Noreen Y. Whysel

Information Architect and Web Designer
Websites, Intranets and Virtual Communities

Portfolio Biography Resume Contact

My Projects:

IA Institute
Behind the Book
West 104 Garden
Avian Tree of Life
Vietnam Birds
GISMO
9/11 GIS Resources

 

Resume

Noreen Y. Whysel Resume - PDF
Noreen Y. Whysel Resume - text version
Presentations
Articles

SUMMARY

Internet strategy consultant with 15 years of internet, research and analytical experience. Independent and resourceful manager with outstanding customer relationship management, project management, organization and communication skills.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE INSTITUTE 2005–present
Operations Director, New York, NY
• Manage projects that improve information architecture education, services to members and advocacy.
• Facilitate internal communications between and among board of directors, board of advisors and membership.
• Perform key logistical duties, including mentoring program, job board and website redesign and maintenance.

MUNICIPAL ART SOCIETY 2003–2006
Online Community Mapping Consultant, New York, NY
• Developed use strategy and training for myciti.org, an interactive map and geographic information system; worked with NYC community boards and technical developers to optimize website usability and functionality.
• Developed outreach programs to locate and train additional user populations, particularly education, housing and community development organizations. Create updated website design for ongoing project.

BRAINBENCH.COM 2006, 2003
Test Developer, New York, NY
• Researched and developed new test items for the redesign of the Internet Research & Evaluations (U.S.) certification exam. Have also previously acted as a content expert and validator for the beta of this test.

MACCRATE ASSOCIATES, LLP 2002-2005
Web Strategy Consultant, New York, NY
• Created a website for a real estate valuation and advisory company; created technical strategy report for developing a bookstore and online course materials.

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP 1998-2002
Manager, Global Website Team/US IT, New York, NY
• Redesigned Contact Us user interface; enabled more relevant inquiry routing and lead tracking.
• Prepared functional requirements/specifications to further automate web communications process, improve routing accuracy and capture multi-language feedback; reduced non-lead processing time by 100%.
• Developed key website metrics reports monitoring server performance, link integrity and search log analysis.

PRICE WATERHOUSE LLP 1998
Manager, Global Website Team, New York, NY
• Managed content inventory processes, search optimization/meta-tagging and link management.
• Supported planning of a quality assurance process for a successful, large-scale database transition.
• Performed quality assurance on new web pages; deployed pages to presentation server.

VARIOUS CLIENTS 1997–2000
Freelance Consultant, New York, NY
• Created and administered a 50-page website for real estate advisor, MacCrate Associates LLP.
• Developed search engine optimization and promotion strategies for The World Music Institute, Italian-
American Chamber of Commerce and the Martha Entenmann Tinnitus Research Center.
• Conducted real estate technology survey of 45 executives for Price Waterhouse and the Urban Land Institute.
• Developed message boards and content for The Counselors of Real Estate website.

PRICE WATERHOUSE LLP 1991-1997
Research Associate, New York, NY
• Initiated electronic research and reporting strategies, including internet research, proprietary database systems, geographic information systems, digital photography, and satellite imagery.
• Published 11 articles, five surveys and various presentations on information technology and real estate.
• Developed and maintained a national library of real estate resources; created market reports for appraisals.

PRO-BONO EXPERIENCE

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, Web Developer 2003-present
• Developed an interactive bird classification website for the Assembling the Tree of Life project, funded by the National Science Foundation; created Vietnam expedition website, including a slide show and database for field notes; indexed several hundred images.

BEHIND THE BOOK, Web Developer 2005-present
• Performed a website usability analysis and redesign plan, utilizing original design created by another firm. Developed new information architecture to make it easier for target audiences to find information, removed extraneous code and graphics and streamlined content reuse strategy to create a leaner, faster site.

COLUMBIA COLLEGE WOMEN, Mentoring Chair 1992-present
• Created and lead the first mentoring program to utilize the College’s alumni e-community; developed processes for matching current students with alumnae for an annual mentoring program, recognized as a model program.

COLUMBIA GRAMMAR SCHOOL, Volunteer
• Assisted librarians in cataloging new acquisitions for the lower school library; shelved books; coordinated publicity for the annual summer reading book fair.

GISMO, Webmaster/Outreach Coordinator 1992-present
• Created website for an organization of geographic information systems users; administer online community; creating a community blog with the New York State GIS/LIS Association to cover GIS and data sharing issues.

WEST SIDE MONTESSORI SCHOOL, Volunteer
Directed the school's annual Fall silent auction (2002, 2003) and Spring raffle (2004), raising up to $100,000 per year for the school financial aid fund. Edited the school monthly newsletter (2001-2004) and contributed articles on parenting to the Wireless (2002-2004), an annual publication distributed to parents, alumni and trustees.

VIRTUOUS REALITY INTERACTIVE, INC., Board of Directors 1997-2000
• Administered activities of a not-for-profit organization, providing new media consulting to other not-for-profits.
• Taught internet classes to Lakota youth groups at a South Dakota reservation.
• Developed content, strategy and interaction design for prototype DVD games and websites.

EDUCATION

COLUMBIA COLLEGE, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
INTERNATIONAL WEBMASTERS ASSOCIATION, Web Technologies Certification
(HTML, CSS, XML I and II, Accessible Design)

COMPETENCIES AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

COMPETENCIES: Web design and administration, information architecture, interface design, search log analysis, content inventory, taxonomies, wireframes, metadata, database design, policies and procedures documentation, technical writing, technical/functional requirements, data analysis, geographic information systems, program development, project management, training and outreach for volunteer organizations, community groups and nonprofit organizations.

SKILLS: MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, MS Access, MS Project, Lotus Notes , Oracle, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, ArcView GIS, Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX, MS FrontPage, HomeSite, WebTrends, Watchfire LinkBot, Atomz Search, Mercury Interactive ActiveWatch, NetGenesis, HTML/DHTML/XHTML, CSS,Javascript, XML/XSLT/Xpath, SQL, CGI , C.