Customer Service Project

David B. Landes

Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh

**** ********* ** ********, **********, PA, 15260

************@*****.***

Summary

* ***** ********** ** **************, project development, and IT

9 years of acclaimed private and university teaching to 1700+ students

13 years of conducting interpersonal and social services in professional settings

15 years active in the performing arts and creative industry (see music resume)

Ph.D. in Communication, Rhetoric and Media, specializing in Human Attention in the Digital Age (in progress)

Recent Experience

Project and Communications Consultant Pittsburgh, PA & Santa Barbara, CA Dec 2007 - Present

Co-founded and developed UpTo Know Good, a consultancy and small business

accelerator.

Provided consultations in UpTo s central advisory team for clients starting or expanding

NPOs, small businesses, and social ventures

Advised The Saxifrage School College Redesign Project by creating the curricular

framework, academic philosophy, and advisory network in line with their organizational

philosophy during startup phase

Strategized communications for Kullu Valley Bike Project during planning and

fundraising stages

Advised and initiated Search Engine Optimization plan for Procore Construction

Management Software

Accepted guest speaker invitations in government, non-profit, and for-profit sectors on

social media, communication strategy, human attention, and startup ventures

Visiting Instructor University of Pittsburgh, Department of Communication, Pittsburgh, PA Aug 2007-Present

Created and taught 18 courses in communication, media, public speaking, argument,

rhetoric, conversation, and attention.

Produced research on human attention in the digital age, communication technology, and

culture for critical academic scholarship and for application in strategic action

Received full tuition scholarship for M.A. and Ph.D.

Received 6 year stipend to teach up to 180 students per year

Mentored undergraduates and TAs, and lectured for university-wide T A training

Facilitated departmental and college-wide tasks in numerous ad hoc committees

Consultant Emergency University, Redwood City, CA June 2005-Aug 2009

Directed project team on search engine optimization, increasing site 100+ rankings to

top 15 positions in Google in 6 months.

Led user experience project for site redesign with designers and product managers

Launched self-maintaining SEO plan with third party consultants

Advised curriculum developers and copywriters on usability and effectiveness

Resolved IT issues with engineering and design team

Advised, implemented, and trained personnel in efficiency operations

Strategized with company president on financial and marketing strategy

Recruited and advised new hires for specialized tasks

Writing Tutor Campus Learning Assistance Services, UC Santa Barbara Jan 2005-June 2007

Led ~1,000 tutoring sessions with individual students from all majors working on

essays, lab reports, applications, dissertations, and other academic documents

Taught disabled and ESL students grammar and rhetor ical concepts

Customer Support Technician Friendster, Sunnyvale, CA Aug 2004-Dec 2004

Resolved customer service inquires about technical and usability problems

Maintained website quality by investigating flagged accounts and applying protocol for

TOS violations.

Strategized design fixes with the engineering team and senior product manager based on

user feedback reports

Education

Aug 2009-Present

Ph.D. Communication, Rhetoric & Media, University of Pittsburgh (expected 2013)

Dissertation: Toward a Theory of Attention for Communication

Emphases: communication technology, culture, human attention, theory

Select Papers:

The Rhetorical Situation of Search Engine Optimization

Socialization and Attention Strategy: A Case Study of Face book

An Isocratean Theory of Attention: How Classical Rhetorical Theory Might Inform

Networked Communication

The Electric Sandwich with a Side of Chips and Bits: The Transistor s Communicative

Biases in the Birth of Digital Information

th

Toward a Critical Theory of Attention in the 20 Century: The Culture Industry and the

Disciplined Inattentive Hearer

M.A. Communication, Rhetoric & Media, University of Pittsburgh Aug 2007-May 2009

B.A. Writing, Linguistics and Rhetoric, University of California at Santa Barbara Sept 2003-June 2007

Minors: Philosophy, Music

High Honors, Distinction in the Major

Grants and Awards

Visiting Instructorship, U of Pittsburgh, 2012. [$22,400].

Summer Tuition Scholarship for Academic Merit, U of Pittsburgh, 2012. [$11,322 Tuition + $6,172 Stipend].

Appointed TA Mentor, Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh, 2011-2012. [$200].

Summer Tuition Scholarship for Academic Merit, U of Pittsburgh, 2011. [$10,890 Tuition + $6,052 Stipend] .

Elizabeth Baranger Excellence in Teaching Award, U of Pittsburgh, 2010. [$250].

Elizabeth Baranger Excellence in Teaching Award, nomination. U of Pittsburgh, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.

Graduate Teaching Fellowship, U of Pittsburgh, 2009 -2012. [($30,736 Tuition + $16,140 Stipend) per year].

Western PA Rising Star, Baker Leadership, 2010.

Graduate Teaching Assistant, U of Pittsburgh, 2007-2009. [($29,544 Tuition + $14,485 Stipend) per year].

Jeremy D. Friedman Memorial Award for outstanding leadership, superior scholarship, and c ontributions to undergraduate

life on campus, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2007. [$400 Gift] .

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