The diversity is extraordinary. It shows in their solutions.

Blue Slate's professionals have spent years solving intractable problems in IT and business process. The ingenuity of their solutions comes partly from the breadth of their perspective. Besides their experience in our core industries—health care, insurance, financial services—they have also taught school, led libraries, and sold cheese, among other pursuits. In all, they have also lived amid diverse cultures on six continents. Read about them here.

Jayanath Amaranayake Lead Consulting Software Engineer

Jayanath Amaranayake joined Blue Slate Solutions in 2009 as a Lead Consulting Software Engineer. Jayanath is an experienced PegaRules Process Commander system architect and his background also includes more than six years experience in object-oriented (OO) analysis, design and programming. Jayanath has served as a software consultant for multiple clients in the records management, insurance, finance and printing industries while working for Virtusa Corporation. During this time, Jayanath worked on several long term projects where he gained valuable experience in numerous technologies including Java , J2EE and PRPC.

Jayanath has designed and developed validation and web services integration modules using PRPC for a loan origination application. He helped to design and develop a hotel reservation application, also leveraging a business process and rules management platform. He has configured and managed complex Unix-based development, serving in roles that include QA and pre-production environments. Jayanath also designed and developed Java/J2EE modules for a web-based auction application that handled printing jobs for a large printing corporation.

Jayanath is a 2004 graduate of the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka and is certified as a system architect for PegaRULES Process Commander as well as being a Sun Certified Java Programmer.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Java / J2EE
  • Pega Rules Process Commander
  • SQL, PL/SQL
  • XML
  • Web Services ( AJAX,WSDL,SOAP/XML,JAX-WS )
  • Linux, Unix, Windows
  • Apache Http server, Tomcat, JBoss
  • JavaScript, Bash

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Awarded by the faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
  • Pega Rules Process Commander Certified System Architect v5.4
  • Sun Certified Java Programmer JDK 1.4

Projects

  • Designed and developed validation and web services integration modules using PRPC for a loan originating application and a hotel reservation application.
  • Configured and managed Unix based development, QA and pre production environments.
  • Designed and developed Java/J2EE modules of a web-based auction application for a large printing corporation to handle printing jobs.
Shanil Amalean Lead Consultant

Shanil joined Blue Slate Solutions in 2009 as a Lead Consultant. Shanil brings over 6 years of experience in IT governance, risk and compliance, project management, and advisory services with financial services, energy, manufacturing, and healthcare clients. Shanil has worked with clients, helping to manage business process and IT components of internal controls, readiness and attestation projects, developing risk assessments and conducting process re-engineering and outsourcing/off shoring activities to generate cost efficiencies. He also brings a high level project management skills to bear on all his projects, spanning from project initiation through project close out.

Before joining the Blue Slate team, Shanil worked as a manager for Enterprise Risk Services practice at Deloitte & Touche LLP. At Deloitte, Shanil led various initiatives in providing consulting, project management, audit, IT governance (including Sarbanes Oxley) and advisory services to clients. His contributions involved developing risk assessments, managing business process & IT components of internal controls readiness & attestation projects and conducting process re-engineering activities to generate cost efficiencies. This included projects that included performing walkthroughs, developing process flows, analyzing the design and operating effectiveness of processes, performing gap analyses, and assisting in the implementation of recommendations made to generate value and cost efficiencies. He has also led Sarbanes-Oxley 404 and SAS70 engagements across various industries, with an emphasis on financial services, energy (utilities) and health care.

Shanil is a 2002 graduate of Virginia Tech where he received his Bachelors of Science in Business Information Technology - Decision Support Systems. Shanil currently possesses his Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certifications.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Project Management
  • Process Re-engineering
  • PCAOB’s AS2 and AS5 Standards (Sarbanes Oxley)
  • COBIT
  • Information Systems Audit & Compliance

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science in Business Information Technology, Virginia Tech
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)/ PMI
  • Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)/ ISACA

Projects

  • Managed the technology attestation efforts for a fortune 500 financial services institution. Led a 7 member project team and conducted 50+ walkthroughs with business process owners and technical subject matter experts. Interacted daily with client PMO office to oversee remediation progress and establish guidelines to improve the IT controls framework
  • Contributed towards process re-engineering a line of business of a leading fortune 500 professional services institution by leveraging an off shore processing center. Aided in defining and establishing formalized processes for the coordination and communication between the parent company and the off shore location leading to significant generation of cost efficiencies ranging from $750,000 to a $1,000,000 in 2008
  • During 2007 served as the project manager of the implementation of Auditing Standard 5 (AS5) at a leading publicly traded energy company with a market capitalization of approximately 19 billion. Client subsequently selected by the SEC commissioned PCAOB for review and deemed to have demonstrated a highly effective implementation of Auditing Standard 5 – in particular, commitment to the implementation of a top-down, risk-based approach
Anton Beza, Jr Consulting Software Engineer

Anton joined Blue Slate in 2008, bringing a successful track record in object-oriented design and programming across a wide variety of tools and languages. Since joining Blue Slate, he has continued to hone his ability to put technology solutions into practice.

His technology career began as a quality assurance intern with Kodak Electronic Imaging where he tested new imaging software, built computer systems using Unix and network servers, and created and managed a web application using PHP and MySQL.

Anton further cultivated his technical acumen working as a data structures teaching assistant (TA) and as a consultant with the University's IT services faculty help desk. As a TA, he taught students data structure design through programming projects in C. As a help desk consultant, he tested Web software for University use, as well as designed an Access database with ASP pages for storage and maintenance of articles for technology concerns.

Most recently, Anton served as a Senior Software Engineer with LAANCOR where he co-developed three core Web applications using Java, Apache/Tomcat, SQL, JSP, Javascript, CSS, HTML and AJAX techniques, while successfully modifying open source systems.

Anton holds his Bachelor degree in Computer Science with Applied Mathematics from University at Albany, and is currently working on his Master's in Human Computer Interaction at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as he sincerely enjoys creating ways to make it easier for people to use technology.

At A Glance

Skills

  • C, C++
  • Java
  • JSP
  • PHP
  • SQL
  • Unix
  • Javascript
  • AJAX
  • Networking
  • Apache/Tomcat
  • CSS
  • HTML
  • Quality Assurance

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor in Computer Science with Applied Mathematics, University at Albany

Projects

  • PinPoint Site and Product Search: Web-applications to allow users to put a customized search box and results page onto their website. Also allows merchants to easily upload and customize their product offerings.
  • Search/Ask the Wiki: Ask the Wiki took a Question-Answering approach to retrieving information from the site by using learning algorithms based in pattern matching.
Andrea Barrett Senior Consultant

Since joining Blue Slate Solutions in August 2005, Andrea has been involved in multiple client engagements, providing leadership and support to resolve difficult production issues, implementations and training.

Andrea has worked on a varied set of projects that range from call center solutions, claims processing, policy service administration projects and underwriting applications. In each of these projects, Andrea has been involved in all phases of the system design and project management lifecycle. Andrea has managed a project for a major healthcare payer undergoing the conversion of their claims processing system, overseeing the production support as well as managing new releases. As project lead on a service level support agreement for a regional health care payer, Andrea oversaw the closure of enhancements, defects and new project implementations across multiple workflow applications, while maintaining a strong working relationship with a diverse group of clients. Ultimately, she helps business units migrate to more optimal process models, increase efficiencies, enhance performance metrics and reduce turn around time for customers. Andrea has also been heavily involved in end-user training, quality assurance and individual technical training.

Prior to joining Blue Slate Solutions, Andrea spent seven years as a business process workflow architect for a national insurance company, thus bringing to Blue Slate significant subject matter expertise and experience working on both technical and business analysis teams. Andrea has also worked with insurance company internal business units to define current processes, utilizing best practices to re-define and streamline procedures and automating and removing redundancies where appropriate.

Andrea earned her Bachelor of Science in Management Studies from the European Division of the University of Maryland.

At A Glance

Skills

  • PegaWORKs
  • PegaSystems Workflow Design and Development
  • PegaSystems Interface Design and Development
  • PegaWeb
  • PegaRULES Process Commander Application Knowledge
  • Workflow Training
  • Quality Control
  • HTML
  • JavaScript

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, University of Maryland
  • Fellow, Life Management Institute
  • Professional, Customer Service

Projects

  • Project Manager for a major healthcare payer undergoing a conversion of their claims processing system, overseeing production support as well as managing new releases.
  • Lead a team executing on-going maintenance and change requests via a service level agreement (SLA) for a regional health care payer. Oversaw the business analysis and closure of enhancements, defects and new project implementations across multiple workflow applications.
Vikram Bedekar Consulting Software Engineer

Vikram joined Blue Slate Solutions in 2009, bringing a diverse technical skill set and valued experience in software design and development.

Most recently Vikram participated in design and build phase of a proprietary data masking software application which masks all the sensitive information in clients where personal health information (PHI) must be highly protected. He has also participated in the design and build phases on multiple business rule driven workflow applications.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Vikram worked with Syntel India Limited where he developed modules with Core Java, J2EE components and SQL Server and was an active participant in a re-engineering project for porting an application on ATG DYNAMO to a J2EE Server. Vikram then went on to serve as a developer on a CASE project for SUNY ESF and O’Brien & Gere. Utilizing ASP .NET, Silverlight, WCF, and IIS technology, he designed and developed a Web application in Silverlight which reads a set of parameters for a specific interval from a database and displays it on a webpage in the form of dynamic graphs. Working collaboratively with the project team, he leveraged a data acquisition system ‘IFIX’ – which collects environmental data and dumps it in a SQL database – to enable the data collected to be visible from a remote location.

Vikram further cultivated his technical acumen working as a Teaching Assistance for an internet programming class hosting sessions to discuss designs and interactively resolve implementation problems. He also worked on a number of academic projects, providing hands on exposure to and application of a number of technologies including C++, J5EE, ASP.NET, .NET, while exploring areas such as the database design and development, remote software, and code analysis.

Vikram holds a Bachelor degree in Electronics Engineering from the University of Mumbai and a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Software Engineering
  • Database Architecture
  • Java, J5EE
  • ASP.NET
  • C/C++
  • C#
  • Microsoft.NET, Silverlight

Degrees / Certifications

  • Master of Science in Computer Engineering, Syracuse University
  • Bachelor of Electronics Engineering, K.J Somaiya College of Engineering, University of Mumbai

Projects

  • Designed and developed a Web-application in Microsoft Silverlight which reads from a database and displays the data on a webpage in the form of dynamic graphs. Developed a WCF service that extracts data from the database which is analyzed (sampled, scaled) and rendered on WebPages using Silverlight in the form of charts.
  • Participated on a re-engineering project for porting an application on ATG DYNAMO to a J2EE Server, leveraging JSP page migration.
Poonam Bijlani Senior Consultant

Poonam Bijlani began working at Blue Slate in October 2004 as a Consultant, and has since been working on project teams to define, design and implement solutions to solve our clients' complex business problems. Her knowledge of varied technologies enables her to create highly useful customized solutions.

Poonam is highly experienced in the entire software design and development cycle right from business requirements definition to end user training. She uses the best practices and modular design to implement scalable and easily maintainable workflow solutions. She has also standardized Web and work flow development across client applications. Poonam has been a valuable resource in training Blue Slate's offshore teams on workflow design and configuration. She has also worked with and managed offshore resources to build, implement and test workflow solutions.

Since joining Blue Slate, Poonam has been involved in a number of key projects. She architected several claims and correspondence workflow applications at a major healthcare client to streamline and unify operations across departments. In this role, Poonam led the team, which entailed training and providing guidance to other team members, while maintaining a strong working relationship with the client. Her responsibilities included requirements analysis, solution design, build, test, deployment and defect management along with providing end user training.

Poonam has also worked with a healthcare client providing change management and production support on a legacy application. Her responsibilities included working with business users to reengineer and improve their business processes and to make corresponding workflow changes.

Prior to Blue Slate, Poonam worked with Internet eBusiness Solutions, Inc. in Florida as a Software Consultant. She was responsible for gathering business requirements for implementing the smooth integration of business processes with Microsoft customer relationship management (CRM). She was integral to the entire software development lifecycle including application design, database design, development, implementation, customization, and testing.

Poonam holds a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and earned her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Mumbai.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Pega Systems Workflow Design and Configuration
  • PegaSystem User Interface Design and Development
  • Workflow Training
  • .NET (C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET, Web Services, Windows Services)
  • HTML, XML
  • C++
  • MS CRM
  • PegaRULES Process Commander application knowledge

Degrees / Certifications

  • Master of Science, Syracuse University
  • Bachelor of Science, University of Mumbai
  • MS CRM Certified Professional - Installation and Configuration
  • MS CRM Certified Professional - Customization

Projects

  • Architecting multiple claims and correspondence workflow applications at a major healthcare client to stream line and unify operations across departments. Entailed project leadership, requirements analysis, solution design, build, test, deployment and defect management along with providing end user training.
  • Change management and production support on an inherited application. Required project leadership, business processes engineering, and corresponding workflow changes.
Nick Bouras Lead Consulting Software Engineer

Nick joined Blue Slate Solutions in 2008 bringing over 20 years of advanced experience in database development, software engineering, operating systems and networks to the Blue Slate software engineering team.

Nick immediately leveraged his vast technical background on an insurance client project conducting a major scalability initiative on their claims processing system where he instrumented part of the application using a workflow software tool and JavaScript as well as writing the application test plans and scripts. Upon noting that the current process for analyzing log files was too difficult and error prone, Nick wrote a Java application to analyze the business rules software log files. This enabled the team members to prepare necessary flowcharts and other documentation to get them ready for the next phase of the project. Nick was also able to quickly apply his business process management and business rule engine skills to reconfigure key Center for Medicare Services (CMS) reports for a Medicare fiscal intermediary.

Before joining Blue Slate, Nick held a variety of positions that required increasingly complex technical and problem solving skills. Most recently, he served as a developer with Amergent, working on a large Web-based financial application for use by non-profit organizations. Prior to Amergent, he worked with SAP America designing and developing various database driven information and document management tools for sales support. When he first entered the private sector in 2000, Nick served as an Applications Consultant with Plumtree Software. There he was heralded as Plumtree’s best consulting developer in the Plumtree Eastern Region, acquiring extensive knowledge of the Plumtree Corporate Portal through his work in developing portal embedded applications and implementing complex portal enhancements.

Nick began his career in the public sector, serving as Systems Manager for the U.S. Department of State’s embassy in Canberra, Australia, Nick was responsible for computer center operations and systems administration, serving as the project leader for local applications development. His demonstrated leadership and technical aptitude led to a senior Systems Analyst position with the Department of State in Washington, D.C. While there, Nick assumed responsibility of a development team whose projects included the creation of a sophisticated government budgeting system and an email handling application system for routing and printing requests for building maintenance.

Nick received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Columbia University.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Object Oriented Design
  • Microsoft .NET
  • MS SQL
  • C#
  • ASP.NET
  • XML, XSLT
  • Java
  • JavaScript and DHTML
  • Software lifecycle management
  • PegaRules Process Commander (PRPC)
  • PegaWORKS
  • Appian Business Process Management Suite (BPMS)

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, Columbia University

Projects

  • PRPC reconfiguration of the Center for Medicare Services (CMS) 2592 report for a Medicare fiscal intermediary
  • Development of sales collateral management system built with .NET and integrated with an SAP content management system
  • Development of a customer relationship management (CRM) system for managing large amounts of data within nonprofit institutions
  • Development of a complex end-user experience based on his extremely life-like wire-frame designs. Nick implemented this using HTML, XSLT, and JavaScript.
Stephanie Burgard Senior Consultant

Stephanie Burgard joined Blue Slate in May 2004 as a Senior Consultant. Stephanie has over 8 years of workflow architect experience and over 12 years of Project Management experience across several industries including healthcare, banking, and financial services. She also has expertise in requirements gathering, design, configuration and testing. These competencies along with her Project Management Professional certification enable her to work with clients across functions to develop solutions that the client can use.

Since joining Blue Slate, Stephanie has worked on a number of key client projects. For a financial institution client, Stephanie's contribution reduced mail time, approval time, and errors, when she worked documenting use cases and developing the elaboration document for a financial institution. Her work helped the client aid its branches throughout Canada to initiate, approve, and report on material change items. For a financial institution in the Midwest, she was responsible for the conception and elaboration documentation as well as aiding in the initial deployment of the Smart Adjust application and testing coordination.

On another project, she managed the testing function for a Smart Dispute project, testing all functionality prior to going to user acceptance testing for a Canadian financial institution. She was also responsible for coordinating the testing effort with project team as well as making defect assignments, testing fixes and generating testing reports.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Stephanie worked at a large national bank where she was a project manager for the planning and implementation of a national consolidation of operation centers. In addition, Stephanie also worked as a consultant and project manager for a business process management technology company. She holds a Master of Science from the University of Texas Dallas as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Spanish from Texas Christian University.

At A Glance

Skills

  • PegaSYSTEMS Design, Configuration and Implementation
  • Project Management
  • Quality Assurance Testing

Degrees / Certifications

  • Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • Master of Science, University of Texas Dallas
  • Bachelor of Arts, Texas Christian University

Projects

  • Managing the testing function for a Smart Dispute project for a Canadian financial institution. She tested all functionality prior to going to user acceptance testing. Responsible for coordinating the testing effort with project team as well as making defect assignments, testing fixes and generating testing reports.
  • Documenting use cases and developing the elaboration document for a financial institution that aided branches across Canada to initiate, approve and report on material change items.
  • Participating on a Smart Adjust project for a financial institution. Responsible for the conception and elaboration documentation as well as aiding in the initial deployment of the Smart Adjust application and testing coordination.
Jill Parsons Burger Program Leader

Since coming back to the Blue Slate team in April 2007, Jill initially served as Senior Analyst before being promoted to Program Leader. She brings over 15 years of experience in market research and business analysis, enabling her to work with executives to fuel strategic, data-driven decisions surrounding workforce productivity and technology development and marketing. In addition to client engagements, she supports and drives all aspects of business development at Blue Slate, with a particular focus on marketing, PR and other outreach initiatives.

Jill has led the creation of a business case to support the purchase of a procurement system to support 32 campuses. Other examples of her work include market and business process analysis for a hedge fund investment firm, the development and delivery of training materials for a Medicare enrollment application for a leading government benefits administrator, and financial modeling, revenue planning and business development for a video game developer. As Senior Market Analyst at Blue Slate Solutions from 2000 to 2003, Jill helped to establish Blue Slate's Market Intelligence function. Then, she worked with such companies as General Electric, Siemens and numerous technology start-ups to inform strategic decision making.

When she was not with Blue Slate, Jill was Principal Research Analyst with a boutique research and development company, Ambient Insight, where she focused on learning and mobile technology markets. She authored reports on mobile learning, collaboration tools, and healthcare productivity. In her consulting role at Ambient Insight, Jill worked with top executives at a major computer OEM to develop and defend a winning product roadmap and business plan. Jill continues to serve as an Advisor for Ambient Insight on healthcare and mobile learning. While serving as Director of Research and Information Services at The MASIE Center, a leading eLearning think-tank, she worked extensively with both suppliers and global implementers of eLearning technology to promote thought leadership and best practices. Jill began her career in market intelligence, at Microsoft, where she was eventually promoted to Manager of Research Analysis. In that capacity, she leveraged a team of research analysts working with Microsoft employees and executives to inform product planning and marketing.

She graduated magna cum laude from the University at Buffalo with degrees in English and Art History. Her advanced degrees include a Master of Library Science and a Master of Arts in English, both from the University at Albany. She was trained on Econometric Forecasting by WEFA Group and in Market Research Methodology by The Burke Institute. Jill has authored reports on eLearning for International Data Corp (IDC), ASTD, and The MASIE Center.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Market Analysis
  • Strategic Planning
  • Product Planning
  • Project Management
  • End-User Documentation and Training
  • Information Management

Degrees / Certifications

  • Master of Library Science, State University of New York at Albany
  • Master of Arts, State University of NY at Albany
  • Bachelor of Arts, State University of New York at Buffalo
  • Econometric Forecasting, The WEFA Group
  • Market Research methodology, The Burke Institute

Projects

  • Led the creation of a business case to support the purchase of a procurement system to support 32 campuses
  • Wrote strategic plan components and supporting whitepapers for a client in higher education
  • Provided revenue planning, financial modeling and business development support for a high growth video game development company looking to be acquired
  • Wrote and delivered training materials for a new Medicare enrollment application for a leading government benefits administrator
  • Conducted market and business process analysis for the investment management department of a fund of hedge funds to identify opportunities to reduce variation in the delivery of manager research activities
  • Written Management Discussion and Analysis for a client’s annual report





Erica Coletti Program Leader

Since joining Blue Slate in 2006, Erica's experience and expertise in operations, strategic business planning, and project management has made her an essential member of our team. Her dynamic background and breadth of knowledge is especially well leveraged in the banking and healthcare industries.

At Blue Slate, she has worked on a variety of long term projects. As project manager she led a multi-faceted team implementing an organization-wide workflow system for a national healthcare payer. This included working directly with the business users, business consultants, IT developers, corporate offices and the executive steering committee to provide direction, project forecast, business development and project execution. For the payer appeals department of a national healthcare payer, Erica led the implementation of a paperless workflow system. This included working with end users, developers, and managers from the requirements phase through the system implementation and training. She also participated in a requirements-driven tool selection process for enterprise content management, workflow, and rules systems for a major mutual fund company.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Erica worked for Blue Rock Innovation, a strategy and innovation consulting company. While at Blue Rock, Erica was charged with developing a market-driven strategy and business plan for a start-up medical device firm resulting in successfully raising $300K in funding. Previous to her work at Blue Rock, Erica worked in marketing and sales at a local gourmet food producer. Erica started her career at JPMorgan Chase (formerly Bank One), managing the cash management service teams. She advanced from project manager to as an Assistant Vice President of Operations on such projects as merger integration, Y2K system conversions and the development and implementation of disaster recovery protocol for three national call centers in the middle market line of business.

She earned her Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University. Erica also holds a Master in Business Administration from the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is also an alumna and participating coach of Program Apollo. This program, implemented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, utilizes a strategy lab format to help administrators and physicians think strategically about managing hospitals for economic performance in the challenging and complex healthcare system.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Business Process Analysis
  • Business Planning
  • Strategy Development
  • Project Management
  • Balanced Scorecard Development

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Vanderbilt University
  • Master of Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Projects

  • Leading as Project Manager a multi-facet team implementing an organization-wide workflow system (PegaRULES Process Commander - PRPC) for a National Healthcare Payer. This included working directly with the business users, business consultants, IT developers, corporate offices and Executive Steering Committee to provide direction, project forecast, business development and project execution.
  • Led the implementation of a paperless workflow system for a National Healthcare Payer Appeals department. This included working with end users, developers, and managers from the requirements phase through the system implementation and training.
  • Participated in a requirements-driven tool selection process for enterprise content management, workflow, and rules systems for a major mutual fund company.





Laura Cooler Senior Consultant

Laura Cooler began working with Blue Slate in June 2005, bringing seven years of workflow architect experience spanning several industries including healthcare, banking, and financial services. A background in communications and retail banking help her to relate to the challenges and business needs of our customers. An expert business analyst, Laura's primary roles involve working with people at all levels within a customer's organization, from senior management to end users to define current business processes and understand goals and objectives. Laura then utilizes best practices to design solutions that streamline processes to position clients towards higher efficiency.

Since joining Blue Slate Laura has leveraged her experience in full life-cycle design and development, applying flexibility and attention to detail. She has gained experience in many areas beyond design and configuration to include project management, testing, quality assurance, training, and production support. Key projects include process engineering a paperless referral system for one of the nation's largest healthcare payers. There, she also configured the solution, tested interfaces, and worked on testing and debugging of application. As a Workflow Architect, Laura has designed screens and workflow conversion for a branch and telephone retail banking system from a PL/1 to a C++ Pegasystem, and designed a web-enabled customer service system in PegaREACH for a pilot group of retail banking centers that leveraged the new graphical system for capturing data and carrying out the legacy functions.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Laura was a Senior Consultant with PegaSystems, working on key client implementations in the financial services and healthcare industries. Prior to that, she was a Client Representative with IBM, performing solution sales to mid-market healthcare organizations. Laura began her career as a Management Associate in retail baking at NationsBank and as a Resource Coordinator with solutions firm Consultec, Inc.

Laura received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Florida. She has had numerous and ongoing training on workflow and business process management applications such as PegaWorks AIM (Advanced Implementation Methodology) training, and AIM/Pegasystems Project Management training. Laura is also certified in PegaREACH.

At A Glance

Skills

  • PegaSystem Workflow Design and Configuration
  • HTML
  • JavaScript
  • PegaWORKS
  • MS Project
  • Requirements Gathering
  • Process Reengineering
  • Documentation
  • Quality Control

Degrees / Certifications

  • BA, Communications, University of Florida

Projects

  • Provided system enhancements and as business analyst was involved all stages of system lifecycle for a major healthcare payer's call center application.
  • Process engineered a paperless referral system for one of the nations largest healthcare payers. Also configured the solution, tested interfaces, and worked on testing and debugging of application.
  • As Workflow Architect, designed screens and workflow conversion for a branch and telephone retail banking system from a PL/1 to a C++ Pegasystem.
  • Designed a web-enabled customer service system in PegaREACH for a pilot group of retail banking centers that leveraged the new graphical system for capturing data and carrying out the legacy functions.
  • Designed new functionality and change control items and support throughout user testing, debugging and training at a large financial services firm. The application allowed the firm's financial institution customers to log in and establish or change the features and specifications of their credit card products.



Phanigopal Donepudi Lead Consulting Software Engineer

Gopal joined Blue Slate Solutions in August 2006 as a Consulting Software Engineer. He brings with him a highly cross-functional skill set that ranges from technical to business expertise. He is highly experienced in the software design and development process from business requirements definition to implementation. He has developed complex mission critical enterprise solutions with a number of technologies for a variety of industries, including healthcare, financial services and manufacturing.

Gopal has contributed to many Blue Slate client projects, in a variety of key roles. He has designed performance improvements and let the implementation of a major workflow for a large healthcare organization. This entailed executing requirements analysis, solution design, build and test, deployment and defect management along with performance analysis and optimization of the application.

Prior to Blue Slate Solutions, Gopal worked with Perot Systems as an Application Analyst, and Satyam Computer Services Limited as a Systems Analyst. There he was responsible for gathering requirements, and designing and developing applications. He was integral to the entire software development lifecycle including application and database design, development, implementation, customization and testing. This experience provided a strong foundation for his success in various projects with different technology domains.

Gopal has years of experience on working with Web-based solutions in the energy and manufacturing industries involving technologies like Java Enterprise Edition, Web Logic server, JavaScript, VB script, Oracle, JSP and ASP technologies.

Gopal has a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University College of Engineering, Tirupati where he concentrated on his course of Technical and Analytical skills.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Strategic Planning and Design
  • Application, User Interface, and Database Design/Development
  • Expertise in all phases of the software engineering life cycle
  • Expertise across a number of development languages and tools
  • PegaWORKS 7.x, 8.x.
  • Java, JSP, ASP, VB Script, XML, XSLT,Web Services.
  • HTML
  • JavaScript
  • PL/SQL
  • Java Enterprise Edition

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Technology, Sri Venkateswara University College of Engineering, Tirupati
  • Pega Systems Certified Workflow Architect

Projects

  • Architecting performance improvements for a large PegaWORKS application at a major US healthcare organization.
  • Leading the implementation of a major PegaWORKS application for a large healthcare organization



Robert Dunie Senior Consultant

Robert Dunie joined Blue Slate in May 2004, bringing a highly cross-functional skill set that spans the gamut from technical to business expertise. A software developer by trade, he also has experience in industry and market analysis, strategic analysis, and group facilitation. He has successfully acted in leadership roles in several projects by leveraging his highly proficient technical ability and his rich experience across the software design and development life cycle.

Robert currently leads Blue Slate's PegaRULES Process Commander (PRPC) practice. In this role, Robert provides architectural and design oversight across all PRPC client engagements within the organization. When he's not specifically working on the architecture or design of a system, Robert develops and actively maintains Blue Slate's design and coding standards, as well as best practices, patterns and idioms for the PRPC platform.

During his tenure, Robert has developed complex mission critical enterprise solutions leveraging a number of technologies including business rules engines and workflows for a variety of industries, including healthcare, financial services, education, and travel. On the business side, Robert has focused on requirements analysis and business process benchmarking and optimization while working with organizations in the financial services, healthcare and logistics verticals.

Robert has also served as the technical lead in the migration of major legacy applications, including the transparent retirement of a multi-terabyte transaction archive for a large financial services organization. His responsibilities included requirements analysis, solution design, build and test, and defect management along with performance analysis and optimization of the application. He has worked with a financial services software provider on user interface remediation, and at a national healthcare payer he has served in multiple roles including senior system architect, where he also executed system performance analysis and the subsequent implementation of enhancements to improve the system.

Robert earned his Master of Business Administration from The Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he studied two concentrations, Marketing and New Product Development as well as Strategy and Technological Entrepreneurship. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, also from RPI.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Strategy Planning and Design
  • Project Management
  • Group Facilitation
  • Application, User Interface, and Database Design/Development
  • Expertise in all phases of the software engineering life cycle
  • Web Services (AJAX, WSDL, SOAP/XML)
  • PegaRULES Process Commander v4, v5
  • PegaWORKS C98.x, 6.x, 7.x, 8.x
  • PegaSEARCH
  • DBMS: Oracle, DB2, SQL Server
  • IBM Websphere Application Server
  • DHTML, JavaScript, dojo, Apache httpd, Tomcat, Solaris, Linux, UNIX, Windows 3.1/NT/9x/XP, PL/SQL, PHP, VB Script, C/C++, bash, and ksh.

Degrees / Certifications

  • Master of Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Bachelor of Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • PegaRULES Process Commander Certified System Architect v.5

Projects

  • Senior system architect for PegaSystems PRPC implementation across multiple departments at a major health benefits administrator.
  • Senior technologist on a multi-terabyte transaction archive retirement project for a large financial services organization.
  • Enterprise architect on the integration of a BPM based loan origination system with a collateral management system, via J2EE Web-services and AJAX, to ensure Basel II Accord compliance and achieve operational efficiencies for a premiere bank in Australia
  • Lead process architect for requirements gathering for a specialty workman’s compensation policy initiation system for a leading insurance company. Documented and analyzed the existing process and redesigned it for implementation in PRPC 4.x
  • Senior System Architect on a multi-million dollar project to decommission a legacy BPM system at a Fortune 50 financial services client, documenting existing system, identifying de-supported functionality and implementing replacements using optimized Web services that interfaced with legacy applications
  • Senior Business analyst for a facilities management firm. Developed a business plan that resulted in $65 million of financing to build start of the art clean room facilities at a nationally recognized university.
Paul Evans Program Leader

As a Blue Slate Solutions Program Leader, Paul brings several years of Java enterprise development (since 1997), and PRPC development experience (since 2003) to client engagements, including a wide-array of other technologies.

Paul currently oversees the various internal technology centers-of-excellence here at Blue Slate, ensuring that quality standards, best practices, and learning materials are being developed and leveraged by our technical delivery team.

Paul has been with Blue Slate since 2001 and started out working on the technical delivery team, mainly designing and programming Java and PRPC-based systems. Over the years Paul has amassed a wide array of wisdom and knowledge that he now puts to use providing leadership across technology for both client and internal projects. This also includes working with HR to build our team, coordinating training for new team members, and working with project management teams to create timelines and staffing plans.

Paul has led technology teams at several healthcare and insurance companies to integrate solutions for call centers, claims processing systems, and policy systems. He is particularly adept at leveraging enterprise tools such as workflow and rules engines to enable clients to maximize previous technology investments through legacy modernization.

Although Paul is a technology leader at Blue Slate, his passion is for programming, and learning about technology. He keeps his skills sharp and current by always writing code and reading books on technology in his spare time.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Experience in all phases of the software engineering life cycle
  • Experience in a broad range of technologies
  • Mentoring junior developers
  • Expertise in XSL
  • Java/J2EE
  • C++

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Siena College
  • PegaRULES Certified System Architect
  • Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform
  • Sun Certified Developer for the Java Platform (JDK 1.1)
  • Presented at 2002, 2003 JavaOne Conferences on Apache Ant

Projects

  • Developed numerous Web applications using J2EE and JDBC on a variety of platforms including Weblogic, Websphere and Tomcat.
  • Developed a Java/C++ hybrid application that gave single-sign-on capabilities to windows applications.
  • Re-designed and re-implemented a corporate website using combined technologies including XML for content delivery, XSL for multi-level transformations, and Java servlet technology for secure-access authentication and dynamic content delivery for a corporate website.
Michael Farley Consultant

Michael joined Blue Slate Solutions in 2007, bringing extensive experience with financial operations and procedures within insurance and real estate markets as well as expertise in sales and marketing. Blue Slate's clients benefit from his ability to take a leadership position and manage multiple objectives while building relationships based on respect, understanding and trust. Throughout his career in the financial services industry, he has leveraged critical thinking, quantitative analysis, creativity and quick thinking to reach increasingly higher goals. Since joining Blue Slate, Michael has also completed further training to better serve clients, earning multiple certifications in financial services software.

He has worked on a number of projects for Blue Slate. For small to midsize money management firms, Michael has completed data conversions, installed and configured portfolio management systems, and also provided on-site client training. He also completed budget modeling for a nonprofit, examining and auditing the client's fringe benefit model and making recommendations based on the system audit on how to improve the accuracy of their forecasting.

Over the past several years, Michael has held senior level positions in which he developed expertise in negotiating high-risk programs for Fortune 500 companies and international operations. Michael most recently served as the Vice President/Partner for Phoenix Business Properties in Manchester, VT, where he provided mergers & acquisitions and valuation consulting services for buying and selling clients. He began his career working as a bond underwriter with Aetna and Continental Insurance Co. His problem solving and interpersonal skills coupled with demonstrated initiative resulted in rapid advancement at the global brokerage Alexander & Alexander in New York.

Michael holds a Master of Business Administration from the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and completed his undergraduate studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio receiving a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He has also completed graduate level coursework at the American Institute of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Operations Management
  • Strategic Planning
  • Process and Workflow Analysis
  • Financial Analysis
  • Market Analysis
  • Financial Software implementation
  • Financial Data Integration

Degrees / Certifications

  • Master of Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Bachelor of Science, Miami University
  • Bond Underwriting, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society
  • Axys Certification, Advent University

Projects

  • Completed data conversion, installed and configured portfolio management systems, and also provided on-site client training for small to midsize money management firms.
  • Audited the fringe benefit model of the research arm of a large university system, examining and auditing the client's fringe benefit model and making recommendations based on the system audit on how to improve the accuracy of their forecasting.
  • Constructing a unique risk based overview of the American Express charge card process that convinced insurance underwriters to reduce their probable maximum loss calculation from $4 billion to $300 million securing affordable coverage for a risk that was regarded as uninsurable.
  • Closing transactions involving natives of over 15 countries where English was a second language.
  • Constructing, defining and quantifying complex time element claims models to the satisfaction of insurance underwriters.
  • Leading international service effort for all insurance lines for clients in the financial services, petrol-chemical, technology and consumer products businesses.
Sarah Galimore Lead Consultant

Sarah joined Blue Slate in 2007. Since being promoted to Lead Business Analyst and Project Manager, Sarah applies her combined business and technical acumen across a range of competencies including governmental affairs, accounting and finance, human resources, market research, business and strategic planning and information technology.

Most recently, Sarah has been engaged on consecutive projects with a national healthcare payer. As a business analyst, she researched, evaluated, designed and documented a software configuration management process, laying the foundation for improved release management and software change control. Sarah then transitioned to a workflow redesign project in the customer service department and later to a large-scale provider enrollment workflow application, where she managed and communicated requirements. She also helped drive the introduction of best practice tools and processes to more effectively manage validation and change management practices for dynamic and complex rules driven applications. In her capacity as project manager, Sarah has led an online learning management system implementation project, where she drove the documentation and clarification of system configuration requirements while serving as a mentor for the client’s internal resources assigned to the project.

Previous to Blue Slate, Sarah was Director of Economic Development for a local development corporation, where she oversaw and administered economic and business development activities. She worked with regional private and public economic development professionals to attract, retain and expand businesses in upstate New York. Later, as an independent consultant, she worked for a local community college, facilitating the planning and development of its Workforce Research & Development Center initiative. In this capacity she conducted best practice research and analysis of potential revenue and operational models, identified target market segments and potential industry partnerships and developed a comprehensive business plan through prioritization of short term objectives.

Prior to that, Sarah worked at the New York State Legislature as a Legislative Aide in the State Assembly, for a statewide educational association, for a local chamber of commerce managing a market research initiative, and as an entry-level tax accountant with a family owned and operated tax accounting business. Sarah also worked for The Ayco Company, a Goldman Sachs subsidiary, as a Portfolio Administrator.

Sarah received a Master of Business Administration from the University at Albany and a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in Business Administration from Russell Sage College.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Requirements Gathering
  • Business Process Analysis
  • Project Management
  • Market Research and Analysis
  • Business Planning
  • Documentation and Training

Degrees / Certifications

  • MBA, University at Albany
  • B.S., Russell Sage College

Projects

  • Project manager for the Medical Review department, overseeing two workflow automation and process optimization projects. One specifically focused on the Medical Review Reopenings process, developing an automated process for the reopening of adjudicated claims, the other focused on all other Medical Review functionality
  • Project manager for an online learning management system implementation project
  • Business analyst on a large-scale provider enrollment workflow application
  • Business analyst for design and documentation of a Software Configuration Management Process
  • Part of a team responsible for the implementation of loan origination software across multiple credit union clients through analyzing and defining third-party interface requirements and engaging with the technologists to troubleshoot issues and ensure successful deployments.
  • Key contributor to internal optimization projects, primarily focused on Human Resource processes including career path framework development and performance leadership (appraisal) process analysis and documentation.
Christopher Garber Program Leader

Since joining Blue Slate in 2002, Christopher Garber has worked with many clients to develop and implement strategic solutions. His strength lies in his ability to blend process design and technology solution to achieve business results. Chris helps clients identify and quantify their most critical business issues and partners with them to design and implement effective and efficient solutions. His domain expertise includes the financial services and insurance industries. When working for a client, Chris concurrently applies his management, technical, and communication abilities.

Chris served as the manager for a global insurance provider's large-scale project, overseeing the implementation of a process automation application. Chris oversaw the functional analysis, technical design, and development of the application. Additionally he managed the communication needs of 12 resources, including business SMEs, business analysts and developers. In this capacity, Chris was responsible for weekly status reports, budget tracking, and issue/risk mitigation. His leadership and management skills were an important factor behind the project's success.

For the finance department of a major manufacturing conglomerate, Chris led the conceptual inception, design, build-out, and support of seven custom compliance applications. In addition to his client-facing responsibilities, Chris has led Blue Slate's internal project management optimization initiative to help ensure consistent client delivery and high satisfaction.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Chris gained vast consulting experience in management capacities in many areas of the financial services industry. For a global money center bank, he managed the development and implementation of several on-line banking related applications. For a global financial services company, he managed the start-up and build-out of a Global Support Center responsible for Tier II and III support of the bank's ERP system. His experience with investment banks includes the creation of an operating model that defined services to be provided to the business, as well as to identify ways that maximized efficiency of the trade support function.

Chris holds a Master in Business Administration in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Strategic Visioning & Design
  • Process Design
  • Application Modeling
  • Financial Process Modeling
  • Project Management
  • ERP Implementations
  • PegaRULES Process Commander

Degrees / Certifications

  • Master of Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Bachelor of Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Pega Certified Process Architect

Projects

  • Oversaw the conceptual inception, design, build-out and support of seven custom compliance applications for the finance department of a major manufacturing conglomerate.
  • Served as the project manager for the implementation of a large-scale process automation application for a global insurance provider. Supervised functional analysis, technical design, and development of the application. Coordinated communication between the executive sponsorship team and the project team.
Ryan Gingrich Consulting Software Engineer

Ryan Gingrich joined Blue Slate Solutions in 2006, bringing knowledge and experience in both IT and business processes. He serves clients in essential technical roles, in particular developing scripts to automate system processes, which provide reporting and maintenance checks to the client. With an expertise in optimizing queries, debugging, and workflow management tools, Ryan helps clients to streamline their overall system management, mainly in the healthcare and insurance industries. He has also established a high standard in customer service for long-term engagements through service level agreement (SLA) with Blue Slate's key clients.

Since joining Blue Slate, Ryan has supported a major healthcare payer organization via a SLA that ensures expedient responsiveness in maintaining operational and production stability on systems originally developed by Blue Slate and its partners. The extended engagement of this project allowed Ryan to work on many areas for the client. He debugged the claims processing system, isolating and remediating root causes of system defects, performed database reporting and analysis through the use of Unix query scripting, and developed an automated script using procedural language SQL (PL/SQL) and Korn Shell for deleting old claims from the client's claims processing system. His creation and performance in functional and performance test cases have improved Blue Slate's overall approach to software project execution.

Prior to his role as a Consulting Software Engineer at Blue Slate, Ryan was in the Blue Slate intern program. While interning, he developed a fully automated unit test for a Java-based GUI using the code coverage tool Cobertura and integrating it with Apache Ant.

Ryan graduated from the College of Saint Rose with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and a Minor in Business Administration.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Pegasystem PegaWORKS User Interface, Workflow, and Technical Development
  • Web Application Development using HTML, XML, and JavaScript
  • VB.NET, C++
  • Korn shell scripting
  • Database Management with Oracle, PL/SQL

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Computer Information Systems, The College of Saint Rose

Projects

  • Supported a major healthcare payer organization via a SLA, maintaining operational and production stability on systems originally developed by Blue Slate and its partners.
  • Created and performed functional and performance test cases that have improved Blue Slate's overall approach to software project execution.
  • Debugged the client's claims processing system, isolating and remediating root causes of system defects.
  • Performed database reporting and analysis through the use of Unix query scripting.
  • Developed an automated script using procedural language SQL (PL/SQL) and Korn Shell for deleting old claims from the client's claims processing system.
Neil Gurwitz Program Leader

Neil Gurwitz brought expertise in data warehouse design, workflow design and implementation, and project management to Blue Slate Solutions when he joined the Blue Slate team in 2002. Neil has worked with a number of clients to design, develop and implement strategic solutions. He has an in-depth knowledge and skill in technical issues, which he combines with an outstanding leadership and management ability to achieve consistently successful results. Neil also has significant healthcare and financial services industry expertise.

Most recently, Neil led the creation of a proprietary software program designed to mask and protect sensitive data, and enable our healthcare payer clients to meet federal compliance laws around the protection of PHI during software testing. Neil’s experience with data management, project leadership and healthcare, enabled the success of the Blue Slate team. He also launched and participated on a project for a national Medicare Administrative Contractor to incorporate workflow software into their audit department processes.

Previously, Neil has provided hands-on leadership during the execution of Blue Slate’s five-year service level agreement with a regional healthcare payer. His team was responsible for defect resolution and enhancement requests for five workflow applications, meeting and exceeding all delivery targets. He possesses competence in BladeLogic data center management software and has managed numerous development and implementation projects, from the upgrade process of a major server for a large pharmaceutical corporation’s data center to a workflow application that automated the communication process of a regional healthcare payer. He also managed the development of an enterprise data warehouse project for the tax division of a multinational manufacturing company focusing on comprehensive data stores for tax-sensitive information in business transactions.

Neil has designed workflow and database queries for a healthcare client to automate adjustment processing and pending claim resolutions which significantly improved quality, reduced costs and increased productivity.

Prior to Blue Slate, Neil worked for the Nabisco division of Kraft Foods as a systems developer and project manager for an enterprise sales reporting system. Neil began his career at Continental Insurance where he was a COBOL mainframe and Powerbuilder developer. There, he grew from a junior to senior developer while developing a policy management system.

Neil earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

At A Glance

Skills

  • Expertise in all phases of the software engineering life cycle
  • Data Warehouse Design
  • Project Management
  • PegaSystems Workflow Design and Development
  • PowerBuilder Versions 4.x, 5.x, 6.5.1
  • SQL, Stored Procedures
  • JCL
  • Unix Scripting
  • Syncsort
  • Adabas
  • Oracle, DB/2 and Redbrick DBMS
  • BladeLogic Operations Manager

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

Projects

  • Led the creation of a proprietary software program designed to protect sensitive data, and enable our healthcare payer clients to meet federal compliance laws around the protection of personal health information (PHI) during software testing.
  • Launched and participated on a project for a national Medicare Administrative Contractor to incorporate workflow software into their audit department processes.
  • Led a team responsible for defect resolution and enhancement requests for five workflow applications for a regional healthcare provider.
  • Managed the development and implementation of an upgrade process of a major server for a large pharmaceutical corporation’s data center.
  • Led the development and implementation of a workflow application that automated the communication process for a regional healthcare payer.
  • Managed the development of an enterprise data warehouse project for the tax division of a multinational manufacturing company focusing on comprehensive data stores for tax-sensitive information in business transactions.
  • Designed workflow and database query for a healthcare client to automate adjustment processing and pending claim resolutions.
David Harris Consultant

David joined Blue Slate Solutions in 2007, bringing five years of technical development and business analysis experience. David combines his academic background, technical training and real world experience as he addresses the significant data management challenges that Blue Slate’s clients face. He specializes in automating data extraction, transformation, loading and validation through a variety of techniques to streamline business processes.

At Blue Slate Solutions, he has enhanced his expertise in projects demanding collaboration, strategy development, and data management. He has developed an Access\Excel based solution for desktop process management of quarterly research grant funding reconciliation for a major state university system. For the development of an entity management data model for an international Fortune 10 company, he executed data modeling, transformation, and validation logic. For a front-end web client he implemented an open source solution utilizing JasperSoft. This project included the development of multidimensional modeling within Mondrian Schemas and delivery through OLAP connections. David’s business acumen was leveraged when he worked with the Department of Energy’s National Laboratory to develop a strategy for a technology park to drive technology commercialization and promote economic development.

David is highly skilled in MySQL, Microsoft SGL, Oracle, and Microsoft Access and Excel for database management, administration, modeling and reporting. He has also designed and used a Microsoft SharePoint Server to deploy business requirements for team collaboration and document management.

Beginning his career at SoHo Technical Consulting, David worked as a network infrastructure architect designing Windows based client-server solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses. During this time, he developed hands on technical skills in computer operating systems, network design, and troubleshooting. Additionally, he worked with clients to develop custom industry specific computing environments consisting of hardware, software, and business processes.

He holds multiple Microsoft and CompTia professional certifications and is a member of The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI). David has his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Science & Technology Studies as well as a Master of Business from the Lally School of Management, all from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Advanced Data Analytics & Visualization
  • Data Modeling & Reporting
  • Data warehouse Architecture
  • Extract Transform Load (ETL)
  • Business Intelligence
  • Exception Management
  • Integrate Legacy System Data
  • Business Process Modeling
  • Rules Engine Modeling

Degrees / Certifications

  • Master of Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Bachelor of Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician
  • Microsoft Certified Professional
  • CompTia A+
  • CompTia Security+
  • CompTia Network+

Projects

  • Worked on the development of an entity management data model for an international Fortune 10 company. Primary data modeling and manipulation logic was done in Microsoft Access with final delivery into an Oracle server.
  • Developed an Access\Excel based solution for desktop process management of quarterly research grant funding reconciliation for a major state university system.
  • Implementation of JasperSoft’s Business Intelligence open source solution utilizing JasperServer, JasperAnalysis, and iReports. This included the development of multidimensional modeling within Mondrian Schemas and delivery through OLAP connections to a front-end web client.
  • Gathered business requirements, designed, and deployed Microsoft SharePoint Server for team collaboration and document management.
  • Worked with the Department of Energy’s National Laboratory to develop a strategy for a technology park to drive technology commercialization and promote economic development.
  • Database management, administration, and modeling in MySQL, Microsoft SQL, Oracle, and Microsoft Access.
  • Advanced data analysis utilizing Microsoft Access queries and Microsoft Excel pivot tables.
Dennis Harkin Senior Consultant

Dennis brings a deep understanding of financial analysis and wealth management to Blue Slate Solutions since joining the team in 2006. Clients benefit from his analytic thought processes as well as his ability to leverage his experience and creative thinking to drive expedient execution of strategic initiatives. Dennis holds certification and expertise in portfolio management software, positioning him as a leader within Blue Slate’s projects involving implementation of financial services software.

For an international bank that had expanded product offerings to include investment management, Dennis conducted functional user training for the newly installed portfolio tracking software for the back office administrative staff as well as technical maintenance and troubleshooting for the IT staff. He facilitated a smooth transition to the new product and workflow, and left the staff with the ability to successfully use the new platform for their own clients. He has also helped clients to prepare data for inclusion into a new financial services system. For a large family office with over five years of transaction and performance history, Dennis performed a transaction history data conversion. With a project team, Dennis also analyzed and converted over 350,000 individual transactions.

Before joining Blue Slate, Dennis was a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch. There he provided comprehensive financial planning solutions to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. Dennis was responsible for addressing a vast array of client needs and developing long term strategies to meet their individual circumstances. Working with both individual clients and institutions, Dennis coordinated cross-functional teams of specialists to provide comprehensive solutions. Dennis also participated in establishing a wealth management team at Merrill Lynch. His primary responsibilities included tactical portfolio recommendations, individual retirement planning, and utilization of wealth management software to generate client reports and detailed financial plans.

Dennis earned his undergraduate degree at Providence College with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Business Studies. He actively participates in community services. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the Upstate New York Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and LaSalle Institute Alumni Association.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Team Facilitation and Management
  • Financial Analysis
  • Wealth Management
  • Operations Management
  • Financial Software Implementation
  • Financial Data Integration
  • Process and Workflow Analysis
  • FIX Protocol, SQL, Advent Axys, Advent Moxy, Advent Custodial Data

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Arts, Providence College
  • Advent Software Certified Service Partner - Axys and Moxy
  • Series 7 - Registered Representative
  • Series 66 - Uniform Combined State Law Exam
  • New York State Life, Accident, and Health Insurance License
  • Certified Financial Manager

Projects

  • Installed Axys and provided user training for an international bank in Panama City, Panama. The bank was expanding product offerings to include investment management and chose Advent Axys to track portfolios and measure investment performance. Conducted functional user training for the back office administrative staff as well as technical maintenance and troubleshooting for the IT staff. Leveraged extensive understanding of foreign and domestic securities and the capabilities of Axys in tracking and reporting on them, facilitated a smooth transition to the new product and workflow, and leave the staff with the ability to successfully use the new platform for their clients
  • Installed Moxy and related software as well as providing user training for an upstart mutual fund company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Worked with company team on recently chosen trade order management system to successfully complete installation. Also provided training for the users and worked with them to electronically execute their first trade
  • Helped independent portfolio manager office get data ready for a new financial services system. Performed a transaction history data conversion of over five years of transaction and performance history. Led team to analyze and convert over 350,000 individual transactions
John Jaster Senior Consulting Software Engineer

A founding member of the Blue Slate team since 2000, John Jaster is a senior network engineer with a broad range of experience that stretches far beyond network engineering. His key skills include network infrastructure design and implementation, server and client operating system engineering, large-scale application deployment, internet security, business requirements and all phases of the software development lifecycle.

John's expertise is leveraged at client engagements to address critical business needs with a wide variety of technology solutions, both in design and implementation. Most notably, John excels at trouble-shooting in the integration and improvement of databases and Web software. His experience spans Fortune 50 companies, including major banks and healthcare payers.

After helping to lay the broad technical foundation at Blue Slate, he went on to be a crucial part of numerous projects for clients. As one of the key developers for a claims and payments management solution, he eliminated payment inaccuracies and decreased inventory for a regional healthcare payer. Working on an extensive national call center for a healthcare client, he improved speed and eliminated defects in the call management system by designing a solution utilizing HTML, JavaScript, and a workflow application. For another healthcare client he significantly improved workflow productivity by overseeing the design, implementation, test and support of a claims adjudication system--the client's core business function. This role involved communication with stakeholders, intense problem solving and defect management.

Among his many other projects, John has re-engineered a network for a regional ISP, integrated Web and client/server application with a single sign-on (SSO) system, and implemented a commercial portal platform. John also has significant experience supporting clients via long-term service level agreements (SLAs), troubleshooting technical issues and performing basic software development and configuration.

Prior to Blue Slate, he worked with fellow Blue Slate co-founders Joe Raiti and David Read for Integrated Partners, a consulting firm, where one of his major projects was conducting vulnerability assessment for a New York State government agency. He started his career at GE Energy, where he worked for 12 years as a network engineer and security software developer. At GE, John single-handedly built a wide-area network with enhanced user authentication, while working in the central IT department.

John holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Albany.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Network infrastructure design and implementation
  • Server and client operating system engineering
  • Internet security including intrusion detection and vulnerability assessments
  • Expert in Microsoft technologies including Windows NT/2000, IIS, SQL Servier, Active Directory, Group Policies, multi-domain trusts and penetration testing against Windows environments
  • Implementation of virtual private networks (VPNs)
  • Kornshell scripting, Perl scripting, XML, WINS, DHCP, JavaScript, VB.net and Visual Studio debugger
  • Oracle query optimization and performance tuning
  • Six Sigma Green Belt

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, State University of New York at Albany

Projects

  • Overseeing the design, implementation, test and support of a claims adjudication system, the client's core business function. This role involved communication with stakeholders, intense problem solving and defect management.
  • Reverse engineering of a suite of Java-based applications that "broke" between development and QA. John single handedly identified and remediated the issue with intense attention to detail and stellar debugging acumen.
  • Design and implementation of a series of secure, high availability Internet server/communications centers for a mission critical Internet application. The centers were deployed at Exodus collocation facilities, and interconnected using VPN tunnels.
  • Expert in Microsoft technologies including Windows NT/2000, IIS, SQL Servier, Active Directory, Group Policies, multi-domain trusts and penetration testing against Windows environments
  • Re-engineering of a network of a regional ISP and provided network and security services for several other businesses.
  • Evaluation and piloting of an enterprise document management system.
  • Implementation of a commercial portal platform
  • Integrating several web and client/server applications with a single sign-on system
  • Computer Telephony Integration
  • Key developer for a claims and payments management software, eliminating payment inaccuracies and decreasing inventory for a regional healthcare payer
  • Improved speed and eliminated defects in the call management system by designing software utilizing HTML, JavaScript, and a workflow application for an extensive national call center for a healthcare client
Chris Keating Senior Consulting Software Engineer

Chris joined Blue Slate in 2003, bringing significant workflow architect experience. His range of knowledge not only allows him to be a proficient asset to the team, it helps provide back up support for the client - a key advantage for any company.

Chris strengths lie in configuration management, implementation and design of business process management (BPM) solutions. In addition to his technical skills, Chris is a skilled business analyst who works with clients to understand their current workflow and translate gaps and inefficiencies into problem statements ready for solving. This means identifying, prioritizing and solving sometimes complex business issues with blended process and technology solutions.

Since joining Blue Slate, Chris has been engaged in diverse client engagements across the insurance, healthcare and financial markets. He has acted as the technical lead for the implementation of a business rules engine across multiple departments for a major health benefits administrator. He has worked in-depth with workflow tools, acting as a resource, providing technical development, implementation, and training to partners and clients

After a tour of duty with the Navy, Chris spent eight years in the nuclear power industry performing quality assurance analysis of engineering systems and ensuring proper configuration management with system changes.

At A Glance

Skills

  • PegaSystem User Interface Design and Development
  • PegaSystem Workflow Design and Development
  • PegaRULES Process Commander Design and Development
  • Configuration Management
  • Javascript and DHTML

Degrees / Certifications

  • PegaRULES Process Commander Certification
  • PegaREACH Certification

Projects

  • Technical resource for PegaSystems PRPC implementation across multiple departments at a major health benefits administrator
  • Technical Lead for PegaWORKS implementation at several major health benefits administrators.
  • Developed and provided PegaWORKS training to partners and clients.
James Kelleher Senior Consultant

When James joined Blue Slate in November 2008, he brought over 18 years of international experience providing IT solutions. He has a track record for successfully managing complex projects for a wide range of clients in both the private and public sectors, and delivering them under budget and on time.

Since joining Blue Slate, James has worked on a number of key client projects. For a national healthcare insurance payer organization, he led a project whose objective was to identify a software tool that would streamline and automate its outgoing mail correspondence. This project entailed collaborating with cross functional teams to determine requirements and liaising with external vendors to identify the optimal tools.

James successfully led a time constrained project (seven weeks) whose objective was to transfer critical and secure data from two outgoing competitors and ensure that the associates could use this information as soon as the transition was completed. This involved identifying the “must-have” data needs, validating the incoming data, liaising with the clients’ competitors to resolve data issues and verifying that the associates could use the data the minute the system became available.

James has also worked as a business analyst on a claims management system for a government health provider, harvesting rules and defining system requirements. He also conducted an IT needs analysis and architectural roadmap to decrease a not-for-profit's total cost of ownership for IT hardware, software and services.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, James served as the Director of Implementation for a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) company that catered to the retail sector. In this position, he developed a streamlined methodology that doubled the rate of client implementations his firm was able to execute. At Pitney-Bowes Mapinfo, James successfully directed the development and rollout of a global CRM solution to over 500 users in six countries.

James began his consulting career at the Dublin, Ireland-based Fujitsu Consulting, where he program managed a number of multinational IT projects, including the development of a secure handheld wireless device for DHL and several e-commerce web sites for Gateway Computers. James has also lived in Paris, France, where he worked for the Canadian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade as a regional systems manager responsible for a trade system network linked throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

James is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He graduated from the National University of Ireland in Cork with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics and a post-graduate Diploma in Computer Science.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Project and Program Management
  • Implementation Management
  • Business Process Analysis
  • Change Management
  • Risk Management
  • Scope Management

Degrees / Certifications

  • BA, Economics, Mathematics, National University of Ireland
  • Postgraduate Diploma Computer Science, National University of Ireland
  • Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)

Projects

  • Led a deadline-driven project (7 weeks) whose objective was to transfer critical and secure data from multiple third parties to a national healthcare insurance payer and ensure that client had immediate access to the information.
  • Automated the outgoing correspondence process for a national healthcare insurance payer organization by researching and selecting a third-party service that streamlined the client's entire printing process. The solution reduced the amount of paper used, resulted in cost efficiencies and contributed to the goal of achieving a paperless front end.
  • Worked as a business analyst on a claims management system for a government health provider, harvesting rules and defining system requirements.
  • Conducted an IT needs analysis and architectural roadmap to decrease a client's total cost of ownership.
  • Developed a streamlined methodology that doubled the rate of client implementations a software company was able to execute.
  • Directed the development and rollout of a global CRM solution to over 500 users in six countries.
  • Developed a secure handheld wireless device for DHL and several e-commerce web sites for Gateway Computers.
Saritha Kothnur Lead Consulting Software Engineer

Saritha Kothnur initially joined Blue Slate Solutions in February 2003 as an intern while doing her Masters in Computer Science at the College of Saint Rose.

After graduation, she joined the Blue Slate staff as a Consulting Software Engineer in the Fall of 2003. She is experienced in developing a variety of technology-based solutions using JAVA, VB.NET, Java Servlets, XML/XSL, CGI, Perl and JavaScript

At Blue Slate, Saritha has been working on a number of projects including:

  • Web-interface to manage global business processes and offshore development for a Fortune 10 company;
  • QA for an intellectual property management system (developed for a global multinational company);
  • Web services for automated time-tracking of employees; and
  • Upgraded a web-based Java application that archives files used by Blue Slate staff and clients. Increased efficiency of archiving database by eliminating redundancy and designed and implemented security interface access.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Java
  • VB.NET
  • HTML/JavaScript
  • XML/XSL
  • CGI
  • PERL

Degrees / Certifications

  • MS, Computer Information Systems, The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY
  • BS, Mechanical Engineering, Peoples Education Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India
Mark Laczynski Consulting Software Engineer

Mark joined Blue Slate in 2008 as a Consulting Software Engineer. Since joining, Mark has honed the object-oriented (OO) design and programming skills he brought with him. He has worked on the integration between a business process management (BPM)system and a custom web service. This project required Mark to coordinate with a 3rd party software vendor, end users, the developer of the original web service and the BPM platform to design the standard input/output between systems, For this project, he leveraged his extensive skills in XSD/XML and workflow management software code. Also at Blue Slate he has served as Lead System Architect on a complex, multi-platform automated printing project.

Previous to Blue Slate he worked at an investment bank where his responsibilities ranged from production support to software enhancements. Prior to that Mark moved to India, where he stayed for six months and worked with a team at Infosys Technologies Headquarters. He led his team through various software training projects. The projects and team started out small, and through an aggressive schedule increased in size and scope. By their final project, the team increased to eight people and the project was a three-tiered mock online banking application.

At North Carolina State University, Mark supplemented his education with two years of co-op education. The first year was spent at LVL7 Systems, a start-up networking software company. During this time, he honed his programming skills with projects such as the development of a custom compiler, hot plug-ability/stacking enhancement. The second year was spent at Analog Devices, where he helped develop a tool that automated testing. This tool saved engineers weeks of testing and put more concentration on Integrated Circuit (IC) development.

While in school, Mark also worked as an undergraduate research assistant. In this role, he helped his professor design a test mask, which helped NCSU become one of the few universities with nano-technology manufacturing capabilities. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

At A Glance

Skills

  • C, Perl
  • Java
  • Matlab
  • Autosys
  • SQL
  • PegaRULES Process Commander

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, North Carolina State University
  • PRPC System Architect

Projects

  • Automation of collation and printing
  • Integrating PRPC with Web Service
  • Leading team through various software training projects at Infosys Technologies, India
  • Developing a custom compiler and hot plug-ability and stacking at LVL7 Systems
  • Developing a tool to automate testing at Analog Devices
  • Designing a test mask at North Carolina State University
Richard Lavertu Senior Consultant

Richard began working with Blue Slate Solutions in 2002 bringing to Blue Slate's clients a wide variety of experience and expertise in both business and technical capacities. Complimenting his vast experience in financial modeling and analysis, strategic planning, and change management is a strong commitment to the power of technology to transform businesses. As a Senior Consultant, he brings high energy to all client engagements, and has the ability to energize others around him to build a cohesive and efficient teamwork environment. Since working with Blue Slate, Richard has been engaged in diverse client engagements across the energy, retail, and financial sectors.

As technical lead on a workflow and business rules engine project, he drove the implementation across multiple departments at a major health benefits administrator. For a financial services company he acted as project manager on an enterprise security master application implementation. The project included business process documentation and product acceptance testing as well as the reformatting of critical business accounting and trading applications. He has also been a functional lead for the deployment of the financial module, Oracle 11i ERP, led a team in financial modeling and restructuring for a global manufacturing company, and worked as a subject matter expert for the support of the integration of an automated transactional tax software solution.

Before working with Blue Slate, Richard worked as an FP&A analyst and global leader of manufacturing finance in the finance department of a GE Energy division, where he was responsible for all aspects of inventory management. As analyst, he was responsible for gathering functional requirements, design, development, and deployment of a global financial management database-a tool that became pivotal in all business planning cycles as well as on-going project management for orders, sales, and working capital components.

Richard is also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, and developed Six Sigma training sessions tailored for green belt development while at GE. He is also trained in change acceleration process (CAP) which provides him with tools for personnel and task management. He earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accountancy at Concordia University.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Financial Modeling and Analysis
  • Functional Requirements Gathering
  • Process Design and Implementation
  • Project Leadership
  • Tax process design and systems integration
  • PegaRULES Process Commander application knowledge

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Commerce, Concordia University, Montreal
  • Black Belt (Six Sigma)

Projects

  • Technical Lead for PegaSystems PRPC implementation across multiple departments at a major health benefits administrator.
  • Project Manager for a financial services company on an enterprise security master application implementation. This included business process documentation and product acceptance testing as well as the reformatting of critical business accounting and trading applications.
  • Functional lead for the deployment of financial modules of Oracle 11i ERP
  • Business requirements gathering and subject matter expert support for the integration of an automated transactional tax software solution.
  • Led a team in a financial modeling and restructuring effort for a global manufacturing company.
  • Participated in a thorough interview process to gather and document the employee lifecycle process for a retail client and generated an optimization plan for improved business efficiency.
Abbai Manyam Consulting Software Engineer

Abbai joined Blue Slate in 2008 as a Consulting Software Engineer after a well-executed stint as a Blue Slate intern. In that role, he worked on website security, successfully implementing string password restrictions and password expiration, as well as phone factor authentication for Blue Slate's internal use.

After joining Blue Slate as a consultant, Abbai immediately began work on designing a CRM application for a key client using PegaWORKS.

After completing his Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Abbai worked as a Java trainee with JVSS Pvt Ltd., developing strong programming and database skills including Java and servlets, as well Oracle stored procedures, functions and triggers and database development. While cultivating these skills, he also served as an end-user trainer. Shortly thereafter, Abbai was awarded a Graduate Assistant Scholarship at Polytechnic University of NYU.

While engaging in full time study, Abbai continued to hone his skills working on highly relevant academic projects which included the design and development of an online DVD Library using Java servlets, HTML and Oracle9i, a file sharing system and advanced database management systems. Most recently, Abbai served as a teaching assistant, instructing and grading undergraduate students in C++, overseeing group review sessions and offering seminars on problem solving and logical thinking.

Abbai has his Bachelor of Electrical Electronics Engineering from Nagarjuna University, India and his Master of Science in Computer Science from Polytechnic Institute of NYU.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Java
  • JSP
  • Servlets
  • JDBC
  • MySQL, PL/SQL, MS SQL Server 2000, Oracle9i, SQL loader
  • Tomcat
  • XML, HTML, PHP 5
  • OpenGl
  • C, C++.
  • PegaWORKS

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Electrical Electronics Engineering, Nagarjuna University, India
  • Master of Science in Computer Science from Polytechnic Institute of New York University

Projects

  • Website security implementation, using string password restrictions and password expiration. Included phone factor authentication.
  • Design of CRM application in PegaWORKS for a major financial services organization.
Nancy Matteson Program Leader

Nancy joined Blue Slate in 2010 as a Program Leader bringing over 20 years of experience in the clinical, business and technical spaces of the health care industry. Prior to her work at Blue Slate, Nancy worked in a variety of roles across the healthcare industry. As the Executive Director of a Third Party Administrator (TPA), Nancy provided leadership to provide benefit administrative services to a diverse client base. She developed and executed a strategic, fast paced business case to re-brand, re-market and re-new the organization.

At Kaiser Permanente, working in Information Technology, she provided program management leadership to a large scale multi-year claims/EDI platform change initiative that was successfully deployed to multiple regions within committed schedules, within budget and with quality. Nancy was accountable for the successful program management of a complex portfolio blend that included work effort in the areas of claims, EDI infrastructure, National HIPAA transactional code sets, regional accumulators, claims shared services and the national provider identifier.

At Blue Cross Blue Shield and regional HMOs, she launched new departments in the medical review, utilization management and case management areas driving success across multiple markets and regions in business practice alignment, strategic planning, clinical decision making software selection and implementation and program development.

As the Vice President of Quality Enhancement at a large IPA model HMO Nancy was accountable for quality management, disease management, wellness, provider credentialing as well as provider data management and system configuration. As the Six Sigma Black Belt quality improvement leader, Nancy provided excellent ASO account management services to a HMO’s largest account.

As an independent consultant she has been a critical team member to a startup company, an integrator of managed care tools, in the development and launch of a new triple option program. In addition, she provided operational, technical and clinical consultation to a pilot Disease Management program at a Community Health Center. As a Registered Nurse she cared for patients in various outpatient and inpatient settings including oncology, obstetrics, and the operating room.

Nancy’s broad and deep experiences will be drawn upon to deliver agile and strategic solutions to help our clients solve their complex business problems. Her experience and knowledge in the healthcare industry will support Blue Slate to broaden its offerings with rich, industry-specific strategic planning, process analysis and IT solution design. Nancy has an MBA in Health Systems Administration from Union College, a Bachelor of Art from University of California Santa Barbara, and her professional nursing degree from Peter Bent Brigham School of Nursing. She is also a licensed registered nurse, and a supplier Six Sigma Black Belt

At A Glance

Skills

  • Business, Clinical and Technical Program Direction/Management in the Health Care Industry
  • Health Plan operations and applications
  • Third Party Administrator Operations and leadership
  • Benefit Design and Management
  • Account Management
  • Program Governance
  • Business Process Management
  • Utilization Management; Cost/Use management; Wellness
  • Disease Management, Case Management
  • Business Development, Strategic Planning
  • Six Sigma, Comprehensive Delivery Framework, Total Quality Management

Degrees / Certifications

  • Professional Nursing, Peter Bent Brigham School of Nursing
  • Bachelor of Art, University of California Santa Barbara
  • Masters in Business Administration in Health Systems Administration, Union College
  • Licensed Registered Nurse
  • Supplier Six Sigma Black Belt

Projects

  • Led the program management effort of a multi-year multi-site project designed to replace, consolidate and decrease variation in legacy claim system platforms.
  • Led the effort to synchronize multiple provider data bases to ensure data integrity and decrease errors and resultant rework in web and paper provider directories.
  • Used the Six Sigma methodology to drive improvements in major cross functional business initiatives in diverse areas including referral re-design; claims financial accuracy and system file data integrity.
  • Accountable for the facilitation of QI operational preparation for NCQA audit
  • Led the vendor selection and launch of evidence based clinical guidelines across multiple state regions.
  • Led the development and maintenance of fee schedules and UCR
  • Led the development and use of multiple data driven tools to support the creation of cost/use reports and capture of HEDIS information.
Ryan Moran Consultant

Ryan Moran joined Blue Slate Solutions in November of 2008, bringing to the firm a strong academic background in information technology and business.

Upon joining Blue Slate, Ryan immediately drew upon his data analysis, data modeling, and reporting experience in support of a data integration and management project for a Fortune 10 firm in the energy industry. More recently, he has provided oversight as well as performed in critical technical and business roles in a large-scale data migration for a major health benefits administrator. The project managed the transfer and delivery of large quantities business critical of data from outgoing government contractors to Blue Slate’s client. Balancing government data laws and various types of technologies Ryan was able to deliver the data to the customer efficiently and on time allowing for the smooth transition of operations of which the data was an integral part.

Ryan has also been engaged in an enterprise systems analysis for a major health benefits administrator. Enlisted with the task of identifying and remedying data loss issues across an enterprise paperless workflow system, Ryan worked with several systems, database technologies spanning multiple organizations. With the goal of utmost efficiency, Ryan implemented cross-organizational solutions in order to remedy the pitfalls of the existing legacy workflow system including technological system fixes, reporting enhancements, new communication structures and issue resolution guidelines.

Ryan brings to Blue Slate a valued blend of financial and technical insight. His experience as a Web developer includes database application development and search engine optimization. He is proficient with PHP, JavaScript, XML, UML, SQL, and HTML in implementing Web applications and design. He has worked with a number of IT start-ups, healthcare networks, government agencies, and technology entrepreneurs.

Ryan has also been involved in designing and presenting a more modern U.S. energy security policy to legislative officials in Washington D.C., addressing the socio-political, economic, cultural and organizational challenges to global energy security, and identifying alleviating opportunities at regional, transnational, and global levels.

Ryan holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Finance from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is in the process of completing a Master of Business Administration degree at the Lally School of Management.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Financial Accounting and Analysis
  • Market Research
  • Web Development
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Extraction, Transformation and Loading
  • Data Migration

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Master of Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (in progress)

Projects

  • Facilitated and provided oversight for the data migration of new contracts for a major health benefits administrator
  • Contributed to the development of an entity management data model for an international Fortune 10 company, using Microsoft Access for primary data modeling and manipulation logic, with final delivery into an Oracle server
Michael Novikov Lead Consultant

Michael joined Blue Slate in 2007, bringing a valuable blend of technical acumen and financial industry experience to our clients. Since joining, he has obtained certification in portfolio management software applications. Committed to serving Blue Slate's financial services clients with specialized technical expertise, Michael continues to pursue additional financial management software certifications.

For multiple Blue Slate clients in the financial services industry, Mike installs investment management and other financial services tools. A key component to these engagements is the user training for the newly installed portfolio tracking software for the back office administrative staff. Also required is training on technical maintenance and troubleshooting for the IT staff. Mike facilitates a smooth transition to the new product and workflow, and leaves clients' staff with the ability to successfully utilize the new platform. He has also helped clients to prepare data ready for a new financial services system.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Michael was part of Allstate's financial consulting team where he successfully managed increasing leadership responsibilities, including complex financial modeling, strategic reporting, financial planning and forecasting. He was able to leverage advanced technical skills to support the implementation of strategic team objectives. With his dedication to excellence he continually drove favorable business results.

He further honed his financial expertise while working as a product consultant with Janus Capital Group, interfacing with investors to identify suitable products based on specified requirements. His career began with Navigant International, where he conducted financial analysis, sales contract negotiation, and competitive market intelligence.

Michael received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in International Relations from the University of Colorado.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Financial Services Software platform implementation
  • Strategic reporting
  • Financial Analysis
  • Wealth Management

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Colorado
  • Advent Software Certification-Axys
  • Series 6 - Registered Representative
  • Series 7 - Registered Representative
  • Series 63 - Securities Agent

Projects

  • Installed and configured portfolio management systems, and also provided on-site client training for small to midsize money management firms.
Thomas Piccin, Ph.D. Senior Consulting Software Engineer

Dr. Thomas Piccin joined Blue Slate Solutions in 2007, bringing a diverse educational background and more than 20 years’ experience in the design, development, and implementation of business and scientific application software systems. At Blue Slate Solutions, Tom applies his expertise in scientific and business process analysis to a variety of client engagements, with applications in database development and optimization, business workflow analysis, database reporting, automated testing, and internet security training.

Tom leads teams of technologists and business analysts in helping clients to realize improved business process efficiency and throughput. He has worked extensively with several healthcare claim processing companies, contributing to the development of paperless workflow systems, providing real-time production processing support, and creating and maintaining database reports. For a client in the insurance industry, he has contributed to the preparation and presentation of a secure web development workshop. Tom also coordinates Blue Slate’s community outreach program and has organized events to benefit such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, Girls Incorporated, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Tom worked as a software systems engineer in a variety of technical and business contexts, developing and maintaining large-scale database applications and web-based database interfaces. He also worked in the environmental risk analysis industry for several years, designing and implementing computer models to estimate the human health effects of exposure to chemical agents via a number of exposure pathways. At a computer manufacturing firm, he developed a suite of manufacturing process control software tools used to monitor and track the production of printed circuit boards, and while working as a defense contractor, he helped to reverse software engineer a naval aircraft identification system.

Throughout his career, Tom has pursued a number of academic interests while continuing to develop and hone his technical skills. Most recently, he earned his Doctor of Philosophy in cognitive psychology from Northwestern University, where the focus of his work was conceptual and linguistic development. His other academic degrees include a Master of Science in Psychology from Villanova University, a Master of Arts in Linguistics from Gallaudet University, a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering from Western New England College.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Software Engineering
  • Database Architecture
  • Data Analysis and Organization
  • Team Facilitation and Leadership
  • Process and Workflow Analysis
  • Business Requirements Definition
  • Scientific and Technical Writing
  • Technical Instruction

Degrees / Certifications

  • Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • Sun Certified Java Programmer(SCJP), SE 6
  • Oracle Certified Professional Application Developer
  • Oracle Certified Professional Internet Database Operator
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Northwestern University
  • Master of Science, Villanova University
  • Master of Arts, Gallaudet University
  • Master of Science, Florida Institute of Technology
  • Bachelor of Science, Western New England College

Projects

  • Created and maintained database reports, provided real-time production database support, and developed an automated testing process for database reports for a major healthcare processing company.
  • Designed and implemented computer models to estimate the human health effects of exposure to chemical agents via a number of exposure pathways.
  • Served as lead technologist for a major business process management (BPM) software partner.
  • Contributed to the preparation and presentation of an internet security workshop for web developers.
Nauman Piyarji Lead Business Consultant

Nauman joined Blue Slate in 2008, bringing a valued blend of financial and technical acumen. A Java certified programmer and experienced technologist, Nauman also draws on his MBA to ensure a path to solid business solutions for Blue Slate’s clients. Additionally, Nauman works on Blue Slate’s market intelligence initiatives.

Nauman’s career began at Arwa in Mumbai, India, where he worked as a Technical Executive, overseeing a team of hardware technicians working on maintenance contracts while he was pursuing his Bachelors degree in Electronics. After graduation, he advanced to an Account Executive’s role at Pereira and Subramanian CAS, preparing financial statements, assisting clients in filing tax returns, and publishing reports in consultation with research analysts.

His career continued to progress after earning an internship with The Globecon Group, LLC in NYC where he worked on financial certifications for institutional clients, performed extensive research on a range of financial material enabling the development and maintenance of learning units used by clients and instructors. Most recently, Nauman served as a Teaching Assistant at Polytechnic Institute of NYU, where he completed a Master’s in Finance and Risk Engineering.

In addition to his graduate degree, Nauman holds his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics from Mumbai University and a diploma in Industrial Electronics. He also is a Cisco Certified Network Associate, Sun Certified Java Programmer for the Java 2 platform, holds two National Stock Exchange Certifications in financial markets, India and is working towards the CFA Level I certification.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Java
  • Networking
  • Market Research
  • Business Process Modeling
  • IT Project Management
  • Financial Accounting and Analysis
  • MATLAB

Degrees / Certifications

  • Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • Master in Finance and Risk Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of NYU
  • Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics, Mumbai University
  • Diploma in Industrial Electronics, Mumbai University
  • Sun Certified Java Programmer
  • Cisco Certified Network Associate
  • National Stock Exchange Certifications in Financial Markets (India)

Projects

  • Valuation of Equity Securities and Financial Statement Analysis: Analyzed the financial statements of companies for purposes of credit evaluation, forecasting, identifying merger candidates, enhancing the efficiency of decision making and diagnosing the problem areas within the firm before a crisis developed
  • Risk Neutral Density: Extracting Risk Neutral Density Function from option prices using parametric and non-parametric approaches and obtained the corresponding volatility smiles using MATLAB functions
  • Spreadsheet Modeling: Financial Modeling of Capital Budgeting, Financial Planning and Options using Excel.
Matthew Pontius Lead Consulting Software Engineer

Matt joined Blue Slate in 2007 as a Consulting Software Engineer. Complementing his programming strengths across a variety of programming styles — object-oriented (OO), non-imperative, solo and group programming — is his visible adaptability and sharp understanding of the rules and processes that shape business solutions.

As Lead Consulting Software Engineer, Matt uses his extensive Java and OO programming skills. to develop a Java-based web application using Spring, Struts, Hibernate, Log4j, JSP, JUnit and Ant for the finance division of a higher education institution.

Also since joining Blue Slate, Matt has configured Web interfaces using a business rules engine for a health benefits administrator. This has enabled him to demonstrate his high proficienc with the design and implementation of business rules and business process management engines. While on this same client engagement, Matt solved a complex issue with a proprietary software debugger, saving his fellow developers hours that were previously spent tracing bugs and inefficiencies in the business rules configuration.

Prior to Blue Slate, Matt successfully completed a diverse array of technically intensive work for clients in his past work experience. Matt has designed, developed and programmed a Java-based point of sale business application, has developed and maintained an ecommerce site for a web retailer, has executed team development of a Java-based game and has developed a mapping system for the city of Plattsburgh.

Matt completed his Bachelor of Science in the Java-based Computer Science program at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Java
  • Lisp
  • C
  • Perl
  • Prolog
  • SQL
  • HTML
  • Bash Shell Scripting
  • PegaRULES Process Commander (PRPC)
  • Emacs, BlueJ, NetBeans, Eclipse (SVN plugin, Mylar plug-in)
  • Object Oriented, Non-Imperative, Solo and Group Programming

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, SUNY Plattsburgh

Projects

  • Configuration of Web interfaces using PRPC for a health benefits administrator.
  • Development of a Java-based Web application using Spring, Struts, Hibernate, Log4j, JSPs, JUnit and ant for the finance division of an institution of higher education.
Aditi Rajoriya Consulting Software Engineer

Aditi Rajoriya joined Blue Slate Solutions as a Consulting Software Engineer in 2009 bringing an exceptional set of skills to our software engineering team.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Aditi worked with DFG Investment Advisors where she implemented a web portal (in ASP), that compared DFG performance against the rest of the industry. She also developed the company intranet and worked with a team to develop other internal applications. Her extensive coursework included work on an online curriculum management system utilizing JSP, Java, C and C++. Aditi further cultivated her technical acumen working as a teaching assistant for an object-oriented design and Java programming class.

Aditi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Devi Ahilya Vishwa Vidhyalaya, Institute of Engineering and Technology, and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Columbia University.

At A Glance

Skills

  • C, C++
  • Java, JSP
  • Servlets, Swing
  • EJB
  • HTML
  • SQL, Access
  • .NET
  • ASP, PHP
  • AJAX
  • Oracle 8i

Degrees / Certifications

  • MS in Computer Science, Columbia University, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
  • B.E. in Computer Science, Devi Ahilya Vishwa Vidhyalaya, Institute of Engineering and Technology

Projects

  • Linux Kernel Development: Modified Linux Kernel 2.6.18 for implementing system calls in C. Designed and implemented synchronized barrier in C.
  • Mythical Man Month: Designed E-Job Search application for comparing and analyzing four different Java frameworks Swing, Java Server Faces, Struts and Stripes. Website enabled students and job seekers to register with the application and browse advertised job openings.
  • Retail Banking System: Implemented a system that provides customer service such as account creation and debit and credit services. Designed a user friendly graphical user interface (UI) for the system. Led a team of four and was solely responsible for UI. Employed Java for business logic and Swing for the UI.
  • Designed database for online examination: system enables students to take objective examinations online. Used Oracle 8i, JSP and Java.
Jay Sachaniya Consulting Software Engineer

Jay joined Blue Slate in 2009 bringing valued technical skills and hands on experience designing and developing applications using a number of tools and languages. Since joining the Blue Slate team, he has further broadened his technical acumen focusing on business rule and business process management application development.

Most recently, while pursuing his graduate degree at Syracuse University, Jay worked as a software development intern. As an intern Jay worked on multiple initiatives and was an integral member of teams responsible for the design and development of a number of systems including Product Availability Alert, a customized solution for the Home Depot, and enterprise application for Papa John's that enables management of franchises for email marketing, development of a “Live Offers” coupon solution using .NET barcode generators and the research and implementation of other solutions incorporating new technologies.

Jay holds a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Engineering from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India.

At A Glance

Skills

  • C#, C, C++, JAVA
  • JavaScript, VBScript
  • ASP.NET, ADO.NET, Web services, Win Forms, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), AJAX, XML, XPATH, XSLT, XSD, HTML, XHTML, DHTML, CSS
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005
  • Visual Studio 2003/2005 (and Team System)/2008, NetBeans, Eclipse, MS Visio 2002/2003 (and Enterprise Architect), MS Office 2003/2007, MS Front Page
  • UML

Degrees / Certifications

  • MS in Computer Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
  • B.E. in Electronics Engineering, M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, India
  • Microsoft Certification (MCP): Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET

Projects

  • Remote Programming Assistant: Designed and implemented a web based (ASP.NET 2.0) small scale software consultant assistant which facilitates consultants to download/upload projects, track bugs, schedule and manage meetings, manage business notes, and record project specifications and status.
  • File Dependency Analyzer: Design, development and integration project that finds C++ source code file dependencies and strong components. Files may reside in different machines in a network. Used graphs, algorithms, code parsing techniques.
Sourav Sahay Senior Consulting Software Engineer

Sourav began working at Blue Slate Solutions in 2007 as a Senior Consulting Software Engineer with more than eight years of development and technical leadership experience. He is proficient on a number of platforms, but brings a particularly extensive background in working with business rules engines. In his work with some of the world’s leading IT players, he has been called upon to lead in upgrades and new system design related to business rules engine and workflow solutions and to develop related consulting practices.

He has worked with a variety of industries, ranging from banking to healthcare. Sourav has worked with the accounts payable as well as the grant approving authorities of a healthcare firm to design a system to receive and process grants applications and accounts payable. For another healthcare client, he applied a business rules engine to the complicated task of maintaining master data files at the organizational level. The resulting application automatically creates unique codes for new products based on a number of parameters and stores them in a database.

While working with a major international banking institution, he built a customer relationship management (CRM) application. For another major international financial services client, he formulated the methodology for configuring finance plans and their associated business rules customized to the client’s application. Sourav did this by designing the SOAP services and their called activities, supervising their creation and ensuring that they flawlessly interfaced with portlet clients.

Sourav is also the author of The Oxford University Press’ Object Oriented Programming with C++, 2006.

Sourav obtained his Bachelor of Engineering from the Government Engineering College in Bilaspur, India. He also holds an Honors diploma in NetCentric Computing from The National Institute of Information Technology, also in India.

At A Glance

Skills

  • PegaRULES Process Commander v4, v5
  • PegaWORKS
  • J2EE
  • Java web services
  • Castor
  • log4j
  • AJAX
  • JavaScript
  • PHP
  • Developer 2000
  • Visual Basic
  • Oracle
  • MySQL
  • SQL Server
  • Crystal Reports
  • Windows
  • Unix/Linux
  • Capability Maturity Model
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Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Engineering, Government Engineering College at Bilaspur, India
  • Honors Diploma, the National Institute of Information Technology
  • PegaRULES Process Commander Certified System Architect
  • Capability Maturity Model (CMM)
  • Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP)

Projects

  • Worked with accounts payable, as well as the grant approving authorities of a healthcare client to design a system to receive and process grants applications and accounts payable.
  • At a healthcare organization, applied a business rules engine application to the complicated task of maintaining master data files at the organizational level.
  • Built a customer relationship management (CRM) application for a major international banking institution.
  • Formulated the methodology for configuring finance plans and their associated business rules for a financial services client. Designed the SOAP services and their called activities that read these configurations.
Elizabeth Seeley Program Leader

Since joining Blue Slate in 2005, Elizabeth has both worked and led projects that have spanned a wide-range. She brings a broad spectrum of experience in project management as well as system administration and business process analysis. With keen data analysis capability and knowledge and experience in quality methodologies she is a valuable member of any project team. Elizabeth has ample experience in the practical application of project optimization and gained an additional certification in Six Sigma, a process improvement methodology, in order to better serve Blue Slate clients.

Her project optimization expertise contributed to many projects that have served Blue Slate's healthcare clients. She led as project manager for a team of 14+ people working on the implementation of an organization-wide workflow system for a national healthcare payer. This project entailed working directly with the business users, business consultants, IT developers, corporate offices and an executive committee to coordinate a unified direction, project forecast, business development and project execution. For a healthcare insurance provider, she led conception and elaboration phases, and documented business rules and high-level design for the implementation of a business rules engine and a workflow engine.

Before joining the Blue Slate team, Elizabeth worked as a finance project leader as well as a system owner at GE Energy. At GE, Elizabeth led the design, implementation, execution and global training for both a data warehouse application as well as a Web-based accounts payable inquiry system. Also at GE Energy, she held the role of the internal billing system lead. She was responsible for all of the GE Energy operating units' internal billing process documentation and recommended new streamlined practices. Previously she worked for a manufacturing company as a marketing analyst, completing global sales and production forecasts and cost and sales analysis.

Elizabeth graduated with distinction from the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Master in Business Administration. She was awarded the Lally School Prize for Best MBA project along with receiving the W. Franklin Spafford Prize in recognition of high scholastic ability and contribution to the field. She holds her Bachelor of Science in Finance from Arizona State University.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Project Management
  • Process Improvement
  • Functional Requirements Gathering
  • Data Warehouse Functional Design
  • Web Based User Tool Functional Design
  • End-User Documentation and Training
  • Financial Analysis

Degrees / Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Arizona State University
  • Masters in Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Certified Green Belt (Six Sigma)
  • PRPC Business Architect Essentials

Projects

  • Leading as Project Manager a team of 14+ people implementing an organization-wide workflow system for a National Healthcare Payer. This included working directly with the business users, business consultants, IT developers, corporate offices and Executive Steering Committee to provide direction, project forecast, business development and project execution. In conjunction, also led the requirements phases for 2 departments, Provider Enrollment and Medical Review.
  • Analyzed both functional requirements along with the workflow engine data for a Part D Medicare Beneficiary Call Center to create a Roadmap that provided an analytical process that connected the business's key success factors with the initiatives to achieve the set goals, calculate the implementation effort along with quantifying next steps and the tools to manage the ongoing project.
  • Led the conception and elaboration phases, including requirements gathering, documenting business rules and high-level design, along with acting as meeting facilitator for a Healthcare insurance provider implementing a business rules and workflow engine.
  • Worked directly with an incubator company to formulize the strategic plan based on company's goals and expertise, market research, and direct and indirect competition
  • Gathered requirements through multi-tiered interview process to document the employee lifecycle process for an International retail client and generated an optimization plan for improved business efficiency. This included calculating opportunity cost to drive to an optimized solution
Michael S. Sefransky Program Leader

Since joining Blue Slate in February 2007, Michael Sefransky has developed strong relationships with his clients through the execution of collaborative projects. He brings over 17 years of leadership experience understanding client requirements, delivering consulting and business services, and building and managing project teams to Blue Slate. His experience lies in a range of industry verticals, including technology, healthcare, retail and financial services. Mike also has leadership responsibilities within Blue Slate for account management and resource alignment, ensuring that clients are well served by the most appropriate Blue Slate consultant.

Since joining Blue Slate he has led numerous client projects. For a non-profit organization he led the creation of content management requirements to enable more effective management of the client's Web portal. He managed the design and development of a data-driven model to enable a non-profit organization to accelerate the creation of their annual financial plans, enabling greater flexibility to model multiple planning scenarios and eliminating calculation errors. For the investment management department of a fund of hedge funds, Michael drove the business process analysis to identify opportunities to reduce variation in the delivery of investment management activities.

Prior to joining Blue Slate, Mike was the Vice President of Client Services for an early-stage software company that provided an on-demand retail management system for multi-channel retailers. In this role, he redesigned the professional services billing practices and implemented business process improvements that resulted in a 66% reduction in the number of unresolved customer support issues. At GE US Employee Services, Mike managed key aspects of a human resource management system implementation project, coordinating the engagement of over 100 consultant resources, including budgeting, forecasting, contract negotiation, and supplier relationship management. He has also worked in a design and implementation capacity for technology services for an early-stage software company, as an Associate in the Strategic Information Technology Practice at AT Kearney, a management consultancy. Prior to business school, Mike began his career with design engineering roles at General Electric Aircraft Engines and GE Power Systems.

Mike received a Master of Business Administration, summa cum laude, from the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he completed a strategic business plan for a technology start-up venture. He also earned a Master of Science, Cum Laude, in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Cum Laude, in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

At A Glance

Skills

  • Leadership
  • Change Management
  • Organizational Design
  • Business Process Management
  • Business Requirements Definition
  • Account Management
  • Project / Program Management
  • Six Sigma Quality Expertise

Degrees / Certifications

  • Master of Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Master of Science, University of Cincinnati
  • Bachelor of Science, University of Notre Dame

Projects

  • Led a department-wide business process analysis project for the finance department of an educational institution. The project examined 15 different functions and prioritized them for process improvements based on business impact.
  • Led the creation of requirements for a content management solution for a non-profit organization to enable more effective management of their web portal which serves both internal and external stakeholders.
  • Managed the design and development of a data-driven model to enable a non-profit organization to accelerate the creation of their annual financial plans, enabling greater flexibility to model multiple planning scenarios and eliminating calculation errors.
  • Led the development of a training strategy and training materials for a new Medicare Enrollment application for a leading government benefits administrator.
  • Drove the business process analysis for the investment management department of a fund of hedge funds to identify opportunities to reduce variation in the delivery of investment management activities.
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