William Lawrence

Semantic Engineer, Abstraction & Transliteration with a sprinkle of coding

Last updated on 22 June 2008

  • Santa Cruz CA 95060 USA

Alternate versions: PDF, ASCII

What I’m Looking For

Challenging the complicated solutions to the simplest problems.

Summary of Qualifications

Document handling and media management has been the mainstay of my diet for over 18 years. When taking that to the Internet, a very uncertain environment, a workday is ripe with aspects of certainty. Finding meaning in organisation branding and translating that to the Internet is an everyday task. Creating easy to navigate environments leading to content that is easy to consume is what I do all day: engineering the semantics of interaction.

Development & User Interface Skills

My Best Practices & Standards:

Accessibility, W3C, WCAG, 508, PAS 78, Progressive Enhancement, Quality Assurance, Research, Semantic Markup, Web Standards

What I do:

Product Development, Front-End Development, Information Architecture, Document Design, Information Design, Prototyping, Wireframes, Usability, User-Centered Design, User Interface, Content management system

What I know:

  • User Interface Markup Languages: HTML 4.01, HTML 5, XHTML 1.0, XHTML 1.1, CSS1, CSS2, CSS2.1, CSS3, DTD, XML, XSL
  • Content Syndication Markup Languages: ATOM, RDF, RSS
  • Lightweight Markup Languages: Textile, Wikitext, BBCode
  • Web Frameworks: FuseBox, Smarty, Ruby on Rails, YUI
  • Web Languages: PHP, ColdFusion, ASP, Ruby

Professional Work History

  • Web Developer at Quiddities Dev Inc, Santa Cruz CA USA

    January 2003 to Present

    • Responsible for client interface and providing consulting services focused on developing the client’s web presence aligned to their branding and media strategy
    • Directly responsible for helping the client organize a broad set of information and data, develop a set of clear, user requirements, build prototypes of website for user acceptance, and drive final website design
    • Proficient at creating and deploying easy to navigate websites with fully accessible content, excellent data management, and complex interactions
    • Implemented and deployed ecommerce websites
    • Developed custom standards-compliant content management systems
    • Utilized open-source applications to reduce time and costs in required by needs

  • Consultant at Irenology.org, Osijek CROATIA

    February 2000 to December 2004

    • Technical consultant for non-profits focused on building web presence to promote democracy and to assist in building democratic institutions
    • Advocated and educated organisations and individuals throughout Eastern Croatia, Croatia's ethnically most diverse war-affected region, on harnessing the Internet as a means to bring peace into their communities.
    • Traveled throughout the Eastern Croatia providing educational seminars and one-on-one training on how to leverage the Internet as a means to bring peace into their communities
    • Designed web marketing plan and built a series of websites for community organizations that supported the reconstruction effort
    • Developed best practices models for deploying web sites with separating content (HTML), presentation (CSS), and behavior (JavaScript)

  • Document Analyst with Adecco at Lockheed Martin, Bethesda MD USA

    December 1998 to January 2000

    • Responsible for Y2K testing the PeopleSoft Human resource management systems oftware platform throughout all divisions of Lockheed Martin
    • Increased customer appreciation by writing successful test specifications and user documentation, monitoring test execution and managing the on-going testing and quality assurance
    • Project managed the support for software engineering teams by maintaining technical databases, generated thorough testing documentation, and coordinated computerized support systems testing
    • Drove the development of testing processes and delivered testing software, data analysis, and maintained documentations logs for during the assessment of several internal systems supporting Human Resources, Payroll and Compensation, and Employee Benefits
    • Developed clear, replicable methods to meet technical data requirements and prepared technical analyses and reports to ensure full transparency of ongoing testing and process improvements

Volunteer Work History

  • Research Associate at the Coalition for Work with Psychotrauma and Peace, Vukovar CROATIA

    2000 – 2003

    • Worked in post-conflict environment advocating for the support of psychological assistance
    • Prepared funding proposals for projects involving issues of health, especially the widespread psychotraumatisation of the population and its effects on the rebuilding of society and the prevention of future conflict.
    • Communicated with the general public, scholars, donors, and others regarding information, data, and research generated from the Complex Rehabilitation in conflict and post-conflict areas.
    • Designed web sites with accessibility and universal access as a constant standard and best practice.

  • Election Observer with the The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Zagreb CROATIA

    2000

    • Monitored, assisted, and advised in democratic institution-building and reconciliation in post-conflict environment
    • Liaised with local authorities and NGOs and drafted observations.
    • Interviewed voters, media, opposition parties, Municipal Election Committees
    • Reported fairness and infractions to ODHIR and OSCE.

  • Research Assistant at the Bancaja International Center for Peace and Development, Castelló SPAIN

    1997

    • Consultant support to incoming/outgoing Professors in translation, research, drafting, and academic events.
    • Edited research journals and books on international security issues.
    • Co-ordinated courses, seminars, and meetings relating to peace and development research.
    • Developed specialised bibliographic database system for cataloguing academic journals in both English and Spanish.

  • Legal Assistant with the The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, Vermont USA

    1995 – 1998

    • Evaluated and recorded incoming complaints regarding violations of civil liberties.
    • Prepared cases to be submitted to the Legal Advisory Panel.
    • Reviewed for litigation
    • Researched related legislation using including LexisNexis
    • Networked with cooperating attorneys
    • Sorted out the difference between what is and what isn't a public issue or a private problem.

  • Producer/Public Service Director at WGDR 91.1 FM, Vermont USA

    1994 – 1998

    • Built a program to organize and deliver non-commercial Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
    • Responsible for public service announcements, correspondence, and music inventory
    • Conducted public interest interviews in the studio and in the field
    • Produced and hosted radio programs
    • Contributed to the station's first web presence and maintained the website
    • Organized and published relevant and timely content on the website and the intranet
    • Involved in annual fundraising
    • Carried out the tradition of being responsible with the public trust.

Education

Military History

  • Administrative Clerk in the United States Marine Corps, Port Hueneme CA USA & Okinawa JAPAN

    September 1988 to September 1992

    Every organisation needs a clerk. Everyone ought to be a clerk for sometime.

    • Worked in administrative team responding to the needs of over 300 Marines and their dependents
    • Maintained records and service manuals
    • Conducted financial and housing counseling
    • Activated during the Persian Gulf Crisis and deployed for service with the 3rd Marine Division in Japan
    • Conducted ongoing audits of field service records, verifying information contained in unit diary feedback reports/personnel management reports, preparation of discharge and retirement documents, and verifying the accuracy of information contained in the MCTFS databases
    • Developed expertise in the Marine Corps Automated Information Systems (AIS), Total Force System (MCTFS), and the suite of Marine Corps database software packages

Additional Information

Languages

  • English (Native proficiency)
  • Croatian (Professional working proficiency)
  • German (Limited working proficiency)
  • Spanish (Limited working proficiency)

Interests

Imagery, Kitchens, Identity, Language, Bicycling, Semantics, Open Markets, Fixing Things, Public Policy, Old Clock Towers, Baking Chocolate Cakes, Mechanical Desktop Typewriters, Standards & Accessibility in Everything, and My Family.

Websites

Tags

There are so few things to do in life & so much time in this life to do those things.