Company
A Bit About the d’Vincians
We are artists, programmers, graphic and information designers, videographers, and instructors. We are creative and humorous; sarcastic and satirical; melodramatic and theatrical; hip and old-fashioned. We are seldom boring. We all totally enjoy what we do. Usually.
Members of the d’Vinci team possess an array of skills that enable our small, tight-knit group to produce a broad spectrum of work, from small-scale consulting to large-scale projects involving thousands of man-hours. Each of us has an area of specialty, but we also have at least a working knowledge of the many design and development tools we use. In addition, most of us are great communicators and enjoy working directly with you on your projects.
Below is a brief summary of our team and the experiences and unique skills each one of us brings to the mix.
Vince Hellane
The founder of d’Vinci Interactive and original d’Vincian, Vince built d’Vinci from the ground up in 1994: literally. d’Vinci started in his basement with no employees and exactly one project. Since then, he assembled a stellar team (arguably family), developed strong professional relationships and forged the path for a first class portfolio. He was much more than a great “boss” (a term never used - he preferred just “Vince”), visionary, and calculated risk-taker… He was also a great friend. Though he passed away in 2011, d’Vinci will continue on in his image – the perfect mix of fun and sophistication.
Pat Hellane
President of d’Vinci Interactive, Pat has been with the company since the beginning - in fact, long before the beginning. Pat has always been the yin to Vince’s yang! Today, she sits behind the wheel to drive d’Vinci into the future and carry on Vince’s legacy. With over 26 years of experience working with Vince – in selling, accounting, and running a tight ship - Pat works tirelessly to enable the team to do great things.
Mason Scuderi
Operations Manager, and leader of Interactive Development, Mason has been with d’Vinci since 1996. Producing engaging multimedia experiences is Mason’s sweet spot, he also has a foot in mobile app development and user-interface design. He has a long track record of creating interactive experiences that communicate seamlessly with dynamic data. He graduated with a BA in graphic design from Shepherd College.
Sally Ann Reidy
Sally serves as senior project manager and is the chief information architect on large projects. With a background in database programming, uses her web and multimedia development skills to help push d’Vinci to new heights. She is proficient with CSS and HTML, as well as Captivate. She has a BS in business administration from the University of Nebraska and has been with d’Vinci since 1998.
Chris Grahl
Chris’s artistic skills bring many of our websites to life. As digital artist, designer and programmer, he has been creating interactive projects since 1997. Chris has the unique ability to take content, wrap a creative and visually rich environment around it, and serve up an interactive piece that both delights and illustrates. He has a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio.
Eric McDonald
d’Vinci’s Director of Web-Development, Eric is the technical lead on all things related to programming for the web. Since joining the team in 1999, he has been involved in nearly every web development project to come through d’Vinci. He is a master of several programming languages including HTML/CSS, JavaScript, ActionScript, PHP and MySQL. Eric is one of those rare programmers with a keen sense of design. This translates to a holistic approach to building web applications – from the server and database level all the way to user display. Not only does he write scripts under-the-hood that computers enjoy interpreting, but also creates polished and beautiful interfaces that users enjoy interacting with. Eric is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Matt Kipe
Web and Server-side Programmer. With over 15 years of IT and programming experience, Matt brings quite a history of telling not just browsers and servers what to do, but also AV components as a certified AMX programmer. His experience varies from managing high-volume web applications for ecommerce, to supporting a large network of digital signs, and even developing systems to control satellite communication equipment. He has also managed development teams in addition to IT systems. He is skilled in all common languages including C#, PHP, C++, HTML/CSS, and XML and is putting them to good use to speak a common language with d’Vinci’s development team.
Richie Spong
PHP/MySQL Programmer. An accomplished percussionist turned web programmer, Richie hit the ground running at d’Vinci. While finishing his last semester of college, he is jumping right in and tackling sophisticated projects like a seasoned pro. He is skilled with PHP, MySQL, HTML and CSS as well as several programs in the Adobe Creative Suite. He also knows his way around open-source PHP/MySQL-driven systems such as Joomla and Drupal. Richie holds the distinction of the only d’Vincian with an Australian accent and - before doing drum solos using anything within arm’s reach of his desk - he performed at the world-famous Sydney Opera House. He has a Bachelor of Music (Performance) from Australia National University and a 4.0 GPA heading towards an AAS in Web & Multimedia Technology from Hagerstown Community College.
Vijay–Kumar Solanki
Adobe certified, Vijay is our RoboHelp, Dreamweaver, and Captivate developer and instructor and has been with us since 2004. Several d’Vincians have extensive audio-visual experience, but Vijay is our specialist in this area. He attended Shepherd College, studying music composition and music education.
Sali Gelestino
With a background in commercial, corporate and architectural photography, Sali brings a photographic sensibility to the design work she does for d’Vinci. She is proficient with Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Captivate and Flash, and has been designing and developing for d’Vinci since joining the team in 2004. Sali assists with QA and provides support for many d'Vinci-created projects.
Nicole Duffey
Nicole came to us with a background in application development-project management and consulting. Nicole’s primary focus is project management, but she also spends her time tending to operational needs, formalizing processes, working with clients, and assisting in quality assurance efforts. Nicole has a BS in business administration, from Shippensburg University.
Derek Stine
Derek is a multi-lingual sales and marketing representative. He helps with the optimization of website content/design and other sales/marketing-related communications. Derek consults on topics such as Search Engine Optimization, proposal writing, and internet marketing. He is also proficient in several Adobe products including Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Flash and speaks HTML/CSS, PHP, and MySQL, in addition to Russian. He holds a Bachelors of Marketing, an Associates in Web/Multimedia, and an Associates in Russian.
