6474 Harbor Dr ( Mechanicsville, VA 23111 ( (804)239-2312 ( chris@okennon.com
Creative Consultant
Business Analysis/ Project Management / Usability Research / Strategic Positioning
Chris is a multi-discipline IT professional with abilities in both the marketing/project management side and the technical side. He has 8 years of experience in private business, federal, state, and local government project management, design, business analysis, and Web consulting. Specific areas of expertise include content management systems, privacy and security policies, creative and cutting edge Web direction, business process evaluation, project management, and usability.
Examples of some of the significant engagements Chris has led include:
- Evaluated multiple content management systems for use by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and implemented and maintained the selected solution. Cost savings to the Commonwealth to date are in excess of $300,000.
- Led the creation and design of the Virginia.gov web site, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s state portal.
- Drafted the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Web Standard policy. This Standard will soon be implemented as a required standard for all Executive Branch agencies.
- Won the government’s prestigious “Best of the Web” contest four times.
- Won multiple e-government awards, including the 2002 EGOV Pioneer award for Live Help, the Government Technology Leadership award in 2000 for the first personalized government Web page, and the CIVIC 50 Award in 2002 for the Virginia Live Help.
- Principle member of the NIC Next Generation Portal Task Force spanning 16 state networks. Task Force focus included usable design and content management options.
- COVITS (Commonwealth of Virginia Information Technology Symposium) Presenter, 2002, 2001.
- Provided press release content for the Office of the Governor, the Secretary of Technology, and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA).
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CONSULTANT, 2005 – Present
Big Kahuna Consulting LLC – Mechanicsville, VA
After almost eight years as the “Usability Guru” for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Chris left his position at Virginia Interactive to become a private consultant. His new business focuses on assisting public entities make the most out of their online presence.
- ADA, Section 508, WAI and COV Web Standard compliance
- Business Analysis
- Project Management
- Information Delivery Methods
DIRECTOR OF PORTAL ARCHITECTURE 1998 – 2005
Virginia Interactive/NIC Inc – Richmond, VA
As the Virginia Interactive/Virginia.gov Director of Portal Architecture and Design, Chris was responsible for all stages of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s web portal (www.virginia.gov), including the investigation and negotiation of Enterprise-wide solutions and marketing of those solutions. Chris provided Business Analysis and Project Management services to state agency partners.
- Served as lead analyst in determining the needs of the Office of the Registrar and creating the Virginia Commonwealth Calendar, used by the Executive Branch of state government.
- Led Usability Prototyping for the State Board of Election’s multi-million dollar VERIS Project.
- Drafted IT Policy for the Executive Branch of Virginia
- Served as Project Manager and Business Analyst for the award-winning “Live Help” project for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- Provided Public Relations scripts for Commonwealth entities from the Office of the Governor to the Secretary of Technology.
- Received multiple “First in the Nation” awards for managed projects like Live Help, My Virginia personalized web page, Lobbyist-in-a-box, and My Virginia Communities
FREELANCE WRITER, 1991 – Present
Articles, technical writing, user documentation, and fiction published in magazines and books ranging from Style Weekly to Government Technology.
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Bachelor of Science Degree, Psychology, 1991 ( Virginia Commonwealth University – Richmond, VA
Post-Graduate Work, Social Psychology and Human Factors, 1995 ( Virginia Commonwealth University – Richmond, VA
References available upon request.
