Did You Know?

Information Architecture is the foundation of organizing and presenting information in a clear, intuitive and meaningful way.

At Planeteria, we're wired a bit differently... Our team earned their stripes at some of the most influential companies in the Internet industry. We're risk takers who like to win. We succeed because we love what we do. When you need world-class design, superior writing and the cleanest coding in the business, you'll find it at Planeteria.

Bios

Jamie Spooner
President

Before starting Planeteria, Jamie worked at Microsoft for 7 years as a Design Program Manager. Her most noteworthy accomplishments there include the design of the Windows Media Guide Web site, the design of Microsoft.com?s second Web site, the design of the Windows 98 site launch (over 1000 Web pages), and several marketing presentation designs for Bill Gates. She holds a patent for an Internet Radio Toolbar designed for Microsoft. Previously, Jamie held positions at two Boston advertising firms and was fortunate to gain a great deal of experience in marketing products and services to businesses of all kinds, including American Express, Digital Equipment Corporation and The Boston Symphony. She also taught design for one year in Switzerland. Jamie is a graduate of Smith College.

Steve Buroker
Senior Developer

Steve spent 14 years with Boeing and developed the initial communications software for the AWACS aircraft. Steve spent the last 10 years with Microsoft. One of his first jobs at Microsoft was to develop the first MSN.com portal site. Some of the code is still in use on the site today. After that he worked on various web development projects ? most of which used SQL Server in some fashion. He was the lead developer for the first Windows Media web site. He has gained additional experience using the Microsoft .Net development environment and has developed using both VB.Net and C#.Net. Most recently, Steve was one of the developer leads on the Windows Update and Microsoft Update sites.

Heather DeLong
Designer

Heather is an expert in print and online design. She shares the passion for thinking "outside of the box" in her design for logos, graphic design, icon creation, color theory and user interface design.

Shawn Emory
Senior Web Developer/Designer

Shawn is an expert in all graphic competencies including user interface design, graphic design, logo design, icon creation, image compression, art direction, color theory and page layout. The tools Shawn utilizes are Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, Image Ready, and Homesite. He is proficient in these languages: HTML, PHP, ASP, CSS and Javascript. Shawn is a graduate of Full Sail, School of Digital Media.

Marcelo Gachet
Senior Applications Developer

Marcelo has developed information system solutions for a wide variety of clients. His technical skills include Visual Studio, Visual Basic and Java programming languages as well as ActiveX technology; Internet Information Services, Windows 2K and ASP as web-application platforms; Database management systems such as SQL Server and its Full Text Indexing capabilities for large amounts of data and MS Access for small data processing needs. Marcelo is bi-lingual. He earned a B.S. in Software Engineering from the Universidad de Las Americas, Quito-Ecuador, 1998.

Jeri Hastava
Project Manager/Designer/Writer

Jeri first distinguished herself as a vocalist traveling with a 7-member Americana band and experiencing the quintessential “dream come true.” She then spent 16 years in the Sonoma County wine industry earning honors as a top performing salesperson, sales manager, sales trainer and technical writer. In 2000, Jeri returned to her creative roots, this time pursuing a career in Web design and Web copy editor/writer. She is passionate about Web standards, and spends as much time a possible staying current with Web trends. A graduate of Santa Rosa Junior College, she is an active member of the Sonoma County Sonoma County Web Developers, and spent 2 years first as Secretary and then as Events Coordinator on the Board of Directors.

Dave Hickey
Director of Development

With over 16 years of experience in information technology, systems integration, software architecture, customer support and knowledge management systems, David is an expert in developing and implementing innovative solutions that are closely aligned with today?s business needs. David is a Microsoft technology specialist and SQL Server expert. His toolkit sports a veritable alphabet soup of technologies including ASP, ASP.NET in C# and VB.NET, WinForms, Web Services, D/COM, XML, XSL, WPF, Silverlight and XAML. A deep understanding of IIS performance tuning, troubleshooting and management, and experience in Oracle, Sybase, MySQL and other database systems round out David?s qualifications. Past projects range from modest to enterprise-class solutions, including multi-lingual content management systems (CMS) for customers using Vignette, Oracle Stellent CMS, Percussion Rhythmyx, Sharepoint, and DotNetNuke, as well as custom CMS.

A self proclaimed "Space Cowboy," David?s philosophy can be summed up in a quote from James B. Conant, ?Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.?

Kenny Lowe
Web Developer

A career chameleon, among his many and varied accomplishments, Kenny is a classically trained chef, an entrepreneur, and a student of international business and the Japanese language.   While living in Portland, ME, he studied photography at MECA (Maine College of Art) and Computer Science at SMT (Southern Maine Tech), mastering skills which led to post-production work in film, and print, including airbrushing for Playboy Magazine!  Realizing his passion for combining art and technology, Kenny found his calling as a Web developer.  He especially enjoys pushing the envelope of modern Web technologies, diving into CSS, Ajax, WordPress and Drupal.

Leigh Nouveaux
Web Developer

Before coming to Planeteria in 2006, Leigh spent 25 years working as a print production specialist in Houston, TX;  most recently, as an Associate Creative Director responsible for high-end print media production, and oversight of the Creative Department. Leaving the bluebells and big city life behind in favor of the bounty of Sonoma County, Leigh moved to Santa Rosa in 2000 where, realizing the need to transfer her skills to the online world in order to remain competitive in the marketplace, she returned to school and completed the Web Development Certification Program at Santa Rosa Junior College. Leigh’s print background has served her well in the transition to a new career, and she brings a passion for details and an eagle eye to her role as Web Developer.

Keegan Ortiz-deKramer
Applications Developer

What do chess, computer video games, and puzzles have in common?  They all encourage the development of problem solving skills, which are at the core of successful software engineering.  A chess player and video gamer since Junior High, Keegan enthusiastically solves problems, and implements technological solutions to meet customer needs. Keegan graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2005 with a B.S. in Computer Science. He spent two years at Carmel Software where his responsibilities ranged from development on commercial HVAC engineering software to maintenance of in-house desktop and web applications. 

Jaime Smedes
Project Manager/Customer Support Manager

With a BA in Communications and over 12 years experience in Sales & Marketing, Communications, Management, and Organizational Planning, Jaime fills a vital role as Project Manager and Customer Support Representative. Her extensive marketing background includes working with both profit and non-profit organizations. A native of California and a 13 year resident of Sonoma County, Jamie excels at the intricate dance of balancing customer needs with keeping projects on track; helping promote successful projects through careful planning, attention to detail, and advanced listening skills. With a family of 5, Jaime is also an active volunteer in the community so it’s no wonder she’s an expert at multi-tasking and achieving balance.