The RIA Fox Team
The partners at RIA Fox work collaboratively on each project, bringing it closer and closer to perfection. Each person brings their unique talents to the table, and thereby assists in this fantastic team. When all this brainpower is brought to bear, programs begin to function in spite of themselves.
Ben Whitaker
“It all comes down to ones and zeros.”
Ben has been with RIA Fox Inc., since its inception in September of 2007. Over the last nine years, he has been involved in the formation of seven companies including Flat Planet LLC, GSD Life, and Families Connected, Inc.
If you were to glance over Ben’s resume, you would see lists of coding languages such as PHP, Javascript, HTML, XML, Actionscript 3.0, and CSS. You could note the impressive database design and system architecture. You might consider the years of partnership and web development experience at Flat Planet and Blueline, Inc.
However, if you meet Ben in person, he will be quick to tell you that his family is his most important project. Ben finds ways to use his expertise not only in his everyday business but also on programs which directly benefit our community. He finds things to do with his kids in his free time, letting them choose activities and running with it.
Among more recent projects you will find Families Connected, a social network which includes a family tree builder; and GSD Life, a social community for support and education concerning Glycogen Storage Disease. Ben is also currently involved in working on MLS software and mobile phone RIA applications.
Here at RIA Fox Ben enjoys the collaborative teamwork that goes into developing each project and the non-stop learning inherent in working in a technology careening towards the singularity.
Jonathan Marecki
Fastest Brain in the West.
Where Jon finds the time for all his various interests is a question for a physicist, and not one we’ll attempt to explore here. Aside from customarily learning languages in days and weeks, Jon churns out code for RIA Fox projects nearly before you ask him for it. With a double major bachelor’s degree in computer science and business administration, Jon continues to add to his list of accomplishments at every turn. Flex, Adobe AIR, Java, PHP, AJAX, C#, MySQL, and Cairngorm are just a few of the technologies he works with every day.
For relaxation Jon likes to read Star Wars books and watch Stargate SG1. He also enjoys cooking, skiing, snowboarding, and baseball. An avid Jets fan, Jon watches football when he’s not out looking for the latest in new technology.
Jon is the Senior Developer at RIA Fox. He is currently working on a mobile phone application, after cramming C# training into one week. RIA Fox uses an internal Flex database manager which he recently finished. Boise is much richer for the various talks and presentations Jon gives to the Adobe Developers of Idaho. You can also find demonstrations and helpful hints from Jon on our blog.
So, how about that time theory, Einstein?
Megan Sutton
Girl Geek
When it comes to Photoshop, Megan is the go-to-girl. She knows her way around Flash, Flex, and many graphic design and layout programs. Currently the Interactive Specialist at RIA Fox, she has also worked with project management and customer relations. With a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, Megan has over three years of experience in web development.
Ever since playing Centipede on her father’s computer at the tender age of five, Megan has loved various computer games. A favorite at the moment is Katamari, with MarioKart running close on its heels. Playstation2 and Wii are her favored platforms. Aside from games, Megan is also a die-hard recycler, and participates in the Boise community through the Adobe Designer’s Group. She is a big fan of chocolate, and has an extensive music collection in her iTunes.
Megan has been involved with new employee training, office organization and administration, and website design. She worked with Ben previously during the Flat Planet years, and has been with RIA Fox since the very beginning. ‘Interesting color combinations and imaginative design’ could be Megan’s middle name, only that would be hard to fit on the business card.
Rich Breton
“Powered By RSSQLAJAXMLPHPYTHON”
Rich has been in an astounding number of places during his nine years in the industries of networking, telecommunications, and software development. His experience ranges from founding Boise’s first all VoIP residential telephone service provider in 2001; to building SolutionPro’s first network and working to make them the third largest ISP, hosting, and collocation facility; not to mention designing and implementing a complex web service which assisted Japanese, German, other language translators to change and track text for software internationalization. After this bright start, he has continued to push the boundaries of innovation upwards and outwards.
Although the majority of Rich’s experience may seem to be dry and frustrating back-end work, he has a passion for problem solving, especially in matters concerning applications he’s writing, Internet ergonomics, and user experience. He is always researching new languages and applications. In his free time Rich indulges his passion for fresh air by playing soccer and mountain biking until his bones ache, and concocts green vegetable shakes with the blender in an effort to maintain that energetic lifestyle.
If you once give Rich an intriguing question or problem, he will not rest until an answer is found. He’s interested in working on open-source applications, and hopes to begin a sustainable living blog focused on eating locally grown and produced food in the very near future.
Rich enjoys using RIA Fox’s blueprint system and watching projects mature through the various milestones they employ for project development. Currently, brainstorming about a RIA aimed at helping non-profits track their donations, inventing foundations for new programs, and maintaining his Pandora stations take up most of Rich’s electromagnetic brain waves. Who knows what he’s going to do with the others …