Staff

Literacy Bridge has no paid employees, but here are a few of the people volunteering to make the Talking Book project a reality.  If you would like to join us, please see our volunteer page.  If you'd like to help but don't have the time, any financial contribution you can make will be extremely helpful at this early stage. 

Executive Team

Cliff Schmidt

Executive Director

Cliff Schmidt started Literacy Bridge after spending six weeks in rural Ghana to research ideas for the Talking Book project with local nonprofits, universities, and government agencies. Aside from his service as a grassroots lobbyist for organizations working to end global poverty (such as CARE and RESULTS), most of his prior experience comes from business, nonprofit governance, and engineering.

Cliff ran a successful open source software consulting business for clients throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North America, specializing in intellectual property issues, nonprofit governance, privacy policies, and community development. He also served many nonprofit organizations, such as The Apache Software Foundation (ASF), the Eclipse Foundation, the OpenSEA Alliance, and the Free Software Foundation, including service on the board of directors and as the Vice President of Legal Affairs for the ASF. In the 12 years prior to his consulting work, Cliff worked as an industry standards representative for Microsoft, as the open source programs manager for BEA Systems, and as a nuclear engineer and submarine officer for the US Navy. Cliff received his B.S. in Cognitive Science from MIT and his M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from University of Washington.

"I am invigorated by the possibilities of what humankind can accomplish when we work together, each of us determining what resources we have to offer. I am committed to making the Talking Book project a success because I believe it provides opportunities for people around the world to help end the inexcusable disparity in access to empowering knowledge."

Arthur Tao

Arthur Tao has more than 25 years of management and development experience in the software industry. In addition to his work at Literacy Bridge, he provides business and product leadership in an early stage startup. Previously, he worked at Microsoft, DEC, and Merck as a senior development manager and lead program manager. He has extensive experience in the management of large and complex projects, international outsourcing, and working in a multi-national and multi-corporation environment.

Arthur grew up in Hong Kong, came to the US for college, and received his B.S. from Swarthmore College, and his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.

"I believe in our shared humanity, and am hopeful that the Talking Book could make a meaningful difference in each of our lives."

Country Staff

Andrew Azaabanye Bayor

Country Director, Ghana

Andrew Bayor has more than five years of community research experience in rural communities in northern Ghana, focusing on socioeconomic issues given locally available resources and community needs. He has regularly addressed the challenges of technology in rural areas as the network/systems administrator at S. Joseph Knowledge Centre in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

Prior to volunteering for Literacy Bridge in early 2008, he served as a volunteer in a number of nonprofit organizations working to eradicate poverty and promote human rights serving in various capacities at community levels.

Andrew received his B.S. in Computer Science from the University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana, and is currently pursuing a post-graduate diploma in network engineering at the National Institute for Informational Technology (NIIT) Kumasi, Ghana.

“One could never have had a better opportunity in contributing to the arrest of global poverty and illiteracy than this project.”

Programs

Trina Gorman

Program Director

Trina Gorman is a technical writer at Microsoft where she writes
documentation and designs user interfaces for information technology
administrators. Specifically, she works on deployment technologies for
Windows Server. She has a B.S. in Technical Communication from the
University of Washington and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public
Administration (also at UW) with a focus in International Development.
In addition, Trina mentors two young women from Rainier Beach High
School and has vast experience with the homeless community and the
Microsoft Giving Campaign.

Public Relations

Forrest Carman

Director of Public Relations

Forrest Carman is a media and analyst relations professional at Owen Media, a technology-focused public relations agency in Seattle, WA. He has been responsible for day-to-day client interactions on several accounts, including The Green Grid, the Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) and Asset Management International. In the past, Forrest has worked with a variety of high-tech consortia and alliances, with members ranging from AMD to Microsoft to VMware.

Forrest graduated from Western Washington University with a BA in Cultural Anthropology and a teaching certificate (grades K-8). Forrest is the primary press contact for Literacy Bridge.

Operations

Alyson Chapin

Alyson has been working for nonprofits in various capacities for the last seven years.  She first met Cliff Schmidt in 2007 at a RESULTS conference in Washington D.C., while lobbying members of congress to end poverty and hunger. At the time Alyson was living in Oakland, but got homesick for trees and moved to Seattle in August of 2008.  Alyson got back in touch with Cliff after she heard him interviewed on KUOW about Literacy Bridge.  Since then she has been contributing to Literacy Bridge by tracking donations and updating the website.  Alyson holds a B.A. in Environmental Education and Mass Communications from Western Washington University.

Business Development

Shayne Gary

Dr. Shayne Gary is a Visiting Professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management and Senior Lecturer of Strategy & Entrepreneurship at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) in Sydney.  He is also Associate Director of the Accelerated Learning Laboratory, and in 2007 was a visiting faculty member at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.  Shayne’s research focuses on improving strategic decisions under complexity and uncertainty.  He teaches Strategic Management, Systems Thinking, and System Dynamics across MBA, Executive MBA, and executive programs.  

Shayne has considerable consulting experience applying system dynamics modeling and scenario planning to address high-level strategy issues for Global 1000 clients.  Areas of strategy expertise include diversification, corporate growth, evaluation of pre and post merger value creation, business entrance and exit, and new product launch.  He received his Ph.D. at London Business School and his BSc degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

Engineering

Much of our engineering efforts have been done by our vendors.

Roger Massey

Roger retired after a 33 year career as a member of the technical staff at Lucent and Avaya labs working on software/firmware for the Audix voice mail system and its clients. Roughly half his time was spent on MS Windows development and half on Unix/Linux. His experience includes development of firmware, device drivers, dlls and shared libraries, as well as native windows and Unix applications.

Roger holds a BS from Washburn University in Topeka Kansas and has done graduate work at the University Of Kansas. When he is not mystified by the behavior of the code he has just written, he builds stained glass projects at home in the foothills west of Denver.

Greg Bartlett

Greg is a creative technologist with more than 20 years of experience in business and product development, fundraising and marketing. He is a founding member of the M.I.T. Media Lab, Hughes Scholar, published author (Digital Projects for Musicians), and founder of FireWire start-up Digital Harmony. During his diverse career, Greg has written business plans that have helped raise more than US$25 million, created innovative licensing/royalty business models, established global brands, implemented strategic industry partnerships, recruited key executives, designed multiple consumer products, written all forms of marketing & technical documents, and spoken at multiple conferences and trade shows.

He has negotiated licensing, royalty and development agreements with Cirrus Logic, Columbia Records, Analog Devices, ARM, Boston Acoustics, Denon (Japan), Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Linn (Scotland), M-Audio/Digidesign, Meridian Audio (England), Onkyo (Japan), Peavey, Polk Audio, QSC Audio, SonicBlue, TC Electronic (Denmark), Altec Lansing, Klipsch, and others.

Currently, Greg heads up The PearLuna Group, a Seattle-based consultancy dedicated to helping young technology companies develop and fund their businesses. He is also a performing musician and songwriter, and dedicated father of two.

Greg holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.

Design

M. G. Leong

Grace Leong works in the design of built structures at all scales.  Grace is especially interested in urban and community design, material use, and pre-fabrication.  Prior to returning to architecture for her professional degree, she spent eight years working in health education and outreach for the National Cancer Institute.  Grace received her B.S. from MIT's School of Architecture and Planning and her M.Arch. from the University of Washington.  She works for the Miller|Hull Partnership, an architecture and planning firm in Seattle.

Product Management

Fernando Botelho

Fernando Botelho is an international consultant who manages projects in the areas of trade development, poverty reduction, technology, and disability.  Fernando's experience includes managing the Visionaris Award, a partnership between Ashoka and UBS AG, in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.  Before coming to UBS Philanthropy Services in Zurich, Fernando worked for the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO, an agency of the United Nations in Geneva.  At ITC, Fernando led the development of the first methodology for the integration of professionals with disabilities in the services export sector.  Before joining ITC, Fernando was Director of Technology at a New York NGO where he led the development of a groundbreaking online community for the professional advancement of people with disabilities.

Fernando has published and has been interviewed on trade, open source software, public policy, and disability topics.  He has degrees from Georgetown University and Cornell University.

"The only solutions that matter, given the enormous challenges humanity faces, are those that can be scaled.  Literacy Bridge brings that potential to information access and it is an honor to be part of that team."

Green Technologies

Nicole Starnes Taylor

Nicole's professional architectural experience and work as a green building consultant support Literacy Bridge's sustainable initiatives.  From product and building design, to organizational logistics, Nicole envisions solutions that celebrate the unique qualities of culture and place and embrace green strategies as educational tools and catalysts for change.  She has been active as a researcher on green building strategies and vernacular building methods presenting lectures at conferences and universities.  After graduate school, she worked in construction to develop her skills as a carpenter through the lens of an architect. Her field experience has proven an invaluable tool in merging innovative sustainable strategies and complex architectural detailing with the realities of construction.

Nicole seeks opportunities to promote equality for women around the world. Nicole’s advocacy for education as a tool to empower and enrich the lives of others, particularly underserved women, inspired her to join Literacy Bridge.  Prior to joining Literacy Bridge, Nicole visited Kenya for research on her master's thesis involving the design of a gathering space and library for a girl's school near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  The project left her inspired by the power of education to transform the lives of young women, and in turn, entire communities. After Hurricane Katrina, Nicole completed structural assessments on homes along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi devastated by the storm.  Hearing the homeowners' stories of survival and perseverance provided insight into the enduring human spirit and the tenacity, optimism, and generosity in which people overcome challenges.  Nicole looks forward to pursuing opportunities that fulfill her passion for the environment, design, and women’s advocacy through the Green Design and Technologies Team and Fundraising.

Nicole holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture and a Minor in Art History from North Carolina State University and a Master of Architecture from the University of Washington.