I began designing websites professionally in 1998, from flat HTML using tables to learning CSS for layouts as well as working on different stacks like LAMP, ASP/ASP.NET, Cold Fusion, and proprietary environments using Drumbeat Server, Cobalt, Free BSD, and many more popular and obscure technologies. I typically design and maintain content management systems, specializing in cross platform compatibility, ADA compliance, and integrating active and interactive multimedia. Below are just a few of the sites that I’ve built, administered, optimized for search engines, and marketed organically and through paid advertising on search engines and social media. Click on the thumbnails for a better view.
Louisiana Health Hub, Louisiana’s portal for the STI, HIV, Hepatitis Program.
Get Loud Louisiana, an offshoot of the Louisiana Health Hub with a focus on HIV resources.
Louisiana Health Access Program, a vital insurance and medication resource.
Certified Alarms, one of the largest Louisiana-based home security alarm providers in the state.
Louisiana GEAR UP (version one), a custom built hybrid flat and database driven site for the grant.
Louisiana GEAR UP (version two), a redeveloped CMS-based custom design.
Inspire Health Magazine, a huge site that served active push content to sites across the country.
Active Living Magazine, a site that served active push content via custom feeds I designed in house.
After Hurricane Katrina, I was unable to leave Tangipahoa Parish for a number of days. I assisted people in my neighborhood, volunteered with the Red Cross, and after finding a coffee shop that had power and unstable internet access, I set up a web forum called “LA Talk” for Louisianians to connect, to help people search for loved ones, and to help people inquiring about FEMA financial assistance. I was able to help some families find displaced relatives using every communications resource I had, and a FEMA staff member I befriended after the storm helped dozens of people with funds they desperately needed. For ease of use, registration was not required as I found it to be too cumbersome for many people at the time.
As the site was gaining traffic, the Office of Governor Blanco added it to the Governor’s Hurricane Portal. The forum had space for people in every parish, as well as lobbies where people could post their concerns and emotions (my friend and I moderated the forums, but we really didn’t have to do much). I designed the site pages in Photoshop and Dreamweaver, installed a PHP based forum application called vBulletin on a friend’s server, skinned the forum, and shared the link with associates that were working with storm victims and their families. The site stayed up and had another uptick after Hurricane Rita.
