Technology Week Professional Development Series, September 7 to 10, 2009

Speaker Biographies

Kristina Mausser

Kristina Mausser is one of Canada's leading Web Content Strategists.

With over 10 years experience in web copywriting and communications, Kristina works with clients to provide expertise in identifying, positioning, and promoting corporate brands and messages online. A veritable niche industry within the web community, her company Digital Word attracts clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to leading edge web design firms.

Through Digital Word, Kristina has written content for corporate and government websites, online brochures, search engine optimization and web advertising campaigns. She has even blogged as the voice of some high profile CEO’s. Her own blog, “WordUp! Life in the Digital Hood”, has been featured on ZDNET, MacAddict and BusinessWeek, and is part of Computerworld magazine’s editor-approved blog network. WordUp! was recently chosen as one of the best cultural blogs in Canada by the Banff New Media Institute.

Kristina has been interviewed on both radio and television in Canada and Jamaica, and on the IA Podcast syndicated through iTunes. She is an active member of the international web community and is a Director on the board of Zed Jamaica, one of the Caribbean’s leading multimedia companies.

Prior to founding Digital Word, Kristina directed the web communications strategies for the Cultural Human Resources Council and the Parks Canada Agency, and served on the Internet advisory panel for the Government of Canada. In 1998, she was honoured as the top Marketing Manager in Canada for her sales and marketing initiatives with Great-West Life.

Kristina graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature, and studied advertising, web publishing and e-business at The Centre for Creative Communications at Centennial College in Toronto. In 2007, Kristina was nominated for Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award, in recognition of her vision, innovation, and impact within the web industry.

Jeff Parks

Jeff is the President of I.A. Consultants Inc. (www.iaconsultants.ca), one of Canada’s leading Information Architecture firms focused on providing context to web projects through content strategy, user experience and human factors. With over 10 years experience in both public and private sectors, Jeff’s unique approach in creating goal-oriented solutions that focus on people rather than technology has earned him accolades from clients ranging from the Government of Canada to Canada’s leading universities and colleges.

Jeff Parks is also the voice of information architecture, user experience, and interaction design for the Boxes and Arrows Podcast and the IA Podcast, syndicated through iTunes. A world-renowned conversationalist, Jeff has interviewed some of the most influential minds from Google, IBM, Clicktale Web Analytics, Apogee, Adaptive Path, Cisco, and more. With a global audience numbering in the thousands, Jeff’s collegial yet thought-provoking style has become the “must-download” resource of the industry since 2005.

A passionate contributor and believer in global community, Jeff actively collaborates with industry professionals from around the world through his involvement with Boxes and Arrows, the IA Institute, Interaction Design Association, and CapCHI.