Ryan J. Markel's Resume (Last updated April 28th 2009)

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Ryan J. Markel

Belleville, IL 62220 United States

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OBJECTIVE

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I enjoy working with amazing companies and helping them to support customers and embrace new ideas.

I thrive in the chaos of communities and real communication. I embrace Internet communications and media to reach people in real, honest, and effective ways, and look to work with individuals and groups that reach for the same.

I'm an idea guy; an information synthesizer. It's my goal to facilitate the dreaming, the churn, and the construction of concepts and projects, evangelizing them both internally and externally.

I have the communications skills, the tact, the passion, and the boldness to bring people on board big ideas. I can help you do the same for yours.

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SKILLS

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  • Writing and Editing
  • Public Speaking and Presentations
  • Technology Strategy
  • Customer Relations and Community Management
  • Open Source Software Utilization and Advocacy
  • Brand Development
  • Research and Product Development

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INTERNET COMMUNITY

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  • Founded, administrated, and maintained a successful MediaWiki-based online community from 2005 to 2007 named the Encyclopedia Gamia, which grew to have ~500 users and ~5,000 articles.

The Encyclopedia Gamia was acquired by Wikia, Inc. in 2008 and has since been adapted to become the main Wikia Gaming Portal at http://egamia.wikia.com.

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WORK EXPERIENCE

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January 2009 - Present
Research and Development Coordinator

Concordia Publishing House

St. Louis, MO
  • Market and technology analysis to assist in determining new technology initiatives and company technology strategy, including benefit/risk analysis, trend research, and industry analysis
  • Development and production of podcasts on a weekly to semi-weekly basis
  • Facilitated initiative to release company resources on digital music stores
  • Chaired company-wide Product Technology Standards committee, determining specifications for a broad range of multimedia products


Experience in:
  • Agile development practices
  • Research and information collection, analysis, and trend identification
  • Use of open source platforms and product to solve problems and communicate with customers.

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January 2006 - January 2009
Technical Support and Training Coordinator, Lutheran Service Builder

Concordia Publishing House

St. Louis, MO
  • Supervised launch, publicity, and marketing of a desktop software application, including public speaking engagements and workshops
  • Managed online community presence through forums and blog
  • Collaborated with programmer on creative direction and integrating customer feedback

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May 2005 - December 2006
Senior Product Specialist/Management Trainee

Circuit City Stores, Inc.

Chesterfield, MO
  • Consistently achieved top sales results across multiple stores in both computers and entertainment electronics divisions
  • Supervised and trained entry-level employees to becomes more effective salespeople

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EDUCATION

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August 2001 - May 2005

Concordia Seminary

St. Louis, MO

M.Div.

  • 3.7 Grade Point Average

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August 1997 - May 2001

Concordia University Chicago

River Forest, IL

BA

  • Theological Languages

  • 3.6 Grade Point Average

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INTERESTS

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Internet hobbyist; enjoy study of game theory and prediction; participate regularly and keep up-to-date on Internet and technology discussion, including managing a personal blog and interacting with other blog authors.

Specific areas of interest are Lutheran theology, business principles, marketing using social media and the Internet, and user experience principles.

Extensive experience with WordPress blogging software on a personal site level and uses at a corporate level for larger sites and community development. Conduct development and hosting services for several individuals, churches, and smaller non-profits.

Enjoy many styles of music and have performed for seven years with a Baroque performance group in the St. Louis metropolitan area as a vocalist.

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