Rich Tatum's Career Page

Project Management and Tech Generalist

For the past 15 years I have been working in various leadership and project management roles in both Information Technology and online service capacities. In 1993 I began working as a helpdesk and client support technician for the Assemblies of God national headquarters which, at the time, had a network of 800 PC users and 200 Mac users. I distinguished myself there as a support technician with excellent communication, training, and troubleshooting abilities. In time, my role migrated into project management tasks that combined both support, training, and implementation (for example I was responsible for organizing, planning, and implementing a network-wide installation and upgrade of the MS Office suite on all 800 Windows workstations).

During this time I was also training customers at a local coffee shop on how to use the Internet more effectively, while also founding and presiding over an Internet users' Group (Ozark Internet Users' Group). Because of my increasing skill and experience with Internet technology, Tim Strathdee, the Chief Information Officer for the A/G, invitedme to serve as the Assemblies of God's first corporate webmaster (ag.org) where I assumed additional project management responsibilities, including overseeing the creation and development of a database-driven content management system for the entire HQ staff to use in creating and updating Web content (this was in 1995, well before the advent of many popular database-driven CMS tools).

I left the A/G HQ in 1999 to work at Christianity Today International as special projects manager and Web project manager, responsible for leading the development and launch of several database-driven websites (such as PreachingToday.com, and CTLibrary.com), as well as the redesign and updating of the entire 50,000+ article website for ChistianityToday.com. When I was promoted to department head over the Internet Operations team I became responsible for project management and team leadership for virtually all aspects of CTI's Web strategies.

While I am not a specialist in certain areas of technology (for example, I am not a programmer, though I understand how programming languages work and have used many scripting tools), I am a well-experienced generalist who has not only worked closely with all areas of Information Technology (project management, business case analysis, research, troubleshooting, usability testing, GUI design, database administration, HTML and CSS coding, listserv management and delivery, server administration and uptime monitoring, desktop installations and support, and etc.), but I've also successfully tied the implementation of technology into corporate leadership's larger vision, strategy, and financial bottom line.

I have served as the critical "bridge" of information between technical workers and leadership that is so crucial in getting both sides of an enormous communication divide to understand each other and work well together. I am a "big picture" worker who enjoys the details, but only when they serve the larger strategy.

And I get things done.

Instructional Design

Two years ago, while serving as department head for Christianity Today International's Internet Operations, I was approached by vice president Kevin Miller to assume greater responsibilities for one project I was managing: the launch of a lay-leader online training site called CTCourses.com. I was asked to take on the role of Online Media Managing Editor.

As managing editor, I took existing training videos and re-cut them for online presentations (generally taking a two-hour presentation and editing it down to a half-dozen 10-minute courses), crafting video intros and outros for each course, doing voiceover work, creating podcasts and streaming video segments, creating promotional videos, writing discussion and reflection questions, creating quizzes for review and testing, and researching additional related materials for download and purchase. I was solely responsible for the design, crafting, and implementation of every element of the online training experience for CTCourses.com.

During the year that CTCourses operated as a fully functional online training site, we grew to include over 6,000 subscribers t our newsletter, and over 5,000 members on the website.

Kevin Miller explained to me that despite my intensive technology experience, my non-technical qualifications also recommended me for this position: Having taught users how to use their computers for years, and with my adult Christian education classroom experience at my church I have experience creating an enjoyable learning environment for adult learners, I communicate well both verbally and in writing, I have theological training, and I'm a quick study.

Writing

As online media managing editor for CTCourses for the last two years I was responsible for developing, acquiring, writing, and editing all the instructional materials and curriculum on the CTCourses.com website. In addition to this curriculum writing experience I have written several adult Bible study downloads for Christianity Today including:

• Spider-Man I and II Bible study
• The Matrix I, II, and II Bible study
• Lord of the Rings I, II, and III Bible study
• Shawshank Redemption Bible study
• The Ladykillers Bible study
• "The Names of God" Bible study

I have written nearly two dozen sermon illustrations for Preaching Today, I wrote a comprehensive book summary of Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart for ChristianBookSummaries.com, and I had a couple teen-devotional articles published by the A/G's Sunday School Curriculum department.

Product Development

As project manager for various projects at the A/G HQ and at CTI, many of the tasks I've worked on have been new products (AG.org, PreachingToday.com, CTLibrary.com, CTCourses.com, and FaithVisuals.com). Because I have reported to VP-level leadership in each of these positions I have had the privilege of also being able to assist with the strategic planning and development process for each product. I played several roles in developing branding, look-and-feel, design, tag-lines, product pricing and functionality, as well as overall product specifications.

As a visionary and trend-watcher, I am sensitive to new opportunities for new products, and frequently generate new ideas for products and markets to explore. As a big-picture thinker I am always drilling down to the intersection of details with the overall strategy. As an experienced support tech and trainer, I always keep the end-user's needs in mind. As a persuasive teacher, preacher, and writer, I am also skilled at crafting marketing copy that "sells" the user on the steak beyond the sizzle.

Promotion

Most of my promotion experience has been on the Web side of marketing, but I have successfully used or assisted with promoting multiple websites and online products using email newsletters, weblogs and RSS feeds, Google AdSense, Google Video, YouTube, and more.