Thomas Anderson Email & Phone Number

I provide vision and leadership for the strategic development and infrastructure for the Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA) with a focus on building solutions that maximize the use of emerging technologies to achieve superior value and scalability. I also ensure that the organization’s objectives are achieved, risks are managed, and resources are used responsibly relative to technology solutions. Moreover, I'm responsible for leading the daily development, operation, organization, administration, security, and supervision of software solutions and information technology infrastructure.

In this role, I was primarily responsible for managing the development and implementation of WEDnetPA's Information Sharing, Administration & Analysis Center (ISAAC), which enables the collaboration of 30 Pennsylvania colleges and universities, the state office in Harrisburg, the PA Department of Community and Economic Development, Workforce Investment Boards, and thousands of companies receiving millions of dollars of state workforce development training grants.Companies are able to apply for training grants online with their choice of WEDnetPA partner college, develop a training plan, and invoice for training from any training provider all within the ISAAC web-based software. Grant applications and invoices go through a multi-tiered review and approval process within ISAAC by the partner and state office to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. ISAAC performs all necessary calculations to ensure accuracy, maximize reimbursements, and keep the program in line with WEDnetPA and DCED goals and mandates. All documentation and communication is stored and transmitted electronically for a fully paperless process.Extensive security measures are in place to ensure that all data, communications, and systems are safe from intrusion or theft. Both at-a-glance charts and graphs as well as in-depth reports provide ISAAC users a wealth of information to help guide individual application and invoice approval decisions as well as the overall grant program self-auditing and future direction.

Twice elected to this local law enforcement role. Duties include peace-keeping, warrant service, prisoner transport, courthouse security, and polling place security, among others.

I founded this internet consulting company while in college. I started out doing a lot of front-end web design and transitioned to more hosting, sysadmin, and programming work. As a sole-proprietorship, I was responsible for pursuing and establishing new clients, coordinating project management with clients and subcontractors, engineering and designing appropriate solutions, implementing front-end and back-end programming, administering web, database, & email servers and cloud services. It was also on me to devise new ventures and establish company direction. Some clients have included: Reliable Machinery, Tortuga Surf Co, Nat Schwartz & Co, Everyfan.net, Nandimar Publishing, T.E.A.C.H., Betson Enterprises, DownsizeDC.org, Scottish Rite, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, among others.

Bloomsburg, Pa, Us

I conceived, designed, and delivered courses in sustainable building, off grid energy systems, and biohacking. These follow from personal interests and experiences of mine outside of my professional career. I designed and built an off-grid home powered by wind and solar, and I wanted to help others do the same by teaching some of the things I'd learned. I also turned my health around through cutting edge science that hasn't become a part of medical SOP yet, and my biohacking course details how to read scientific literature to pursue health and lifestyle changes your doctor may not be recommending yet. Enthusiastic reaction to these programs compelled me to offer them every semester and to expand upon them in response to student suggestions and requests. Unfortunately, continuing education courses ended with the pandemic.

Williamsport, Pa, Us

I taught classes on computer and Internet-related information technology and its impacts on individual users, businesses, groups, organizations, and society. Topics included access, evaluation, and use of digital information; ethical and security implications of information use and storage; human-computer interactions; social aspects of information systems; economic and legal issues; and professional presentation and communication of information. Information literacy skills that promote lifelong learning were developed through exposure to various existing and emerging technologies, including information resources, communication methods, and technology.

Williamsport, Pa, Us

Penn College is the fiscal agent for the WEDnetPA grant program. I was hired to manage a legacy Windows server with an ASP application for managing WEDnetPA. It was developed for a different purpose and shoehorned into it's new role by a string of contractors. After trying to clean up the spaghetti code, improve efficiency, and add features for a couple of years, I proposed developing a purpose-built system from scratch. I engineered the new system using a Linux-Apache-Perl stack and interfaced via ODBC to the college's iSeries mainframe for a database. The client-heavy single-page-app UI would make extensive use of AJAX and jQuery, with authentication and sanity checking done server-side. Since no good JS frameworks existed yet, I created my own custom MVC framework called Pages.js. The system performed so well and provided such rich and accessible data to DCED management that it became their flagship program and was lauded by the governor. I was promoted to manage the ongoing development of the system and the rest of WEDnetPA's information technology needs.

Carlstadt, Nj, Us

• Built mirrored, redundant web servers with Linux, Apache, & mod_perl• Implemented version control with CVS• Designed website using the latest in web standards including XHTML• Interfaced the website on the Linux web servers with a back-end IBM iSeries AS/400 supply-chain/inventory/fulfillment management system using a custom-built Perl module to capture and format query output and integrate it into the website• Programmed a custom online product catalog and e-commerce application, fully integrated with the remote ASW software for a unified sales & inventory solution• Implemented database-authenticated user registration and login, tracked by cookies• Enabled dynamic content compression with mod_deflate and optimized cache-control headers for maximum performance and download speed• Made extensive use of the Apache RewriteEngine and regular expressions to simplify and shorten URLs for aesthetics, user friendliness, and search engine ranking

I was brought in to be the client-side guru for dating site, one2onematch.com. I developed extensive JavaScript and DHTML functionality including rarely seen (at the time) dynamic elements like tabs and pop-up menus. I added registration and authentication via cookies. And I also implemented an email bounce parser for the marketing department to automatically process bad email addresses.

WWOR (aka UPN9) is a major broadcast news station and (at the time) affiliate of the United Paramount Network in the New York City metro area, and merged with Fox during my tenure. They needed a bleeding edge website to tie in with their nightly news and affiliate programming. I designed the website architecture, layout, and graphics and maintained the websites of both WWOR and sister-station WUTB Baltimore. I implemented a content management system for posting news stories and created a streaming media application for broadcasting select newscasts online (this was before YouTube and the ubiquity of streaming video). I created a web proxy application to fetch and parse syndicated content from partner websites and seamlessly integrate it without frames. I created wireless versions of the websites for cellphones & PDAs (before smartphones). I devised a referral system for the viral marketing of the website, increasing sign-up rates by an average of 15%. And I developed website tie-ins to television advertising, resulting in millions of dollars of increased ad revenue. Additionally, I produced a web-based on-air discrepancy report management system with Perl and MySQL, leading to increased efficiency, greater ease of use, and more accurate and accessible records for the traffic and master control departments at WWOR (UPN9), WNYW (FOX5), and WUTB (UPN24). I was let go because after the Fox merger, they standardized all Fox stations on an outsourced web development shop. But they called me back repeatedly to work on things I developed while working there.

Produced online applications for various clients of the CWI web division using C and Perl. Assisted in the development of Rubies of Eventide, a massively multiplayer online game with a Windows client and server-side game-play coordination, written in C. I was offered a full-time position upon graduating college, but the offer from WWOR was more compelling.

My first job in my field of study was at my alma mater's library, where I was hired as the webmaster at the end of my freshman year. The old webmaster was graduating. He had written a few of the programs in Perl, a language that was not a part of the CS curriculum, but which I decided to learn on my own in order to maintain these programs. This greatly influenced my subsequent programming style and career choices. I redesigned the architecture, layout, and graphics of the website and implemented bleeding edge technology -- including cross-browser DHTML when the 4.0 browsers were first released -- while retaining backward compatibility. I built automated routines for maintenance, content management, and online services and streamlined the site for speed while preserving quality. One noteworthy innovation of mine was a sort of precursor to AJAX utilizing cross-frame programming to create dynamic content. Another noteworthy innovation of mine was a sort of prior art of the "Google Doodle". I designed a new logo for the library that featured Rodin's "Thinker" in front of a computer monitor, giving the sense that the library marries old-fashioned philosophy with high technology. And for every holiday, I customized the logo with our Thinker in a holiday setting.

Master'S Degree, Cybersecurity

Bs, Computer Science

Diploma, General Studies