Aaron T. Grogg

Current

Co-Founder / Director at UX Test Kitchen
Senior Front-End Developer, People.com at Time Inc.

Past

Web Developer at Bank of America
Web & Software Specialist at National Academy of Sciences
General Manager at Touchstone Hotel

General Manager at Travelodge Corporation

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Education

Pace University
Montgomery College

Recommended

2 people have recommended Aaron T.

Connections

105 connections

Industry

Information Technology and Services

Websites

Aaron T. Grogg’s Summary

My name is Aaron T. Grogg and I am looking for a web developer position within a progressive web development team where I can make use of my existing skills while sharing with, and learning from, those around me.

As a strong advocate for standards-compliant, progressively-enhanced, accessible websites, I specialize in hand-coding XHTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery, utilize Ajax, JSON and XML for dynamic interaction and content, apply Microformats where applicable, and am comfortable coding PHP / MySQL and extensively customizing WordPress.

My experience also covers UI/IA consultation, performance optimization and search engine optimization on both small, personal websites and large, commercial websites.

Aaron T. Grogg’s Specialties:

UI, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Ajax, JSON, XML, Microformats, PHP, MySQL, customizing WordPress;
Integrating MS Office applications.

Aaron T. Grogg’s Experience

Co-Founder / Director

UX Test Kitchen

(Non-Profit; Online Media industry)

April 2008 — Present (1 year 8 months)

UXTK is an interactive agency consisting completely of volunteers. Its staff comes from various agencies and companies – such as Razorfish, Time Warner, The New York Times, Harvard, and Sapient – in a collaborative effort to bring an agency-level presence to nonprofits.

UXTK was formed to address two needs: 1) The nonprofit community often lacks the means to hire high-end agencies, so their online presence often negatively impacts donations and services; 2) The user experience community is often limited by hesitant clients, ad requirements, SEO issues, etc.

Our services are completely free to the client, while still providing agency-level level expertise. Working for free allows UXTK greater creative flexibility, yet allows the client to address all of their needs without budgetary constraints. By combining these two needs, the non-profit community gets the service they need and deserve, and the UX community gets to break new ground where it might otherwise be impossible.

We recently launched our first client site, Rise | A Community Services Partnership (http://rise-community-services.com/).

Briefly:
- Work with clients to determine their needs and find the best solution for their situation
- Work with diverse UXTK team on all aspects of client project: Information Architecture, design, user experience testing, branding, host set-up, development, documentation, and client-training.
- Hand-code W3C-, standards-compliant, accessible XHTML, advanced CSS, and unobtrusive JavaScript
- Implement web and SEO optimization techniques
- Implement progressive enhancement methods for CSS and JavaScript
- Work on various projects and sites simultaneously
Senior Front-End Developer, People.com

Time Inc.

(Public Company; TWX; Publishing industry)

June 2007 — Present (2 years 6 months)

I began working for Time on a six-month contract. After the six months, they offered me a full-time position as a senior developer. Accepting the position at Time was a tough choice because it meant leaving the world of server-side code behind (ASP and SQL Server at this point) and focusing solely on front-end technologies (Time uses Vignette for the content-management, with TCL as the code, and they have a team of dedicated Vignette developers).

As much as I loved working with server-side code and databases, I felt the world of front-end technologies had the greatest growth potential, and therefore I felt I could make a greater impact focusing on that area.

The two best parts of working for Time are the people with which I am surrounded and the fact that I learn something new nearly every day; I continue to grow as both a person and a professional. The biggest struggle I face is trying to bridge the gap between standards-compliant code and business requirements on our websites. Where possible, all the latest standards are followed, but certain business practices make 100% compliance impossible.

Briefly:
- Hand-code W3C-, standards-compliant, accessible XHTML, advanced CSS, and unobtrusive JavaScript
- Implement web optimization techniques
- Implement progressive enhancement methods for CSS and JavaScript
- Implement IE work-arounds
- Use XML/JSON for interactive data sources
- Implement advanced JavaScript/jQuery
- Create modular scripts for use site-wide and cross-domain
- Work hand-in-hand with designers, back-end developers and third-party developers
- Coordinate with third-party services
- Work on various projects and sites simultaneously
Web Developer

Bank of America

(Public Company; BAC; Banking industry)

June 2005 — June 2007 (2 years 1 month)

I worked for the now-sold prime brokerage department within Bank of America (BofA). All prime brokerage clients were entitled to free website design, development, hosting, and maintenance; our three-man team included our supervisor, a designer, and me as the developer. In addition to developing client sites, maintenance was a constant task.

I soon found ways to automate these processes as much as possible, greatly freeing our time for more advanced development while also improving turn-around time and ensuring data integrity by removing the “human touch”.

When I learned that BofA was selling the prime brokerage department, I recognized I was ready for the next level of learning. Up until this point, I had been more-or-less “the development guy” and I was eager to work in a team environment where I could share knowledge with like-minded developers and continue to learn.

Briefly:
- Implemented advanced CSS and JavaScript techniques
- Automated monthly performance page updates
- Developed dynamic investor statement pages
- Combined server-side variables with CSS for dynamic page structure and content
- Introduced log-in-based access levels
- Developed conference registration website for Capital Introduction team
Web & Software Specialist

National Academy of Sciences

(Non-Profit; Public Policy industry)

May 2002 — June 2006 (4 years 2 months)

While in college full-time, I was hired as a part-time Production Assistant (helping manage the conference registration process for the Transportation Research Board (TRB): printing names badges; printing and spray-mounting conference signs; maintaining the third-party registration website; managing conference registration data).

I soon recognized several areas where we could improve efficiency and recommended solutions that changed their previous processes. After completing my two-year degrees, I was hired full-time as a Web & Software Specialist.

I left NAS knowing that web development was my career now. I was passionate about “making things work better” and “making computers do the work” as much as possible. My wife and I decided to move to NYC and I was eager for the next step in my learning.

Briefly:
- Developed static HTML templates for conferences, including 10,000+ attendee Annual Meeting
- Converted third-party form-driven registration process into template-based HTML, customizable registration process
- Created stand-alone ASP/database-driven online registration process for no-fee conferences
- Overhauled and streamlined Annual Meeting VIP invitation and registration process
- Integrated web-based database with MS Office for reporting and data distribution
General Manager

Touchstone Hotel

(Hospitality industry)

August 1998 — September 2001 (3 years 2 months)

Hired as General Manager to oversee a comprehensive re-branding and re-modeling project, I was also asked to improve sales, focusing especially on the international market. When I was told they did not yet have a website, I bought Elizabeth Castro’s HTML 4.0 and started reading. With my first <font> tag I was hooked... :-)

Within three months we had a fully-functioning website, including an online reservation page. Coupled with additional online connections, such as Expedia, Travelocity, etc., sales soared.

Briefly:
- Interviewing, hiring, training, firing
- Accounts receivable
- Accounts payable
- Sales & marketing
- Forecasting, budgeting, PNL Statement
- Guest satisfaction
- Payroll
- Inventory control
- In charge of day-to-day hotel operations
- Oversaw 9 employees
General Manager

Travelodge Corporation

(Privately Held; Hospitality industry)

January 1991 — August 1998 (7 years 8 months)

I served as the General Manager of multiple Travelodge hotels within the San Francisco Bay Area. My responsibilities were much the same as The Touchstone Hotel General Manager role.

Aaron T. Grogg’s Education

Pace University

BS , Computer Studies , 2006 — 2007

I acquired my Computer Studies degree within three semesters with a 3.98 GPA while working 40 hours per week at Bank of America.

Activities and Societies:

Graduated with Distinction
Montgomery College

Two Associates degrees , Simultaneously: Information Systems; Web Technologies , January 2002 — May 2004

I acquired my Information Systems degree and my Web Technologies degree simultaneously, with 3.84 and 3.89 GPAs, respectively, while working 20-30 hours per week at the National Academies of Science.

Activities and Societies:

Phi Theta Kappa