J. Michelle Pakron

504.400.1875

9413 Roslyn Dr., River Ridge, LA 70123

Summary:
I have over 13 years of experience as a print and web designer, with 5 years of experience working with SharePoint. I have a broad skillset that is rooted in traditional graphic design and covers multiple roles such as: leading a team and serving as project manager for web development projects; analyzing of tasks and business needs; creating technical documents such as functional specifications, wireframes, and information architecture diagrams; user interface design, web design and production; testing web applications; and writing user documentation. I am considered an evangelist for SharePoint at my current job and I focus on utilizing the out of the box functionality of SharePoint to the greatest extent possible.

I am open to positions that will allow me to continue to be a leader while also allowing me to grow as a designer and SharePoint advocate.

Experience:
September 2001-Present
Stewart Enterprises, Inc.
Web Development Lead; Web Designer; SharePoint Administrator

Currently lead the web development team, which consists of web programmers and producers, and function as the SharePoint Site Administrator for our company intranet.
Responsible for meeting with clients and collecting business needs, creating functional documentation, wireframes and information architecture, designing and producing web sites and applications, testing , user training and second level help desk support.
Responsible for all interface design, SharePoint customizations, search administration, and site usage analysis. Experienced in creating InfoPath forms and workflows.
SharePoint skills include: custom branding with masterpages and themes; page layouts with custom site columns and content types; customized data display with data view web parts, content query web parts, and views; security administration; custom workflows and InfoPath forms that connect to SharePoint libraries.
I recently lead the IS implementation of a records management solution utilizing SharePoint. I designed a solution that used a custom site template to create department sites for each corporate department that contained a customized document library and content type. A retention period is selected for each item stored in the document library and a custom workflow calculates the deletion date. Item deletions are handled by the information management policy feature. I trained the IS trainers on the solution and also conducted training for the department directors and records managers, as well as wrote extensive documentation. I was the primary contact for end users and I handled all user questions and issues for the project.
Human Resources requested a Corporate Job Requisition web application. None of our programmers were available therefore I created an InfoPath form to handle the functionality. The form has validation and rules, connects to several user services, and writes to a SharePoint list. A workflow sends alerts to selected managers to review the form and then handles moving the forms into an archive once they are approved.
I was responsible for migrating our company intranet from a hand-coded HTML/CSS/ColdFusion environment into SharePoint. This was a rather large project that started with my conducting user research and by studying best practices reports. I designed a new intranet structure, built out the new templates and page layouts, and migrated over hundreds of pages and thousands of files. Using the out of the box functionality of SharePoint, I was able to recreate the functionality of several of our existing ColdFusion applications.

January 2008-Present

PAR Products

Freelance Web & Print Designer

Create point of sale ads, websites, and email blasts on an on-going basis for this manufacturer’s rep firm.

March 2001-Present

HireSites.com

Freelance Web & Print Designer

Create various web and print pieces for this New York-based E-Services company.

March 2001-September 2001

Vi-Comm Inc.

Web Designer and Production Specialist

Hired to help this award-winning design firm create web and new media projects. Was responsible for creating an promo for the company that was built in After Effects and Director that was an interactive piece about the D-Day museum.

June 2001-July 2001
Figueroa Brothers (Melinda’s Hot Sauces)
Freelance Packaging Designer
Designed packaging for this New Orleans companies’ popular brand of hot sauces and specialty coffees.

September 2000-2001
CADtech Seminars
Freelance Print and Multimedia Designer
Designed and produced several multimedia training CDs using Director and a book for this AutoCAD training company.

June 2000-March 2001
Active Pixel Web Development
Web Producer
Designed and produced print and web projects for this web design firm in New Orleans.

December 1998-August 2001
Cynthia Hutchinson Communications
Part-time and Freelance Designer and Consultant
Created print and web pieces for this New Orleans-based design firm.

Education:
August 1994-May 2000

University of New Orleans

I completed the graphic design program as well as minors in psychology and studio art. Courses included: Graphic Design 1, 2, and 3; Illustration; Computer Graphics; Painting 1, 2, and 3; Photography; and Senior Project in Graphic Design (an interactive presentation created with Director).

Training:
October 2009, Las Vegas, NV
Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2009

July 2008, Nashville, TN
SharePoint Solutions: InfoPath and Workflows training class

March 2008, Seattle, WA
Microsoft SharePoint Conference2008

December 2007, Houston, TX
SharePoint Experts Branding Bootcamp

September 2007 Nashville, TN
SharePoint Solutions: Advanced Features of SharePoint training class

June 2007 Nashville, TN
SharePoint Solutions: Extreme Makeover SharePoint Branding training class

October 2004 Cambridge, MA
User Interface Engineering Conference

October 2002 Orlando, FL
Macromedia Developers Conference

Various
Classes in SharePoint, JavaScript, ColdFusion and ASP.Net, as well as manager training.

Skills:
logo design/branding
packaging design
brochures/catalogs/flyers
business cards/letterheads
vector illustrations
web site design
html & css production
interactive design
application interface design
information architecture
functional specifications
production documentation
usability reviews & testing
user training & demos
site audits & recommendations
technical writing
web project management
SharePoint Branding
SharePoint Customizations
SharePoint Administration/Security
SharePoint Workflows
InfoPath form design & SharePoint integration

Hardware/Software:
mac and pc literate
Photoshop CS5
Illustrator CS5
Freehand 11
Fireworks CS5
Dreamweaver CS5
Visio
Axure
Word and Excel
SharePoint Designer 2007/2010
Visual Studio 2005
SharePoint 2007/2010
Expression Web

Experience with:
Flash
After Effects
Director
Sound Forge
Quark
InDesign