R. Todd Stephens, Ph.D.
About
11405 Big Canoe
Jasper, GA
Email: todd@rtodd.com
Work
Since 1983, I've enjoyed turning complex problems into simple, beautiful, and intuitive solutions. I retired in 2021 from AT&T as a Technical Architect and have been staying busy helping different volunteer organizations with their online environments. This allows me to keep my skills up to date and stay engaged in the field of technology.
Retirement
Retirement has been busier than I thought but not as rewarding as I had hoped. Of course, retiring when inflation rockets to 8%, stock market dropped 24%, and a recession on the horizon is not as I had planned either. When I'm not designing interfaces, you'll find me working on my golf game, hiking in North Georgia or working on the &^%$# jeep.
The Agonizing Details...
I retired as a Senior Technical Architect working for the AT&T Corporation in Atlanta, GA. Over the years, I have served as the technical architect for setting the corporate strategy and architecture for the development and implementation of Enterprise Metadata Repositories (knowledge stores), Online Ordering for internal procurement, Collaboration tools, Web 2.0 and Wireless technologies. Other functions include Desktop Software Architect, Adobe Product Manager, UI Designer and Cloud Computing Architect.
For the past 39 years, I have worked in the Information Technology field including leadership positions at: AT&T, BellSouth, Cingular, Georgia-Pacific, The Coca-Cola Company, Southern Linen, Fannie Mae Software Systems, Lummus Industries, and The Georgia Company.
While I am an Architect by day, I love web design and the fundamentals of information architecture. I use this web site to learn new technologies and how design can enable trust. Between 2003 through 2007, I wrote a monthly column in DMReview and delivered keynotes, tutorials and educational sessions for a wide variety of technology conferences around the world. I am a student of organizations trying to get a handle on their internal knowledge management- how they acquire, how they broker it, and how they disseminate it throughout the corporation. Understanding information has replaced physical assets as the driver of value leads me to believe that the management of those information-based assets is critical to the future growth of business. On this, I have been awarded Twenty-Six U.S. patents in the field of technology.
I hold degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from Columbus State University, an MBA degree from Georgia State University, and a Ph.D. in Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University. The majority of my research is focused on Metadata Reuse, Cloud Computing, Repository Design, Enabling Trust within the Internet, Usability and Repository Frameworks. In addition, I have co-authored various books on Service Oriented Architectures, Open Source, Enterprise 2.0, Virtual Environments, and Integrating Web 2.0 technologies.