Richard McDonald

Experience

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  Circuit City

  Aug 2002 - Jul 2007

  Senior Technology Supervisor

  Helping customers find solutions for their digital lifestyles. Managed employee performance and mentored in sales proficiencies. Performing PC services both in-store and in-home.

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  Fleishman-Hillard

  Jan 2004 - May 2004

  Design Intern

  Worked in the Design department helping with design edits and production work for various clients.

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  Columbia College Chicago

  Jul 2007 - now

  Teaching selected courses in undergraduate programs for interactive media.Duties include:• Developing and managing the class syllabus and ensuring that the syllabus meets department and college standards• Planning and creating lectures, in-class discussions, and assignments• Grading assigned papers, quizzes, and exams• Assessing grades for students based on participation, performance in class, assignments, and examinations• Collaborating with colleagues on course curriculum• Advising students on how to be successful and achieve goals• Staying updated on innovations and changes within their course fieldCourses Taught:Web Design: Offers the student basic skills in designing and creating a Web site. Course will engage students in planning, creating, and defining a site using HTML5, CSS and various scripting languages.Intro to Programming:Learn programming concepts as you problem-solve with code, develop algorithms and create object-oriented applications. Topics covered throughout the semester include data structures, repetition, sequence control structures, program design, testing and foundational programming best practices. Show less This role focuses on the overall strategy and effectiveness of a technical support team and the implementation of emerging technology into an academic environment to support curricular growth.Duties Include:• Define strategy and shape priorities for emerging technology in context with the overall School/departmental strategy across all stages of curricular development, from early innovation to implementation, in support of sustained curricular value.• Provide overall leadership and direction for technology development for all reporting staff.• Assist in the development of the strategic direction for department systems. Coordinate with senior leadership to deliver a 5 to 10-year technology roadmap.• Build student and faculty insight generation throughout the organization to be empathetic and responsive to their needs and to create sustained value.• Work within the organization to deliver technological innovation and execute projects from inception to completion.• Select, accelerate, and develop talent to provide succession and create potential cross-organizational utilization of staffing resources.• Create partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to manage risks, resources, and trade-offs, to deliver department goals.• Develop and drive strong accountability for all technology deliverables within committed cost, schedule and performance.• Responsible for financial performance of technical initiatives including expense control, staffing plans, input into the budget process and forecasts. Show less This position is a lead engineer role managing a medium-sized infrastructure that supports an active user base of around 400 users in a higher ed environment focused on software and game development, interactive design, programming, animation, and motion capture.Duties include:• Design, implement, and monitor enterprise grade systems in an on-premise server room, including but not limited to: rack-mounted Dell PowerEdge hardware, Cisco and Juniper networking switches, fiber channel and iSCSI fabric, enterprise NAS/SAN, and UPS units.• Automation, management and continuous delivery of a networked Windows Server/Server Core 2008 - 2016, and Linux Centos/Ubuntu infrastructure that provide services and support for but not limited to: Server virtualization and VDI on ESXi cluster and XenServer Hosts, Active Directory Domain Services (DNS, DHCP, Users & Computers management, DFS, Roaming Profiles, GPO, Firewall), IIS Web Services (websites, FTP), Source Control (SVN, Git, Perforce, BitBucket), Mail Server, Antivirus, Endpoint management with SCCM and JAMF Pro (deploy, patch, configure)• Proactively ensure the highest levels of systems and infrastructure availability• Monitor and test application performance for potential bottlenecks, identify possible solutions, and work with developers to implement those fixes• Maintain security, backup, and redundancy strategies• Write and maintain custom scripts to increase system efficiency and lower the human intervention time on any tasks and help implement automation for a provisioning a developer environment.• Lead a team in supporting technical issues and provide 2nd and 3rd level support• Liaise with vendors and other IT personnel for problem resolution Show less I was responsible for deployment, management, service and repair of both Mac, and PC equipment. I provide tier II technical support, service, and repair for all PC/Mac computers and peripherals in various administrative and academic departments including the Office of the President. I also worked jointly with the infrastructure team to troubleshoot various issues relating to network access and active directory issues.I was in a lead role in implementing Dell's Kace 1000 and Kace 2000 appliances into our enterprise network. I was also in charge of evaluating a centralized service to address Mac, and Mobile Device Management that could integrate into the existing infrastructure while allowing customization and scalability for each of the main schools of Columbia College Chicago. Show less

  • Adjunct Faculty

    Feb 2018 - now

  • Director of Systems Engineering

    Sept 2017 - Aug 2018

  • Platform Administrator

    Jun 2015 - Aug 2017

  • IT Liaison (Business Analyst)

    Dec 2014 - May 2015

  • Desktop Support Technician, Tier II

    Jan 2013 - May 2015

  • Store Manager

    Jul 2007 - Dec 2012
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  Distinctive Schools

  Sept 2018 - Jul 2022

  Executive Director of Information Technology

  As the executive leader for information technology I am responsible for maturing the IT capability of a growing multi-state non-profit educational practice leader committed to social justice and the elevation of access and achievement in historically marginalized communities.My core focus has been to set an IT strategy that will align staffing, systems, and support structures utilizing cloud-first strategies and hybrid IT models that will scale with our rapidly growing network and help drive innovation.Duties Performed• Develop an IT Strategy for Infrastructure Architecture, Staffing, Policy and Procedure, Finance, Security, and Disaster Recovery• Ensure the sustainability of 1 to 1 and device take home programs for anywhere anytime learning• Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws and regulations• Manage the E-Rate process to help schools cut costs and improve internet reliability• Provide vision, leadership, and direction to all employees within the organization as related to information technology• Lead, Develop and Recruit technology staff for a multi-regional support team.• Provide guidance to academic leadership in curricular innovation utilizing technology• Identify alternative funding sources for operational improvements and curricular program development• Contract negotiations and vendor relationship management• Improve business processes and implement process automation Show less

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  Skokie School District 73 ½

  Aug 2022 - now

  Chief Information Officer

  • Support the district community through identity affirming leadership.• Develop and guide a strategic roadmap for technology services that are aligned to the mission and vision of Skokie School District 73 ½• Managing technology staff and developing departmental goals• Developing and overseeing information technology budgets• Planning, deploying and maintaining systems and operations• Managing the district’s enterprise software needs• Developing information technology policies, procedures and best practices• Staying updated on education trends and emerging technologies• Developing and implementing technology best practices across the district• Design, integrate and adapt technology platforms to improve the learner experience• Building and maintaining strong relationships with peers, vendors, contractors and service providers• Consulting district leaders on the benefits and risks of new technology-related projects Show less