Erin Ladd, Systems Support Specialist
Neva Christensen, Morton TRT
  John Bryant, Web Development

The newest member of the Systems Support Department of the Office of Educational Technology did not have to come far! Erin is a graduate of Henry Clay High School, moving to Lexington from her birthplace of Danville. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Broadcasting Management from Eastern Kentucky University. Her first post-graduate job was with WTVQ-TV Channel 36 where she worked in Production and Marketing. In 1991she embarked on a new career in technical support.  As a Help Desk Technician with The Jockey Club she supported the startup of Equibase Company. She holds certificates as a Network Telephony Engineer and a Novell Engineer, and is near completion of an Associates Degree in Computer Information Systems at Lexington Community College.

Erin is responsible for providing  technical support for Academy at Lexington, Booker T. Washington Elementary, Harrison Elementary,  Linlee Elementary, Northern Elementary, Russell Cave Elementary, and Winburn Middle School. She replaced Ian Gainey (currently covering Guardsman Joseph Wethington at Lafayette). In her spare time she raises extremely tech savvy Icelandic horses (see picture).

Neva Christensen, Technology Resource Teacher

Neva Christensen is now in her fourth year as school technology coordinator and tech resource teacher for Morton Middle School, though (like a lot of folks in this line of work) she came to it the long way 'round. Over a teaching career that covers schools in Iowa, Georgia, Florida and Kentucky, including five years at Beaumont Middle. In all that moving, she taught German and sometimes English, and found that "...you learn that there is no bad place to live...there are good people where ever you live....and the best are found in education!" This year Neva is finishing her Rank 1 in Instructional Systems Design at the University of Kentucky, and toying with the doctorate idea as well.

Neva spent her formative years in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, graduating from Lincoln High School there. She holds a bachelors in both English and German from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri, and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Augustana College, Sioux Falls. Her husband, Chuck, is a construction engineer, and they have three daughters. Two, Kamber and Kendra, attend Georgia Institute of Technology, though Kendra is currently spending a semester abroad in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan ("...and I wish I were in her suitcase so I could see all those places!"). The third, Nikki, lives with her husband Andy in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she does marketing.

When she's not schlepping workstations at Morton, Neva likes to read, travel, take classes, and be with friends and family...and "nothing is better than family!"

John is another veteran of Fayette County Schools, joining as a programmer in March of 1987. His responsibilities have never strayed too far from his first responsibility here, writing computer code. However, that work has moved from mainframe to Web server, where his current responsibilities include the Central Office room registration system and other online capabilities "...mostly dealing with input forms and data collection applications. Pete [Koutoulas, Fayette County web manager] does the cool looking stuff... I do the boring database stuff... but that's fine with me."

His programming career began as the fiscal demands of fatherhood prompted some attention to re-training. He obtained an Associate degree in programming at Fugazzi College, where he was co-valedictorian. Those newly-acquired skills were applied on jobs at software developers A. L. Roark and Company, Season Sash, and then for Fayette County.

His children include daughter Ariana, a cum laude graduate of the University of Kentucky music department currently working in Nashville, and daughter Seanna, who attends Providence Montessori where his wife, Tina, teaches physical education. Tina also teaches aerobics and CPR, and is a personal trainer. The family enjoys time together, and attends Bible study at Living Word in Frankfort. Some affection for wandering through houses under construction has recently translated into a new house project. The family took residence this fall.

In the basement of that new house is John's woodworking shop. There, with design input from Seanna, he he has constructed a bed for her made as a castle (see above). He also has followed his father's footsteps into the Christmas house decoration arena, where his animated creations are the talk of the neighborhood!