is a great instructor," one of her students reported. "She is knowledgeable about the information and relays it very well. I was also impressed with her ability to see individuals in the class doing things differently and getting correct results, and explaining why they were good, bad, or just different."
"Michelle knows just what amount of information to convey to us," says another student. "If she gives you a detail, it's important. She does not overload you with too much information, and she provides wise pointers on how to get the most from the material you are working on."
Michelle's drive to help students attain their best doesn't end with her day job though. At night she uses her teaching experience to help a 47-year-old man with a ninth-grade education study for his GED. She has also organized a collection drive in the Chicago office for business travelers to bring back hotel soaps and shampoos, which she in turn donates to a local homeless shelter. In her free time, Michelle enjoys attending Chicago Bears games with her husband, knitting while watching Monday night NFL games at home, traveling, and playing golf.
Jul 2005
~~~~~ C-D ~~~~~
You could say that Randall Cates has been around. With a master's in
public health from the University of Texas School of Public Health at
Houston, Texas and a bachelor's degree in microbiology from the University
of Maine, his educational pursuits have taken him to vastly different
regions. In addition, he acquired experience teaching English and science
in Kenya during his three-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Working as a SAS technical training specialist in St. Louis, Randall finds himself in yet another place on the map. His sixteen-mile round-trip commute to and from work via bicycle keeps his life in perspective, he says.
Randall's talents for helping things grow transfers to raising organic vegetables and building objects with wood, including his latest project, a canoe. When not floating on Missouri's numerous rivers and lakes with his wife and son, he enjoys camping with them and reading science fiction and mystery novels.
What do students say about the instructor who shows up on a bicycle?
"Very nice and helpful. He makes the 'dry stuff' easier to swallow ... clear and succinct; he gives solid answers to questions and provides an effective mix of lecture and lab making a lively and interesting approach to class ... good sense of humor, very knowledgeable ... Randall was great!"
Houston-based technical training specialist Christopher Chan, Ph.D. is a
man whose 16-year SAS experience has guided him through teaching,
consulting and developing courses. In constant pursuit of knowledge, Chris
is in the process of fast becoming a "specialist" in enterprise marketing
automation, teaching numerous basic and advanced programming courses.
Chris received his undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from the University of the Philippines. Both his master's degree from the University of Florida and his doctorate from Harvard University are in sociology.
Prior to his position at SAS, Chris served as a teaching assistant at Harvard for graduate statistics courses and worked as a research associate in the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he developed SAS applications for managing, analyzing, and presenting information from varied national data sources. As an assistant professor at Florida State University, he developed and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in advanced statistical analysis, while advising faculty on sample design and statistical modeling.
Chris' interests are not limited to SAS, however. With more than 1000 long-playing records from the 50s to the 80s, Chris is a self-proclaimed "record buff, a huge collector of vinyl." His love of music spills over to the love of his "two sons who keep my life interesting," he said. Yearly trips to his hometown of Manila to visit parents and siblings fill in his out-of-work activities.
It was difficult to select just a few of the positive comments from students, as Chris is a well revered instructor. One student said, "Chris is an excellent instructor. He devoted his time to teaching and making sure that each student understood the concepts that were covered in lecture and course book, a real joy." Another student said, "I appreciated Chris's ability to answer questions from participants in a way that corrected misperceptions or elaborated on concepts, as appropriate. It's one of the clear markers of an instructor who knows the material well and can think on his feet - great qualities in an instructor." "Chris is extremely eloquent, personable, and very approachable. He took extra effort to make this course digestible for the one nonprogrammer in the class," said a third.
A fourth student summed it up when he said, "Chris knows the material well and is able to clearly convey that knowledge. I would jump at any opportunity to take another course from Chris."
"I guess teaching is in my blood line. I come from a family of teachers,"
said Cary-based technical training specialist Davetta Dunlap.
Daughter of a Methodist minister and an English teacher, she has four aunts
who retired from teaching as well.
"As a little girl, I lined up my teddy bears and dolls and taught them all sorts of things," Davetta recalled. Around age 10, she had her first real students: "neighborhood kids who came to a tent in our backyard to learn anything from reading and writing to telling time with my Minnie Mouse watch," she said.
Encouraged in high school to become a teaching fellow, Davetta instead chose to travel and live abroad. "After growing up in a family of teachers, I wanted to do something different, so I declined," Davetta said.
Upon her return, Davetta enrolled in North Carolina State University, majoring in statistics. Realizing a need for some "real-life" work experience, she made some contacts and landed her first job as an intern for PPD, a clinical research organization. Following graduation, the internship became a full-time position, and she began writing and maintaining SAS programs full time.
"Programming was very interesting and challenging, but I was still missing something. I loved to learn. I loved to travel. I loved to program in SAS. But I also loved to teach people what I had learned," Davetta said. When the opportunity arose, she became a SAS instructor.
Now a Live Web instructor, Davetta's burning desire to teach is doubly fulfilled. "I have two full-time jobs: being a mother and first teacher to my two children, ages 7 and 4, and teaching the world SAS. Both jobs are very challenging but also very rewarding, and I love them both!" Davetta said.
Spare time for Davetta includes reading and participating in non-competitive sports at SAS: water basketball, water volleyball, volleyball, kickball and, most recently, flag football. She also volunteers as a coach and newspaper editor for her daughter's flag-football cheerleading squad.
Davetta's students speak of her warmly. "She was an excellent instructor who is well versed in her teaching material, and ready, willing and able to assist all individuals," said one. Another student said, "She is very well organized and willing to help everyone understand and learn the most they can during the course." A third student said it all when she said, "Davetta was an excellent instructor. She is very aware of SAS features and its ability to perform certain tasks. I was very impressed with her teaching ability. Very Smooth!"
It must be something in her genes.
Jan 2005
~~~~~ E-F ~~~~~
Growing up in Indiana didn't deter Michele Ensor, technical training specialist in Atlanta, from moving south. After
earning a bachelor-of-science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois, Michele took a job with
Michelin Tire Company in their Greenville, South Carolina headquarters.
While working in the manufacturing plant's quality control department where she determined possible tire defects, Michele learned the power of SAS. Her job provided her with SAS knowledge and skills that she continued to augment.
Living in the South agreed with Michele so much that she spent five years working for Michelin as well as earning a master of business administration degree at Clemson in the evenings. As she became proficient in SAS through her employment, it was natural that her next position would be to train other SAS users. Michele has been a SAS instructor since 1997, teaching public, on-site, and Live Web classes.
Michele's non-teaching pastimes include camping and boating on Lake Lanier with her boyfriend and two step-children, as well as attending NASCAR races. Jogging is another pastime; this past year, she ran her ninth Thanksgiving Day half- marathon. She also spends family time with her brother, sister, niece and parents in Louisville, Kentucky.
Students rate Michele as an "excellent instructor very personable, dynamic and helpful she knows her subject well and highlights important aspects of the lessons kept the class upbeat with light humor". One student made a plea to "keep her in training! - (she's) very attuned to learners' needs."
Susan Farmer first began using SAS to analyze data for the School of
Nursing while attending the University of Missouri in 1986. Susan graduated
with a bachelor's in statistics and moved to Iowa as a research
statistician at a retread tire company.
In 1989, she moved to Chicago to be with her new husband. It was in Chicago that Susan found a want ad in a local paper for a SAS instructor. "I told myself that I could do that, and I've been in the Education Division ever since."
While she loves the classroom, Susan has broadened her teaching abilities by instructing Live Web courses. Teaching without being able to see her students possesses some difficulty, but she tries to relate to her students to make the non-traditional classroom more effective.
"My favorite thing about being an instructor is explaining technical SAS concepts in a simpler way, with analogies or examples that are related to student's work," Susan says. "The biggest challenge is keeping up with the newest versions of the software. There is a lot of new stuff coming out all the time!"
One of Susan's Live Web students commented, "She knew the material and was able to clearly communicate it. She was intuitive over distance, so it seemed as though she was in my room."
The only complaint she has received from a student was completely unrelated to her teaching abilities, Susan says. At only five feet tall, she says that under the heading "What can the instructor do to improve" on a student's public training evaluation was written the single word, "GROW."
Currently, Susan is an instructor at the Phoenix office and enjoys the agreeable weather. She's an avid shopper who loves the thrill of a bargain. With two daughters, ages nine and six, she says she sometimes feels like a full-time "soccer mom" with a part-time job at SAS.
Sep 2005
~~~~~ G-H ~~~~~
SAS Education Instructor Anita Hillhouse first came across SAS in 1987 while working as a business analyst for Sierra Pacific Power Company in Reno, Nev. "Like most analysts at the time," she says, "I needed data to do my job, and IT was too back logged to provide it. One day, one of the guys in technical support threw a COBOL copy book and a SAS manual at me and said, 'Go figure it out yourself.' So, I did."
As Anita progressed in writing programs and applications, she realized that she needed to talk to other SAS programmers. Anita attended SAS Education classes and eventually started a local SAS users group. In 1994, she decided to apply for an instructor position with SAS Education, and the rest, as they say, is history.
More than 14 years later, Anita specializes in teaching Business Intelligence-related courses, in person, and via Live Web and e-lectures. She's also involved in developing a number of courses, including much of the BI curriculum. Of her job, Anita says, "There's a lot to be said for making the light bulb come on for a student. But I also love course development. Getting positive comments back from students and instructors is wonderful."
Students describe Anita's teaching style as "lively," "vibrant, warm, enthusiastic," and "fun." "(Anita) knew her course material very well," commented one student. "She was quickly able to solve any problems I had with my web application."
When not teaching or developing course materials, Anita is busy reading--no surprise with the amount of time SAS Education instructors spend on planes. But the time she spends traveling for work doesn't deter her from seeing the rest of the world. Most recently, her travels have taken her to Northern England, Scotland and Italy. She enjoys traveling with her nieces and has planned a trip with them to the Grand Canyon later this year. When she finally comes home, it's to her two mischievous feline friends, Gypsy and Pagan.
Instructor Marc Huber's road to SAS has been a long one. Born in
Brooklyn, N.Y., he developed cancer as a young man and went through a bone
marrow transplant at age 16. The experience changed his life and his plans.
"Previously in high school I'd been determined to go to an Ivy League school," Marc shares. "The experience with cancer left me kind of nihilistic. I was afraid that my last years would be spent as an anal, neurotically driven student."
Instead of Dartmouth and a math degree, Marc turned his attention toward UNC Chapel Hill and the field of psychology in hopes that his studies would also bring him closer to understanding his own life experiences. As a psychology major, Marc was introduced to SAS in 1985 in an undergraduate statistics course. After some encouragement by his professors, he entered into UNC's graduate program in quantitative psychology. Feeling a strong need to give back and especially to work with kids, Marc also achieved his master's in social work.
It was the social work degree that led him to teaching and eventually to SAS. The idea to become an instructor grew out of a conversation he had with a former SAS employee who had come to work at UNC where Marc was working as a biostatistician and SAS programmer. With his combined passion for helping people and knowledge of the software, his new co-worker suggested, he would make a great SAS trainer. And the rest, as they say, was history.
"My favorite thing about being a SAS instructor," Marc says, "has been the satisfaction of teaching people things that they may not have thought they could understand. I also like the travel, but everyone tells me that gets old."
Marc's sense of humor, ability to explain complex ideas and patience shows in the classroom. "Marc was excellent," raves one student in a course evaluation. "Marc's teaching style and sense of humor kept me engaged throughout."
"Marc is by far the best instructor I have ever had for a SAS training course," another student proclaims. "His personality and approach to teaching made the class fun and interesting, which made the material easier to understand."
When not teaching, Marc is very active in the community. He served as chairman for the American Cancer Society's Orange County Relay for Life for three years, volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House, and spends a week in Montana every summer as a counselor at Camp Mak-a-Dream, a medically supervised, free camp for kids and their siblings operated by the Children's Oncology Camp Foundation.
"I was a really shy kid, even through college," Marc recalls. "It was my desire to help other cancer patients that forced me out of my shell. I was being asked to visit young patients in hospital to help encourage them. Eventually, some people asked me to do some public speaking for cancer events. I'm not sure I'd have ever developed those skills if I hadn't had cancer. And, of course, those are skills I've needed as an instructor."
For more information about the groups Marc works with, visit the American Cancer Society, the Ronald McDonald House, and Camp Mak-a-Dream.
Minneapolis-based technical training specialist Marty Hultgren grew
up playing tennis and cross-country skiing as a child. He always loved
teaching and now "really enjoys the challenge of taking something thought
to be dry and difficult and turning it into something comprehensible and
enjoyable for all students," he said.
After receiving his bachelor's degree in psychology from Concordia College in Minnesota, Marty's wanderlust spirit emerged. He took off to sail the South Pacific, teach English in Japan for two years and trek around Europe and Asia for another six months before returning to his home state. A second bachelor's degree, in education this time, was earned at the University of Minnesota and then a teaching license that he used to teach elementary school, first in Guam and then Minnesota.
"My sons, age eight and four-year-old twins, are my three favorite people," said Marty. "And we spend a lot of time together, hiking, camping and even backpacking, as well as setting up mock sumo-wrestling matches (I always seem to lose.)" In his spare time, what little there is, he plays soccer and guitar and reads. Since he rarely is able to take to the high seas anymore, Marty has found windsurfing an acceptable substitute.
"As someone who came to programming from a background entirely devoid of it, I have a special affinity for students who feel overwhelmed by writing code, and find it very rewarding to help them replace trepidation for SAS with knowledge, confidence and ability," Marty said. His students appreciate that he puts his words into actions.
"He is a very approachable teacher, and he conveys the messages well." said one student. "Marty is able to anticipate and address questions of the group," said another student. A third student said, "He provided a plethora of resources to help the student help him or herself after the class is done... priceless!" Another student summed it all up by saying, "Marty made the course educational and interesting ... presenting material clearly and making all the students feel at ease. He is a natural educator." Sounds like Marty has calmed the waters for his students!
~~~~~ I-J ~~~~~
As an English and secondary education major from Michigan State University
and an eight-year SAS instructor veteran, Linda Jolley has a diverse
background that allows her to approach teaching from many levels. She
worked previously as a SAS analyst in the manufacturing, technology, and
pharmaceutical industries and as an independent SAS consultant.
"I tell my students that knowing SAS has paid a lot of my bills over the years," Linda says. "And that if I can learn SAS as an English major with no computer background, then anyone can."
Linda's favorite aspect of teaching is watching students gain an understanding of the topics at hand, while her greatest challenge is keeping her SAS knowledge current. "But," she quickly adds, "as instructors we need to be able to answer questions about anything and everything with the word 'SAS' in it."
Students enjoy having Linda as their instructor. "Linda had great energy and clarity," one student reports. "Linda was excellent," says another. "She was very approachable and able to answer questions clearly from people with programming backgrounds as well as those with little to no coding experience."
As a popular and dedicated SAS instructor, Linda Jolley spends much of her time in classrooms. Her second grandson was born while she was teaching in Kansas City; she learned of her mother-in-law's fatal illness while teaching in Hartford, CT. She even suffered a heart attack in front of her students.
"You have no idea how embarrassing it is to have 14 wonderful students taking your pulse and mopping your brow when all you wanted was to teach them how to write SAS code," says Linda.
Not that Linda Jolley is all work and no play. In her spare time she and her husband stay at famous historic hotels around the country, such as the Parker House in Boston and the Francis Marion in Charleston, where they collect the hotels' unique stories. Linda also spends time with her two grown children, three grandchildren and a menagerie of pets, including three dogs, five cats and one African Gray parrot. As a real animal lover, Linda has volunteered her time since Hurricane Katrina with the Midwest Disaster Animal Rescue Team.
~~~~~ K-L ~~~~~
Born and raised in the Detroit area, Cary-based technical training
specialist Mike Kalt has traveled around the world. An avid
photographer, he edits, arranges and fames the photos he takes on his
journeys.
Aside from his vast travels, Mike is fascinated with his family's genealogy and has traced both his father's and mother's families back to the late 1700s. This is as far back as most Jewish families can be traced, since it was uncommon for Jews to have last names before this time. In addition, he maintains Web memorial pages to the Jewish communities of his ancestral towns in Eastern Europe that were shattered by the Holocaust.
A volunteer for the Yizkor Book Project, Mike also oversees Web pages containing translations of memorial (Yizkor) books for Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust, and develops and maintains Web pages for the Holocaust Database, a collection of databases containing information about Holocaust victims and survivors.
Mike started at SAS in 1981 as a tech support consultant working with SAS/GRAPH, then served for over 15 years as manager of graphics support. He headed up SAS' Year 2000 efforts and was technical editor for Observations, the SAS user technical journal, prior to joining SAS Education in 2004.
Mike graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Michigan and is president of the local Alumni Club. "I will drop anything to talk about Michigan football," he says. Mike received his doctorate in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
SAS is a family employer; Mike's wife, Brenda, works as a tester in documentation development.
One student commented "Mike is a wonderful instructor. He was able to introduce the material in an efficient and thorough manner. I found him interesting and well paced." A second student said, "I thought Mike was very thorough in his teaching of do's and don'ts, optional ways of doing things." A third, very enthusiastic student said, "Give him a raise... he is the best instructor that I have ever experienced."
Mar 2005
Cary-based instructor Dan Kelly left his job as an analyst for a
credit card bank primarily because he needed more day-to-day human
interaction. When former students send e-mails that end in "I love you
man," it's a safe bet to say he hasn't been disappointed.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, SAS instructor Dan Kelly left the City of Brotherly Love to attend Loyola College in nearby Baltimore, MD, where he received a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences. "Just in case there were any numbers [he] hadn't yet discovered," Dan headed to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC to pursue a master's degree in Statistics.
After graduating, Dan got a job doing data mining for a credit card bank, but soon realized that he wanted a career with more interaction. Having used SAS throughout his master's program and having learned more about the company during his time in Raleigh, Dan thought a job at SAS would be a good fit. An instructor position soon opened up and the rest is history.
Dan enjoys teaching because "no two days are the same - you can teach the same course over and over, but the students are different every time." Students enjoy Dan's classes saying that "Dan is an excellent instructor, he can make a potentially dry topic entertaining" and "his dedication to his students is apparent."
Dan's dedication to his students often results in long term relationships. After each class, Dan shares his e-mail address with his students in case they run into any problems related to the material. In fact, it's an immediate email response to a question that prompted the recent profession of love mentioned above. "I wasn't sure how to feel about that one," Dan joked. "I think I e-mailed back 'you're welcome'."
When Dan isn't traveling for work, he enjoys traveling to see family and friends up and down the east coast. After all that traveling, Dan still manages to find time to play the electric base, read, and go for an occasional bike ride.
Marjorie Lampton is one of our top training specialists in Overland Park,
Kansas. With a bachelor's degree in mathematics, a master's degree in
education and a master's in public administration, she began instructing in
1967. Initially teaching math in public and private schools, she later
moved on to math and computer science at the college level. Marjorie first
became acquainted with SAS in 1991, and by 1993 she was teaching SAS to
others, providing technical services and training for SAS since 1995.
Commitment to teaching excellence is matched by Marjorie's commitment to her family, including one daughter, son-in-law, and three grandchildren currently living in Munich, Germany. Marjorie's love of travel and reading are shared with another daughter who lives nearby.
What have Marjorie's students said about her? "The instructor was very knowledgeable and articulate…gave analogies to help explain concepts." "…excellent job presenting the material.…additional information provided by the instructor was invaluable." "She was very approachable and friendly."
~~~~~ M-N ~~~~~
Over the years, Cincinnati Technical Training Specialist Lynn Mackay has
worn many hats, providing instruction to diverse populations.
While pursuing her bachelor's degree from State University of New York at New Paltz, she organized and directed a 200-student private nursery school and kindergarten and taught middle school math. Her graduate courses in guidance counseling came in handy later when she provided career counseling to underemployed and unemployed workers.
Throughout her 20-year tenure at IBM and its subsidiaries, she traveled around the country providing technical training to hundreds of employees. Lynn worked as a programmer, systems engineer, project manager, sales representative, application development manager, hardware specialist, technical trainer and education director.
Lynn shares her fondness for learning with her four grown children and three young grandchildren. Her commitment to helping others is visible in her work with Habitat for Humanity. Yet in addition to her busy teaching schedule and other activities, Lynn runs a happy household with her husband, her mother, five dogs and two cats. She even finds time for gardening, volunteering at church and home improvement projects.
Students have commented that Lynn is "a great instructor, open to questions ... very energetic ... She's a real people person and is very knowledgeable."
Students have compared Paul Marovich to Mick Jagger and Robin
Williams, not for his tight pants or his comedic impersonations of John
Wayne but for his personality in the classroom. "I admittedly have an
animated teaching style," says Paul, who teaches statistics using SAS and
JMP. "I'm sure some people had a boring professor during their college
career; I want to be the antithesis of that educator."
Paul has been known to tell a bad joke or two in his classes ("That was two-thirds of a pun — P-U!"), but he has a serious background to support his teaching. He came to SAS in 1996 with a Master's in statistical computing from the University of Central Florida (UCF) where he taught statistics briefly after graduating and went on to work for Lockheed Martin. At Lockheed he wrote PL/I, CLIST and SAS programs for nearly 12 years. Paul has gained 25 years of experience using SAS and has been teaching JMP since 1999.
Paul's favorite aspect of teaching SAS courses is sharing his love of statistics. "I enjoy teaching the simple things," he says, naming them. Descriptive statistics. The basics of hypothesis testing and rudimentary modeling. "As powerful as some of the statistical methods are, 99.999% of analyses start with examining your data using descriptive statistics and graphs."
Paul's entertaining delivery, knowledge and experience are a proven combination. "Paul is a well-informed and entertaining instructor," said one student. "Best teacher I ever had," said another. "Great examples, wonderful handouts and very good stories made a dry subject exciting."
Paul resides in Cary, N.C. with his wife Pam, their son Tyler, and his miniature, long-haired Dachshund, Moose. He is an avid recycler and gardener and prefers Jimmy Buffet and Vivaldi over Rolling Stones.
Oct 2005
Chris Murtha may be new to SAS, but she is no stranger to teaching.
She has more than 20 years of teaching experience in the fields of
programming, statistics, and mathematics.
Chris was introduced to SAS during her graduate program at N.C. State University. She always thought teaching SAS would be a fun job, but with 5 kids, traveling was out of the question. Once her youngest left the house however, Chris decided to revisit the idea and she is glad she did.
Before joining SAS, Chris taught SUDAAN software classes with RTI International; and prior to that, she worked with a major pharmaceutical company. She earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics from UNC Greensboro and a master's degree in statistics from N.C. State University.
Chris's favorite part of teaching is the interaction with the students. To keep them involved, she often calls on her students during class (though, if they do not want to answer the question, they can defer it to someone else). Chris says that "this makes the class fun and really forces people to interact with each other." She says that it is fun to watch a group of complete strangers come together over 3 days. "I sometimes hear stories of students keeping in touch with each other after the class is over, which is great."
Students love Chris's interaction with them. One student said, "I love Chris' sense of humor. It definitely helps you get through complicated material." Another said "Chris is knowledgeable and adds personal experience to make the course more interesting."
In her spare time, Chris enjoys dancing, reading, downhill skiing, and traveling to see her kids.
Jan 2006
~~~~~ O-P ~~~~~
A bachelor-of-arts in Urban Studies from California Polytechnic State
University, a master-of-science in biostatistics from University of
California at Berkeley, and a master-of-arts in urban planning from UCLA
reveal only a small component of the many faces of Rich Papel,
technical training specialist in San Francisco.
Rich's work experience underscores his diverse talents. He was a FORTRAN programmer in the transportation industry (S. Cal Rapid Transit District), a researcher in medical use patterns (SysteMetrics), and a forecaster of electric loads in the electric utility industry (Pacific Gas & Electric Co.) How did he become enthralled with teaching? "I like to talk, and more than that, I enjoy solving my co-workers problems instead of my own," Rich said.
"Spanish is indeed my second language," added Rich, who was born and raised in Los Angeles but lived throughout the United States, as well as Madrid and London. "It is a hobby and vocation. I taught my first all-Spanish 5-day class in 2001 to a customer with offices in Latin America. It was the single most enjoyable week I've had in my six years of teaching at SAS. When can I do it again please?"
Hobbies include skiing, marathon-walking, cycling, coin-collecting, and traveling to foreign places. "If I don't need a passport to get there, then I don't want to go," said Rich. Fascinated by international affairs, he is an active member of the World Affairs Council in San Francisco and loves hearing ministers, prime ministers, ambassadors, and foreign dignitaries speak.
Students consider Rich "well organized with a nice teaching style." An "overall superb instructor who has great pacing" ... "is very clear and informative" ... "was energetic and enthusiastic, so he kept my attention" ... "did a terrific job presenting the material to the class."
Mike Patetta, statistical services specialist based in Cary since 1994, is
a man of many talents. Mike earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from
Notre Dame, a master's degree in geography from the University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill, and completed course work pursuing a doctorate of
philosophy in epidemiology as well.
Previously employed as a statistician for NC State's Center for Health Statistics, Mike maintained Medicaid databases and assisted medical examiners and the tuberculosis control branch on statistical projects. As an epidemiologist with the state, he helped supervise public health program consultants and helped establish a head and spinal cord surveillance system.
Mike's serious side is balanced by time spent with his wife and three young daughters, whose numerous photos are proudly and prominently displayed in his office. Favorite hobbies include hiking, swimming, reading and camping - all leisure activities he can enjoy with his family. It's no wonder he not only mentioned visiting museums as a favorite pastime, but especially children's museums.
Mike's students think highly of him: "Mike transferred good applicable knowledge and understanding clearly explained in layman's terms ... he gave an easy interpretation of concepts that can at times be challenging ... Mike's class was very well taught."
~~~~~ Q-R ~~~~~
When Regional Education Director and Instructor Sue Rakes first arrived at SAS Education in 1985, SAS Version 5 had just been released with the first interactive windowing interface, Display Manager. "Some of the old time SAS programmers called it 'Display Mangler,'" Sue laughs. Nearly twenty-five years later SAS has adjusted with the times, becoming more complex and sophisticated. So has Sue.
"SAS software evolves and grows," she says, "and I believe in life-long learning, so I always have something new to study and learn at SAS."
Sue teaches SAS Programming, Report Writing, Graphics and Business Intelligence courses. She spends much of her non-classroom time managing a number of training centers, coordinators and instructors in the Southwest. However, Sue says, teaching is a passion that stems from her own academic career. Sue earned her master's in Computer Science from The American University and her Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Adult Education. After graduating, Sue went on to teach classes on SYSTEM 2000 Data Base software for Intel. SAS acquired the company in 1985.
"My favorite thing about being a SAS instructor is meeting new people in every class and getting to know them better," says Sue, who was once invited to the wedding of two students who met in her class. "At the start of each class, I ask them to tell everyone something unique or interesting about themselves. I've had a record-holding fisherman, an Olympic athlete and a political refugee."
In turn, Sue's students say, she is "very thorough," "easy to learn from," and "an excellent teacher." "I always learn a lot when I have her teach a class," says one student. "[Sue is] easy to understand, helpful and very knowledgeable."
Sue has been married to her husband, Sam, for 27 years and enjoys crocheting with her cat, Gypsy, who is always on her lap. When she's not teaching, she can be seen walking the three miles of road around the SAS Austin office, picking up trash and beautifying the area.
Accomplished applications developer and instructor Andy Ravenna,
based in the New York regional office, is not only fluent in SAS
programming language, he is fluent in English and Spanish as well.
Andy holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and a master's degree in applied mathematics (minor in statistics) from North Carolina State University, where SAS was born. While there, he received the Maltbie Award for Superior Teaching Ability.
In his 14 years at SAS, Andy has helped a major materials company develop a financial application, coded GUI screens for a major mailing company, and was the developer for another SAS/QC data and report application for a snack manufacturer. Serving as a statistical analyst, he wrote and maintained portable tests and design specifications, coordinated software releases as the group contact and performed interactive and batch testing across all platforms.
Prior to joining SAS' Consulting Services Department, Andy spent almost six years in the company's Quality Assurance Department serving as lead analyst for SAS/IML software. He was instrumental in the testing of many of SAS' major products: SAS/SHARE, SAS/CONNECT and SAS/ACCESS with SAS/STAT, SAS/INSIGHT, SAS/ETS and SAS/IML.
Before coming to SAS, Andy worked as a quality assurance and development engineer for Fibers Industries, where he implemented a quality control application that calculated, formatted and printed "Quality Certificates of Analysis" utilizing Digital Command Language, Lotus macros and Ingres terminal emulation file transfer functions.
Andy lives happily with his partner of four years and their cat in the Chelsea section of New York City. His parents still live in North Carolina where the whole family gathers annually for a summer vacation on the coast.
Students have nothing but praise for Andy's teaching abilities. "Andy is an excellent instructor, is very easy to follow, and a pleasure to learn from," said one. "He generated within me an eagerness for testing what I've learned at my job," wrote another. "He made me feel comfortable," stated a third.
Another student summed it up with this glowing review: "Andy is one of the best instructors/teachers/professors I have ever had in my lifetime." For teachers anywhere, there is no greater praise.
Jan 2004
Gina Rayman has had a long and varied career with SAS. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English at North Carolina State University in 1985 and was working on her master's degree in English when a fellow graduate student told her about his great summer job at a company with an amazing café and cheap food. As a starving college student, Gina followed her friend's lead and secured a summer internship proofreading in the technical writing group. Two years later, she became a full-time employee in the technical writing group and began learning about SAS software.
After two more years of editing and proofreading SAS documentation, Gina moved to the Sales and Marketing department and began selling SAS software. She found working first-hand with customers, learning about their business challenges, and finding ways that SAS software could help solve their problems to be incredibly rewarding. However, when she moved to the SAS Atlanta regional office in 1995, she met and married her husband and left SAS to work for several privately owned software companies.
But Gina missed the quality of the software and SAS' legendary work environment and, in 1998, she became an instructor in the Education division. Gina had previous experience teaching freshman English classes and a departmental workshop on a word processing tool. Because she didn't have a programming or technical background, she was able to sympathize with how difficult it can be for students to learn a software language.
Today, Gina strives to use simple language in her classes and enjoys seeing the "Aha!" moments when things click for students. She teaches basic SAS programming classes and specializes in the SAS Strategic Performance Management solution. The biggest challenge about teaching SAS software is also the most rewarding, Gina says. There is so much to learn you can never become bored or complacent!
Gina lives in Charlotte, N.C., with her husband of nine years and proudly reports that her stepson is attending North Carolina State University. She enjoys traveling, reading, sports and going to the beach. When her schedule allows, she also teaches ESL classes at her church.
Mar 2006
Colorado Technical Training Specialist Bruce Reed said that he asked so many
questions about SAS from his university computing support folks that they decided
it was more cost effective to offer him a job than to keep answering his
questions.
Raised in Buffalo, NY, Bruce stayed in familiar surroundings as he earned two undergraduate degrees: a bachelor's degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a second bachelor's degree from Syracuse University. He experienced "culture shock in the extreme," as he put it, when he moved to Auburn, AL, to attend graduate school.
While earning his master's and doctorate degrees in fisheries from Auburn, Bruce worked in data analysis for the Auburn University College of Agriculture's Experiment Station. It was there that he became fascinated with SAS. He worked in Academic Computing Services, supporting statistical and graphics software for twelve years prior to joining SAS as an instructor.
Bruce's favorite off-hours pursuits are woodworking and gardening. His two grown sons live in different cities on the East Coast so Bruce doesn't get to spend as much time with them as often as he'd like to.
Students rate Bruce highly. "Bruce was a great instructor and fun to learn from ... when the book showed one way to program, he showed us an alternative way to work the same program ... gave great tips on programming practices ... shows respect for individuals unfamiliar with the material ... friendly and very knowledgeable."
How did Rockville-based technical training specialist Warren Repole
become a SAS aficionado? "After writing hundreds of lines of code to sort
and merge two data files for a computer programming class at the University
of Florida, where I earned my bachelor's degree in statistics, I saw the
same task performed in SAS using less than a dozen statements. Needless to
say, I was hooked," Warren said. That was in 1979 and I've been a devotee
of SAS software ever since, teaching courses for SAS Education, working at
the Rockville training center and earning my credential as a SAS Certified
Advanced Programmer," he added.
Before teaching and course development became a full-time passion, Warren acted as an informal 'help desk' for many co-workers and helped develop numerous SAS applications for organizations such as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Washington Gas Light Company.
"One of the most exciting aspects of my SAS career has been witnessing the evolution of the software", Warren stated. He recently spearheaded efforts to integrate SAS 9 topics into some of the more popular courses in SAS Education curricula, revising them so they could be available to students following the launch of the SAS 9 platform.
Warren says that residing in the Washington D.C. area with his wife and daughter "is a great compromise between where I was born and raised, the northern suburbs of New York City, and where I lived during and after college, Gainesville, Florida." For more than ten years, Warren has taken time off from work to perform his annual duties as an election officer in Fairfax County, Virginia. He also describes himself as a sports enthusiast - a spectator, not a participant whose goal is to visit at least one historic stadium for each World Series between 1934 and 2003.
"The instructor was excellent" said one student. "He really knew the product" said another. "He was very effective and varied his voice intonation to keep the energy level up."
As he looks back on the days of composing programs on punch cards for mainframe batch jobs, Warren reminisces about all the changes that have come along with rapidly developing technologies.
May 2004
SAS Education Instructor Kari Richardson is well qualified to say the least. The instructor, who teaches all of the SAS Intelligence Platform applications courses, has master's degrees in mathematics and statistics, an MBA with an accounting concentration and a bachelor's in mathematics with a computer programming minor. But she's more than just book smart. Kari is also a seasoned instructor who's taught SAS for more than 12 years and has been using SAS since 1982.
Even before joining SAS Education, Kari developed her love of teaching while on scholarship to attain her master's. Meeting new students and finding out how the software is being implemented in their environment has always been one of her favorite aspects of teaching SAS classes. And students are complimentary of Kari's work. "An excellent instructor," one student recently commented. "All of my questions were answered and I felt that Kari took a personal interest in each student." "Kari did a great job and was easy to understand," other students commented. "She was professional, courteous and punctual."
Kari also enjoys that her position allows her to spend a portion of each summer in her hometown of Millinocket, Maine, where she owns a second home just around the corner from the house in which she grew up. Other outside interests include running, biking, kayaking and hiking (Baxter State Park in Maine is a particular favorite), playing with her two birds (a Quaker Parrot and a parakeet), as well as her two dogs (a Chow and a Chow-mix), which are both rescues from the SPCA.
Apr 2007
Students have defined Christine Riddiough, SAS technical training specialist in
Rockville, Maryland as “customer oriented” because it’s apparent that she cares
about her students.
"Reach for the stars" is something you might hear Christine say to her students. With a bachelor's degree in astronomy from Carleton College, a master's degree and Ph.D. candidacy in astrophysics from Northwestern University, it's easy to see why. Her certificate in information systems from the University of the District of Columbia could help them. Aside from her extensive teaching and consulting experience in Oracle programming, science and math, database management, Web design, and astronomy at various schools and universities, Christine also conducted research on public health/environmental health physics.
Joining SAS in 1999, Christine's wealth of instructional knowledge was gained by teaching junior high through graduate courses.
"I'm an inveterate reader," confessed Christine. Her time out of the classroom is often spent delving into science fiction and mysteries, as well as non-fiction works related to globalization, human rights and similar topics. Watching movies, working logic puzzles and snuba diving (a cross between scuba diving and snorkeling) provide off-time enjoyment as well. Heavily involved in community and political action organizations, Christine is obviously interested in affecting many people's lives, not just those of her SAS students.
Living with her partner of 20 years, Christine boasts of eleven nieces and nephews, two grandnephews and two cats.
Students have commented, "She always knows her material and is willing to share her knowledge" ... "very willing to help with work-related SAS questions" ... "made sure everyone was up to speed before moving on to new subjects" ... "able to expand on concepts with examples derived from personal experience." One student aptly summed up Christine's teaching: "Chris is an excellent instructor. She was very approachable and 'customer-oriented' and exceeded my expectations in attempting to meet all my needs. She really knows her SAS!"
~~~~~ S-T ~~~~~
Jim Simon has a bachelor's degree from UCLA and a master's degree
from California State University at Northridge. Prior to joining the
Irvine office of SAS in 1988, Jim was an Instructor at Ventura College and
a SAS Programmer at The Medstat Group in Santa Barbara. Jim's areas of
specialization include the DATA step, application development, Web
enablement and the macro language.
In 1981, Jim secured his first SAS programming position by presenting himself as a SAS expert when, in fact, he had written little more than a three-line DATA step followed by a PROC print. It wasn't long before Jim's new employer quickly discovered the extent of the exaggeration of his SAS programming expertise. Fortunately, instead of firing him, Jim's boss sent him to several SAS classes and to SUGI, where Jim learned to love SAS and eventually, how to program in it.
A native of Southern California, and father of three, Jim enjoys anything in the warm California sun. Favorite activities include rafting the Kern River, jet skiing at Bass Lake, cruising Pacific Coast Highway, day trips to Santa Barbara and barbecuing outdoors.
Students consider Jim "a very knowledgeable instructor who offers plenty of extra insight, tips and tricks to help users understand the SAS programming concepts." "Jim is very willing to help with problems that people are working on that doesn't even have to do with the class assignments. That's nice to see in an instructor - that he's willing to spend the extra time with the students who are actually working with course information that has to do with their everyday job," said one student. "It is always a joy to have him as an instructor ... he facilitates learning ... makes the class enjoyable with his clear, concise teaching style, making difficult concepts easy to understand", said others.
Jun 2004
New York- based instructor Theresa Stemler spent her first 12 years
living halfway around the world in Tachikawa, Japan. Bilingual in Japanese
and English, she experienced a culture-shock, as she put it, when her family
moved to Sumter, South Carolina. Being "different" helped her develop the
strong sense of who she was and what she wanted to do.
After starting Winthrop University as an art major, Theresa soon realized that being an artist was not the best profession for her to pursue. While learning SAS in a college statistics class she "fell in love" with the software, giving her a new focus and causing her to change her major to computer science. The more she worked with SAS software, the more she was convinced that "this was the only company I wanted to work for," Theresa said.
After she graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science, it was just a matter of time before the opportunity to work at SAS presented itself. She began teaching software classes at the company's headquarters in Cary in the late 1980s. About three years ago, Theresa decided she needed a change of scenery. New York offered her the excitement of living and working in a big northeastern city reminiscent of her days in Japan.
When she's not working, Theresa enjoys browsing in NY's numerous art galleries, going to the theatre, and shopping. She also enjoys snow skiing, golf, and horseback riding. "I'm learning to fish with my boyfriend, who is a real outdoorsman, in addition," Theresa adds.
Students have no uncertainties about Theresa's teaching abilities. "Theresa is a great instructor; I really enjoyed her class," said one student. Another pointed out that she was "extremely knowledgeable — good at fielding questions." "She's easy to understand and a great speaker with a lot of enthusiasm," said a third.
Mar 2004
When one conjures up images of the "typical" California girl, it's often a blond
surfer from Beach Boys songs or an inarticulate Valley Girl. Sacramento-based
technical training specialist Stacey Syphus puts those images to rest.
Although born and raised in northern California, Stacey pursued her university education elsewhere, and then returned "home" again. While earning both her bachelor's degree in math education and master's degree in statistics from Brigham Young University, Stacey learned SAS. She's been using it and teaching it ever since.
Consulting projects were Stacey's first post-university jobs. She performed statistical research for physical therapists at BYU, conducted marketing research at AT&T, and her favorite, analyzed data from the World Championships for the USA men's volleyball team. Before coming to SAS, where she teaches courses in programming, Enterprise Guide, JMP, and statistics, she analyzed manufacturing data for Intel and taught JMP classes to its company engineers.
What does Stacey, who is married to a real-life rocket scientist, do for fun? Aside from mentoring a group of teenage girls, Stacey enjoys being mom to her two little children and watching or participating in anything sports-related. "I always find a way to weave some Sacramento Kings data into my programming classes," Stacey said. She also admits a penchant for traveling to places with white-sand beaches and turquoise water.
Stacey receives rave reviews from her students: "Stacey's knowledge of statistics, her knowledge of the SAS products, her friendliness, and her presentation/training skills, make it a pleasure to attend her courses ... Stacey far exceeded my expectations. She explained material in a logical and practical manner, welcomed questions, and was patient and supportive of all students...went over and above the call of duty in helping students with real world problems ... The fact that she offers her help after a course conclusion is testimony to her commitment to ensure the efficacy of the course. High quality instructors such as her are extremely rare."
Growing up in Beijing, Jill Tao always had an interest in Math. She
followed that interest to the People's University of China receiving an
undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems. Soon after
graduating, Jill realized that she needed an advanced degree to further her
career. To reach her goal, Jill decided to leave the comfort of her friends
and family and move to the United States to attend the University of
Alabama. There, Jill received a Master's of Science in both Mathematics and
Statistics.
After graduating, Jill worked at an environmental consulting firm. While there, she worked on a variety of projects using SAS and statistics. Five years later, she decided to challenge herself by teaching SAS and a variety of statistical analyses to the SAS users. Jill loves all aspects of being an instructor, both teaching courses and writing courses. "Being an instructor is rewarding. I have a great sense of accomplishment knowing that students can apply what they learn almost immediately." Writing courses allows her to "learn new things constantly." Jill also enjoys the interaction with students. She often receives emails from past students to catch up, ask her a question or simply to wish her a Merry Christmas.
Students recognize Jill's expertise saying, "Jill is extremely articulate and has clear mastery of the material." Another student raved, "Jill is an excellent instructor. One of the best I have experienced anywhere."
When Jill is not teaching, she enjoys reading, shopping, and hanging out with her husband and 2 children. She volunteers at her children's schools and loves to watch them swim and play soccer.
Feb 2006
Traveling from Malaysia at age 17, technical training specialist Su Chee
Tay studied at the University of Maryland to earn her
bachelor-of-science degree in biochemistry. This choice fit in well with
her love of adventure and travel to countries with rich historical,
cultural and geographical attractions. Unlike climbing the highest mountain
in Southeast Asia, scuba diving in the Caymans, climbing the Great Walls in
China or visiting the Mayan ruins in Mexico, all of which she had
accomplished, college still provided a challenge.
Following her undergraduate studies, Su Chee worked as a research assistant at both Howard Hughes Medical Institute on a gene therapy study and at the Johns Hopkins neuroscience department on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. And, although both jobs provided very meaningful research that could have lead to a Ph.D., her goals leaned more toward a job with plenty of interaction with other people.
Su Chee took a year-long break to complete an intensive 11-month master's program in public health at Johns Hopkins University. Then, after graduating with her M.P.H. degree, she worked as a health analyst at Delmarva Foundation, a nonprofit corporation, improving the quality and value of healthcare services. There, she became partial to using SAS, though she had used it during graduate school. It was also when she decided she wanted to work at SAS.
Married, with a 2-year-old daughter, Su Chee is also active in serving her church as a keyboardist and as a bible story teacher in the children's ministry. Her daughter, she said, "is the joy of my life and keeps me grounded."
Su Chee's love of SAS and instructing others doesn't go unnoticed by students. "Su Chee was an excellent instructor. She spoke and conveyed her message very clearly and accurately, giving well-delivered, clear, and informative answers to all questions and comments," said one student. Another student added, "She kept a good pace, without going too fast or making me feel rushed but didn't feel like we lingered on the same subject too long. She spoke, instructed, and helped with problems in a very professional manner." A third student commented, "I would have a hard time believing that I could have had a better instructor. I felt lucky to have been able to take this course and learn from her."
Apr 2005
"They ask me when do I ever sleep", said Catherine "Cat" Truxillo
of her life as a graduate student. During that time, she taught
psychology and statistical methods to undergraduates, conducted research,
performed private statistical consulting, and still managed to teach
aerobics five days a week.
Born in Tampa, FL, Cat grew up in New Orleans and went to college in Texas, where she was a summa cum laude graduate in psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas. The University of Texas at Austin was her next stop for master's degree and doctorate in psychology with an emphasis in statistical methods.
Cat's busy lifestyle didn't slow down when she joined SAS. Since coming here, she has written three courses and co-authored two more in addition to her full teaching schedule. "SAS offers many of the advantages of an academic career that I enjoy in a fast-paced work environment", she said. "I love teaching and I love writing, and my job at SAS allows me to do both."
Keeping fit is also passion for Cat, who rides her bicycle to work whenever she's in town and still teaches four aerobic classes a week. Kayaking, making jam and jelly, and spending time with her husband and two dogs round out her hectic agenda.
Students think the world of her: "Cat has ability to give examples that are easily understood ... I was impressed by her professionalism as well as enthusiasm ... presents extremely dry topic in an upbeat, interesting fashion ... Cat knows what she is doing. She seems to truly enjoy teaching."
~~~~~ W-X ~~~~~
"The biggest challenge in teaching," says SAS Education Instructor Terry Woodfield, "is keeping the energy level high every day of the class. This is especially difficult if you are on the road as much as I am." In the past two years, Terry has flown more than 100,000 miles to teach classes across the country, earning Executive Platinum privileges with American Airlines. He's accumulated more than one million frequent flyer miles, qualifying him for a lifetime Gold status. "At my advanced age, I achieve a high energy output on the third day of class by putting a tack in one of my shoes, and wearing underwear made out of sandpaper," he jokes.
Although Terry has taught data mining, forecasting and statistics courses for SAS Education since 2000, he has more than 28 years of SAS programming experience. Before joining SAS Education, Terry earned his Ph.D. in Statistics at Texas A&M University where he was a Connor Award recipient for outstanding Ph.D. candidate in Statistics. He obtained his Master's in mathematics from Lamar University. Terry went on to be the chief statistician for HNC Insurance Solutions, where he developed predictive modeling solutions for insurance fraud detection, subrogation recoveries, case management, and loss reserving at the claim level.
But, Terry says, teaching was always his highest goal and, with his background, SAS Education was the perfect fit. "Since I had been developing neural network models at HNC, it was only natural that I eventually crossed over into the bizarre world of data mining at SAS. Besides," he adds, "I love standing in front of a room full of people telling bad jokes and pretending to know what I am talking about."
One would think that with the thousands of hours Terry spends in airports and planes he would avoid them when he had a chance, but instead Terry learned to fly in 1987 and co-founded a local flight club for private pilots such as himself. He's also a certified high school soccer referee for the California Interscholastic Federation and an advanced referee instructor for the American Youth Soccer Organization. Finally, Terry is a member of the Irvine Science Alliance, which promotes science and mathematics education in the Irvine Unified School District. He judges science fairs, gives talks on careers in statistics and computing, and mentors students.
When not flying, teaching, judging science fairs or chasing kids up and down a soccer field, Terry spends time with his wife, Elizabeth, who is a fifth grade teacher and their eight-year-old Daschund, Ruby. His oldest daughter, Sarah, is a graduate of Yale University and is currently attending the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, working on a Ph.D. in biology. His youngest daughter, Katherine, is a sophomore at Yale University, majoring in mathematics and economics. Terry reports that, as he is the only family member with a Y chromosome, he always loses family arguments.
~~~~~ Y-Z ~~~~~
When Cynthia Zender received her bachelor's degree in American
literature from George Washington University in 1981, she would never have
imagined that 20 years later she'd be a certified SAS programmer,
instructor and the ODS and report writing curriculum manager at SAS. But
that's exactly what happened.
After taking a position as an office manager in the department of business administration at GWU, Cynthia began teaching herself SAS and co-developed a SAS program to analyze enrollment data. From there, her experience snowballed.
She continued to master SAS as she moved from her administrative position to the university computer center as a full-time junior programmer and part-time teaching assistant. Even though she was self-taught, her SAS expertise advanced her programming career. Later, she even trained and managed a group of four SAS programmers at MCI. She joined SAS as an instructor in 1996.
Students benefit from her experience and enjoy Cynthia's teaching style and personality. One student commented, "Cynthia was very knowledgeable and made the class interesting. She did an excellent job." Another student noted, "Cynthia was very helpful and patient with questions and delivered the material well." A third student said, "I have taken several courses taught by Cynthia, and she is an awesome instructor!"
When she's not teaching SAS, Cynthia takes ballroom dancing lessons with her husband of 33 years and keeps in touch with her daughter, who is attending Drexel University in Philadelphia. She also enjoys sewing — when she finds the time — and reading.
Aug 2005
Chicago-based Technical Training Specialist Rebecca Zoellner grew up
in Tucson, AZ and spent the first two years of her undergraduate study at
Arizona State University. She then took a daring turnaround and transferred
to St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where she received her bachelor's degree
in mathematics with an emphasis in statistics. Rebecca recalled, "I always
said that I must have been a masochist for moving from great weather to the
long, cold winters of MN! As I was really unhappy at ASU, I looked for one
that wasn't anything like ASU. My brother went to a small, liberal arts
college in Wisconsin, so he inquired about a few small liberal arts
colleges for me in the Midwest including St Olaf. St Olaf had a great math
department, and when I visited, it just "felt right."
After graduating cum laude from St. Olaf, Rebecca took a position with FDC/Donnelley Marketing. At FDC, she developed regression models for their direct mail clients and focused on improving the accuracy of the deduplication algorithms. A position with Sears' credit policy group followed, analyzing credit card portfolio performance, including credit limit, authorization, and collection strategies. While working at Sears, she took several SAS instructor-based courses.
Several years later, while searching for a new job, Rebecca discovered the posting for an instructor position on the SAS Web site. Her weekend volunteer work with a learning program for children in Chicago Public Schools led her to believe she would love teaching. Her personal fulfillment in helping others improve their job performance was another positive sign.
Rebecca now lives in Chicago near Lake Michigan, loves to work out daily at the gym, and takes advantage of the numerous street festivals and activities around the city. Nearby Wrigley Field offers another favorite summer pastime. She loves to travel and volunteers for various organizations.
One student summed up what many others echoed. "I felt very comfortable asking her any type of question, even if it was totally stupid. Whenever I did have a question, she made sure that she answered it thoroughly and that I understood it as well. I could tell she really did care if I understood or not. She wanted me to learn." Another simply stated, " Excellent instructor. She's knowledgeable, friendly and patient." And a third student said, "Rebecca was terrific! She is clear, concise and has a lot of enthusiasm."
Aug 2004