Presenter Bios

Good software needs to solve real business problems. That’s Rob’s philosophy, which has guided him from the early days of his career through the .com explosion and beyond. Rob has consulted on Microsoft technologies for over 10 years and began developing on the .NET framework when the pre-beta bits were first released to the public. “I love the gratification of designing and building something that never existed before,” says Rob, who is an active contributor to user groups in the Phoenix area and has presented at over 50 events including Dev Days and the original .NET launch. Rob has developed various applications for customers ranging from local companies to Fortune 500 firms. Rob claims that he was developing AJAX applications before AJAX was AJAX. In 1998, he co-architected and developed a browser-based front-end for OLAP using XML/HTTP when both IE5.0 and SQL Server 7.0 were still in Beta. Few people know that Rob also has a Masters degree in International Finance from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management.

Energy, laughter and a contagious passion for coding - Mike brings it all to the podium. His career has taken him from minion to business owner, and he's been programming since the late '70s, when a friend brought a Commodore CPM home for the summer. He wrote his first software in Basic (including a math game that was shown at the University of Wisconsin in 1982) and later completed a degree in aerospace engineering. In 1994 he started a consulting firm with his brother, focusing on the effective use of relational technologies for scalable, high performance and mission critical applications. Mike has worked in a variety of roles including architect, project manager, developer and technical writer. The coolest part of his job? Running into people who are still using (and liking) his software applications. Mike is a published author with WROX Press and APress Books, writing primarily about getting the most from your SQL Server database. Since appearing in Microsoft's DevCast in 1994, Mike has presented technical information at seminars, conferences and corporate boardrooms across America. This music buff also plays piano, guitar and saxophone - but not at his MSDN Events.

Ron drinks Red Bull like Homer Simpson swigs beer, so get set for a well-caffeinated presentation. Ron loves challenges, tight deadlines and boosting productivity, but dislikes status meetings, slow drivers and waiting for downloads. Could there be a pattern here? Ron began his programming career at the tender age of 10, when he decided his Commodore 64 games weren't quite cutting it. He then downloaded technical info from BBS and wrote his own games using sprite graphics. Before joining Microsoft in 2002, Ron designed and implemented a global online commodities exchange system for an ISV. He has also held management and technical leadership positions with a Microsoft partner. His certifications include MCSD, MCSE, MCDBA, MCP+I+SB - and he's working on extending the list. Ron has led 56 MSDN events to date and participated in over 20 user group meetings throughout Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee. Ron lives in Memphis with his wife, Lisa, and his children, Kayla and Ryan. No word if their Dad has passed on his passion for the Kansas City Chiefs.

An avid reader and Starbucks junkie, you will inevitably find Mithun riding a caffeine high with a book in his hand. Before joining the MSDN Events roster, he served as a product manager with the Microsoft Speech Server team, from the product’s incubation to the final release of Microsoft Speech Server 2007. Mithun also conducted a road show evangelizing and recruiting partners and ISVs to expand the Speech Server partner ecosystem and conducted trainings across the country. He’s passionate about the unified communications sector and loves applying his technical background and business savvy to make Microsoft a top player in the field. He’s spoken at numerous conferences, including SpeechTek, Microsoft Global Briefing, ICCM, Tech Ready, TechEd, and the Microsoft Mobile and Embedded Devices Conference. Before joining Microsoft, Mithun worked at Oracle on the 9iAS product and at Aditi/Talisma Corporation on a CRM product for mid-market users. He enjoys meeting customers with different backgrounds and profiles, and helping them build products that will simplify people’s lives. In his downtime, Mithun takes road trips and goes flying – after a round of double espressos, of course.

Russ wisely shelved dreams of rock 'n roll stardom in order to share his vast knowledge with developers nationwide. Given that he can't sing or play an instrument, we're all very grateful. Russ has more than 25 years of software development experience and reportedly passed all three MCAD exams in a 28-hour period – an experience he doesn't recommend to anyone. He's the creator of the Russ' Tool Shed developer seminar series and has donned his trademark suspenders, hardhat and tool belt in presentations for over 50,000 developers at 1,300 events. Russ also has expertise in developing Visual Basic and Web-based solutions using Microsoft tools. Before joining Microsoft seven years ago, Russ worked as a VB instructor, headed up a development department, and created several client/server applications and system software products. He’s MCP certified and his specialties include development with VB.NET, XML Web services, ASP.NET, and debugging. But make no mistake - Russ is not all brains. His big heart led him to establish Take a Swing at Cancer, Inc., a non-profit organization that holds softball and golf-based fundraisers to battle cancer.

Call it a tech-world walk on the wild side. Glen once used a VB 3.0 data control in a production application – and lived to tell about it. Now he's getting his adrenaline fix by diving deep into the .NET technologies. "There's a lot in there!" says Glen, a self-described natural paraphraser who has a knack for explaining complex ideas without inducing snores. Glen, who is MCAD and MCSD.NET certified, has over 12 years of experience as a software trainer and presenter. He's delivered MSDN Events seminars to thousands of developers and spoken at conferences including Tech-Ed and Dev Days. Glen has also managed the design, implementation and deployment of several enterprise software solutions built on Windows DNA and .NET architectures, and has worked extensively with Microsoft SQL and other members of the Microsoft server family. His expertise includes designing for scalability, usability and supportability, and his current passion is developing mobile applications. Glen graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Applied Psychology, specializing in learning and human-computer interactions. Originally from New York, Glen lives near Atlanta and spends his downtime relaxing with his wife and three children, playing the piano and performing improv comedy.

Some people do crossword puzzles to relax. Anand jumps out of airplanes. He's traveled from India to Indiana to the Middle East and Silicon Valley, and loves meeting customers with different cultural and professional backgrounds. Before joining Microsoft, Anand worked for a networking bellwether company, pioneering XML-based manageability solutions for an embedded operating system. During his five-year tenure as a software development engineer, Anand worked closely with customers to fine-tune his product features and drive problems to a full resolution. Anand has extensive experience in routing and switching technologies, and has worked on several development platforms, including Linux and Unix. He is fluent in C, C++ and Java, and scripting languages such as PERL. Anand has also earned two patent awards related to manageability solutions on networking platforms. Anand graduated from Purdue University (Go Boilers!) with a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering. In his professional daydreams, Anand is on the gridiron, working as the quarterback coach for his beloved Alma Mater.

What inspires someone from Fargo, North Dakota to dream of becoming a United Nations translator? Love of words, of course. A self-described language geek, Lynn is fascinated by languages and semantics. She understands that life rarely travels in a straight line, and her own career reflects this winding path. Lynn moved from a degree in linguistics to become a business executive, and then launched her own software development, training and consulting company. She’s done production work with all versions of .NET, BizTalk, K2.Net, SharePoint, SQL Server, Analysis Services, InfoPath, MOM, and Active Directory, and holds an array of certifications, including MCT, MCSD, MCITP, MCSE, MCDBA and MSF. Lynn is also the author of Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence from Apress. She gets her biggest on-the-job buzz from developing architecture – translating business needs into technical solutions that provide real value and opportunities. In her spare time, Lynn gives back to the community by supporting children’s education. Her current projects include work with the Mona Foundation (Redmond, Washington) and SmartCare (Lusaka, Zambia).

Technology is useless if it doesn’t serve a clear purpose. That’s Zain’s philosophy. In fact, showing people how technology can make their lives better delivers his greatest on-the-job thrills. Zain has over 12 years of experience in software development and has taught a wide range of advanced technologies to thousands of students in more than 5,000 presentations He’s been a Microsoft Certified Trainer since 1995 and holds all major Microsoft certifications, plus credentials from Cisco, Checkpoint and CompTIA. Zain launched his development career with Visual Basic 3.0 and honed his implementation skills with Windows NT 3.51 and OS/2. Lately, he’s been focused on the OO programming languages and developing his extensive knowledge of .NET technologies. When he’s not behind the podium, Zain is polishing his gaming chops and hoping that someone will hire him as a professional video game player. You can also find him sneaking off to eat Dairy Queen Blizzards whenever he’s on the road. Just don’t tell his wife.

How many Microsoft presenters can claim they were “locked in” at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Mira Sorvino? Lindsay, for one. It’s a story you’ll have to get straight from the source. She has also produced content for a high traffic television network site and the internet division of one of America's largest banks, where she helped to choose and implement a deployment tool for multiple data centers. Lindsay enjoys coding in C++, but admits that C# is quickly vying for her affections. She’s also proficient in Unix, Visual Studio 2005, OOD concepts, HTML/CSS, XML, Java, JavaScript, Perl, .NET, relational database concepts, and computer security and forensics tools including Autopsy and Encase 5.0. Lindsay graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California, where she was part of a team that researched how to implement an Internet-capable computer lab in a school in N’Djili in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – an area that has no telephone services and receives electricity only three days per week. As a developer, Lindsay loves solving technical problems and formulating solutions that are precisely tailored to her clients’ needs.

Bill loves creating the applications that often pop right into his head. Unfortunately, it takes his fingers a little longer to type them in. Bill is MCSD certified and has logged more than 20 years as a software developer. Previously, Bill worked for a regional consulting firm where he developed applications that managed internal business operations in areas including IT service management, transportation logistics, and financial management. Bill was responsible for building integration applications between various ISV's products and the client's IT infrastructure. He also spent more than seven years at StrideRite Corporation, where he honed his development skills in Visual Basic, C++ and a range of IT roles. Bill has been collaborating with Microsoft since 1992, and continues to prize his Visual Basic 1.0 Beta Thunder Clock. He's given over 300 presentations to date, and is currently developing software for a flight computer in NASA’s Small Aircraft Transportation System. One additional item, Bill is also a very active pilot. Want a good story? Ask Bill about his Hurricane Katrina efforts sometime. What's the toughest part of managing a 50-member team? "Those developer types always think they know it all," Bill says with a wink.