Instructors & Speakers
Ron Barrett
Ron Barrett is president of RARE-TECH, an IT Training and consulting company. He has been a technology professional for over a decade, working for several major financial firms and dotcoms. Barrett is a specialist in network infrastructure, security and IT management. He is a co-author of The Administrator's Guide to Microsoft Office 2007 Servers, How to Cheat at Administering Office Communications Server 2007, and the Real MCTS/MCITP Exam 620 Preparation Kit and has been a contributor to Windows 2000 Enterprise Storage Solutions and Exam Cram 70-244-Supporting & Maintaining NT Server 4. He has also contributed to several industry magazines and was featured in the book Tricks of the Windows Vista Masters. He has worked for Microsoft writing research and analysis documents for Windows Server 2008, Windows HPC, and PerformancePoint Server 2007. Most recently he blogs for Network World under the “A Better Windows World” topic.
J. Peter Bruzzese
Over the past 10 years Mr. Bruzzese has worked for everyone from Goldman Sachs to Microsoft. He specializes in corporate training and has had the privilege of working with some of the top names in the business of Computer Education. During the 90's, Peter focused specifically on Certification Training (holding at the time certifications from Microsoft as an MCSE for 4.0 and an MCT, as well as A+, Network+, iNet+ from Comptia, and CNA from Novell and CCNA from Cisco). With the introduction of Windows 2000, he became one of the foremost speakers on the subject of Active Directory and Exchange. He wrote several articles for a variety of magazines and has co-authored upwards of 10 different titles ranging from Directory Services to Enterprise Storage Solutions. He has spoken on the Techmentor Conference circuit, as well. Currently an MCSE for 2003, he is working on Office 2007 titles that will soon be on the bookshelves and just completed the book Tricks of the Vista Masters".
James Conrad
MCSE, Server+, A+, Certified Ethical Hacker is a sought-after consultant and trainer including those within the Fortune 500. James has been an official contributor to the MCP program and was a key contributor in determining MCSE exam objectives in the Microsoft Certification and Skills Assessment division. James has trained and consulted for Intel, UCLA, Raytheon, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, MCI Worldcom, Sprint, Exxon-Mobil, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, State Farm, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Land Management, many others. James also wrote the CompTIA Server+ college curriculum for Thomson Learning. James also served as the technical editor for Thomson Learning’s Network+ college curriculum. James is currently the lead recruiter and instructor for CBT Nuggets, a leading Microsoft, Cisco, and Linux video training source.
Brad Hibbert
Vice President of Corporate Strategy
Brad joined NetPro in 2003, bringing more than 16 years of network and IT experience. He is currently responsible for the NetPro corporate and product strategy and works extensively with key Microsoft business units on product direction and go-to-market strategies. Over the course of his career, Brad has also held various management, consulting, and IT analyst positions for both commercial and government organizations. Brad has traveled extensively to present conceptual and IT vision sessions, as well as sales and marketing presentations at trade shows and seminars throughout the world. In addition to an M.B.A, Brad holds many professional certifications including his MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, CNE 5.0, and CCNA.
Kurt Hudson
Kurt Hudson works for Microsoft as a Senior Technical Writer publishing Active Directory related content to Microsoft TechNet. Prior to being hired by Microsoft, he spent over 10 years as an independent IT consultant, trainer, and author working with a long list of private and government clients. He has written or contributed to over 30 commercial books and many articles on Information Technology. Kurt holds many IT certifications and has received several awards for his technical communications including a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Windows Server — Directory Services award, a Success3 Excellence Award, and three U.S. Air Force medals.
Jeff Hicks
Jeffery Hicks, MCSE,MCSA,MCT, is a Scripting Guru for SAPIEN Technologies. He is the co-author of Advanced VBScript for Microsoft Windows Administrators (Microsoft Press 2006), Windows PowerShell:TFM (SAPIEN Press 2006) as well as several training videos on administrative scripting. He is currently a columnist for Redmond magazine and MCPMag.com. Jeff is a frequent contributor to several online IT community web sites as well as an invited speaker at computer conferences and seminars. He is currently a Contributing Editor for ScriptingAnswers.com. He welcomes email at jhicks@SAPIEN.com or visit his blog at http://jdhitsolutions.blogspot.com.
Don Jones
Don Jones is a nationally-recognized author, instructor, speaker, and consultant, with more than a decade of experience in the Information Technology industry, and with a strong focus on Microsoft-centric solutions. Don is the author of nearly two dozen published works on IT subjects, is a regular speaker at national conferences like Windows Connections, Microsoft TechEd, and TechMentor, is a past Contributing Editor and columnist for REDMOND Magazine, and is a regular columnist for Microsoft TechNet Magazine.
Don is a multiple-year recipient of Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional award in recognition of his advocacy of scripting and automation, specifically for Windows PowerShell. Don currently serves as the Director of Projects and Services for SAPIEN Technologies, where he manages the company's Publishing, Training, and Community divisions.
Rhonda Layfield
Rhonda Layfield, MCT, NT/2000/2003 MCSE, MCSE: Security began her network support career in 1982 serving in the US Navy, where she worked for 7 years in communications with a top secret clearance. Since then, she alternates between consulting (including a network support role at Microsoft) and training (specializing in 2003 MCSE boot camps). Some of her clients include Dow Jones, US Airforce, IBM, Duke Energy, Bank of America, Wachovia and EDS. She is also a co-author of Mastering Windows Server 2003, Upgrade Edition for SP1 and R2, and the upcoming Mastering Windows Server Longhorn book.
Bruce Mackenzie-Low
Bruce Mackenzie-Low, MCSE/MCSA is a master consultant at HP providing 3rd level worldwide support on Microsoft Windows based products including Clusters and Crash Dump Analysis. With over 18 years of computing experience at Digital, Compaq and HP, Bruce is a well known resource for resolving highly complex problems involving clusters, SAN’s, networking and internals. He has taught extensively throughout his career always leaving his audience energized with his enthusiasm for technology.
Derek Melber
Derek Melber (MCSE, MVP, CISM) is president of BrainCore.Net AZ, Inc., as well as an independent consultant and speaker, as well as author of many IT books. Derek educates and evangelizes Microsoft technology, focusing on Active Directory, Group Policy, Security, and desktop management. As one of only 8 MVPs in the world on Group Policy, Derek’s company is often called upon to develop end-to-end solutions regarding Group Policy for companies. Derek is the author of the The Group Policy Resource Kit by MSPress, which is the defacto book on the subject. You can reach Derek at derekm@braincore.net.
Mark Minasi
Mark Minasi, MCSEMCSE and Directory Services MVP, is the author of 26 technical books including the “Mastering Windows Server 2008” series, the latest in a series of books on Microsoft networking that have sold over a million copies. He has been a columnist for several industry magazines. Mark is a frequent conference keynote and breakout speaker and regularly garners those conferences' highest attendee evaluation scores. He recently won CertCities.Com's "Favorite Technical Author" reader poll for the third year running. (www.minasi.com)
Jeremy Moskowitz
Jeremy Moskowitz, MCSE and Group Policy MVP is the Chief Propeller-Head for Moskowitz, inc. and GPanswers.com. He is a nationally recognized authority on Windows Server, Active Directory, Group Policy, and other Windows management topics. He is one of less than a dozen Microsoft MVPs in Group Policy. He runs GPanswers.com, ranked by ComputerWorld as a “Top 20 Resource for Microsoft IT Professionals.” Jeremy frequently contributes to Microsoft TechNet Magazine, Windows IT Pro magazine and REDMOND Magazine. Jeremy it a sought-after speaker at many industry conferences and helps thousands of administrators every year do more with Group Policy in his training workshops. He has two books on Group Policy, including Group Policy Fundamentals, Security, and Troubleshooting. Contact Jeremy by visiting GPanswers.com.
Greg Shields
Greg Shields, MVP, is an independent author, instructor, and IT consultant based in Denver, Colorado, and a co-founder of Concentrated Technology (www.concentratedtech.com). With nearly 15 years of experience in information technology, Greg has developed extensive experience in systems administration, engineering, and architecture specializing in Microsoft systems management, remote application, and virtualization technologies. Greg is a Contributing Editor for Redmond Magazine, MCPmag.com, and Virtualization Review Magazine (www.virtualizationreview.com), the Resident Editor for Realtime Publishers’ Windows Server Community at http://www.realtime-windowsserver.com, and is the author of five books including Windows Server 2008: What’s New / What’s Changed (http://sapienpress.com/windows_server_08.asp). Greg is a recipient of Microsoft “Most Valuable Professional” award with a specialization in Windows Terminal Services.
