Office and People Directory

Jonathan Ferguson

Biography

Jonathan Ferguson, Assistant Professor, Game Design and Game Production, Division of Communications and Creative Media at Champlain College is a Game Designer and software freedom advocate. Prof. Ferguson has over 27 years of technology development experience, spanning careers in Cybersecurity, Software Development, Game Development, and Teaching. Prof. Ferguson maintains particular interests in free and open source software, game technology, game history and game preservation and access. Prof. Ferguson holds a Masters of Science in Managing Innovation in Information Technology from Champlain College.

Prof. Ferguson is the creator of the Game History Collection at Champlain College. The mission of the Game History Collection is to preserve and provide access to historical games for study and play. This requires ongoing preservation and maintenance of game software, hardware and online platforms needed to replicate the experiences of historical games. Providing access to past experiences drives the preservation efforts of the Game History Collection in The Game Studio at Champlain College. The GHC offers access to thousands of games for students to study and play, providing direct access to original hardware, emulated games, and hardware-reimplementation.

Since 2009, Prof. Ferguson has served as the Faculty Advisor for the 3 hours weekly project-based Free and Open Source Technology Club (FOTC) at Champlain College, offering weekly opportunities to explore and discuss software and hardware freedom. Over the 2022-2023 academic year, students built a small-scale (Beowulf) compute cluster, and learned about Amateur Radio and Electronics.

Prof. Ferguson also supervises the Games Testing Lab in The Game Studio at Champlain College. Games Testing Lab typically runs five sessions of Games Testing per week, supporting testing options for Personal Computer, Mobile, Virtual Reality and physical prototypes.

Prof. Ferguson is also the Faculty advisor for the Juggling Club and the Destiny 2 Club.

Distinctions & Awards

2021 John Lavallee Innovation Award

Professional & Scholastic Affiliations

• ACM
• IEEE
• AAAS
• IGDA

Curriculum Vitae

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Scott Fleishman

Biography

Scott Fleishman is a seasoned professional in the broadcasting industry with over 20 years of experience behind and in front of the camera. He spent 11 years as a multimedia journalist and anchor at WCAX-TV in Burlington. With his versatile skill set, he has excelled in producing, anchoring, live reporting, and award-winning feature photography, covering all aspects of the newsroom.

In 2021, he embarked on a career transition, delving into the field of marketing. Initially serving as a Communications Specialist for Gifford Health Care in Randolph, Scott effectively utilized his extensive background to enhance the organization’s communication strategies.

Currently, he holds the position of Director of Social Media at DCD Automotive, overseeing the social media accounts of more than 25 prestigious auto dealerships. Demonstrating a deep understanding of digital marketing trends, Scott employs his creativity to engage audiences and spearhead impactful online campaigns.

Scott has showcased an exceptional ability to adapt to diverse professional environments throughout his career. His wealth of experience in broadcasting and marketing grants him a unique perspective, enabling him to create compelling narratives and deliver targeted messages that resonate with audiences.

Scott’s unwavering commitment to excellence continues to leave an indelible mark on the industries he explores. His passion for storytelling, nurtured through years in broadcasting and his innovative marketing acumen, positions him at the forefront of his field.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Scott remains dedicated to staying abreast of industry trends, exploring new technologies, and embracing creative challenges. His pursuit of personal growth and unwavering commitment to excellence fuel his continued success.

Scott Fleishman is an exceptional professional with an unparalleled skill set, leaving a lasting impact on both the broadcasting and marketing industries.

Distinctions & Awards

New England Emmy Award/5 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards

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Andrew Frost

Biography

Andrew Frost is a photographer, printer, bookmaker, and educator with over a decade of professional book and print experience.

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Timothy Hamel

Biography

Mr. Hamel is a 15-year veteran game developer who still actively works in the field. He has also been teaching game development for over seven years.

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals
• The Ultimate History of Video Games
• The Hobbit

Favorite Quote

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

—Yoda

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Michelle Hobbs

Biography

Michelle Hobbs has over 25 years of experience creating design that inspires engagement and impact for corporations and brands in a variety of sectors. Through her career she has managed her own design studio, built national brands, and managed creative teams. Michelle has taught design off and on over the past 10 years including Champlain College, the University of Vermont and the Community College of Vermont.

Currently she is a partner at ReFrame Lab, a strategy and consulting firm in Burlington, Vermont, where she is working to meet organizations and businesses in times of transition and help them recognize and visualize opportunities for greater alignment, creativity, and impact. She does this through design-centric workshop facilitation, strategic planning, and product design workshops.

Professional & Scholastic Affiliations

• AIGA
• Vermont Business for Social Responsibility

Curriculum Vitae

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Rebecca Holt

Biography

Becky began her career in journalism, where she was an award-winning newspaper and online editor for 20 years. She then spent a decade as a nonprofit development and communications director. Since 2016, Becky has helped nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals (youth and adults) learn how to share their stories through interactive workshops, personalized trainings, and one-on-one coaching. She also writes creative fiction for young adults. Becky has a Bachelor’s of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Distinctions & Awards

Gannett Supervisor of the Year (2008)
Missouri Lifestyle: National Award for General Excellence, First Place (2008)
Vermont Press Association: Outstanding Website, Daily (2008)
Gannett Chairman Award (2007)
Missouri Lifestyle: National Award for General Excellence, Second Place (2007)
Missouri Lifestyle: National Award for General Excellence, First Place (2004)

Professional & Scholastic Affiliations

• Member of Griffiths Leadership Society for Women, University of Missouri Alumni Association
• Church Street Marketplace Commissioner, City of Burlington, Vermont (2019-present; current Vice Chair)

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Favorite Quote

“The sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it’s here is up to us. Journey wisely.”

—Alexandra Elle

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Rachel Hooper

Biography

As a Creative Media Faculty member at Champlain College, Rachel Hooper teaches a range of courses including Human-Centered Design, Creative Media, and Video Game Production. Additionally, she serves as the Project Manager at the Emergent Media Center, where she empowers students to seek patterns, connect dots, and imagine new futures by using data and empathy to uncover and define problems worth solving.

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Ken Howell

Biography

Ken Howell is an Associate Professor in the Division of Communication & Creative Media, where he teaches in multiple programs. He started teaching at Champlain as an adjunct in 2006, having previously taught at the New York University Steinhardt School and New Jersey City University.

Ken has been working with Champlain’s Emergent Media Center (EMC) since 2008. He has worked on an array of projects, including the UNFPA Game to Prevent Violence Against Women and IBM Virtual Worlds project. Along with support from the EMC, Ken recently served as Faculty Advisor for the Sandbox team, a group of students exploring new and novel forms of human-computer interaction. Work from that team has been exhibited at the Chicago Design Museum, the Game Developers conference, and many other venues internationally. He also works with a group of artists called the Illumination Collective, exploring digitally controlled lighting as a means of art making.

In addition to teaching, Ken has been an independent Interaction Designer and Developer for over twenty years, and has worked on such broad-ranging brands as Urban Outfitters, Rossignol, Pantene, and Skittles. He is also active in the Maker Movement, and is a founding board member of Generator Makerspace

When he is not working or teaching, Ken enjoys drawing, painting, tinkering in his laboratory, taking care of his Bonsai trees, and all things outdoors.

Curriculum Vitae

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Benjamin Jelter

Biography

Ben Jelter is an illustrator, game designer, and instructor. He has created a large number of independent comics and video games over his career. His last release was The Machine, published through Incube8 games. His next published game will be Unearthed, an expanded version of the game that won GBCompo21. It will be published through Limited Run Games.

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, 2005)
• Ikaruga (Arcade, 2001)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS, 2013)

Favorite Quote

“If the professors of English will complain to me that the students who come to the universities, after all those years of study, still cannot spell “friend,” I say to them that something’s the matter with the way you spell friend.”

—Richard Feynman

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Mark Johnson

Biography

Mark Johnson has had a 40-year career in Vermont journalism as a reporter, editor and talk show host. Johnson has worked at the Eagle Times in Springfield, the Burlington Free Press, the Vanguard Press, VTDigger.org and Seven Days as a reporter, editor and columnist. For 25 years, he hosted an influential political and general interest two-hour daily talk show on WKDR and WDEV radio stations. He also served as a regular panelist and guest host on Vermont Public Television’s weekly roundtable news show “Vermont This Week.” He and his wife, Lauren-Glenn Davitian, the founder of Town Meeting Television, and their daughter, Stella Rose, live in Burlington.

Distinctions & Awards

Vermont Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award 2012

Favorite Quote

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

—Steven Covey

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Max Johnson

Recommended Reading

• The Sound Effects Bible by Ric Viers
• The Foley Grail by Vanessa Theme Ament
• Aaron Marks’ Complete Guide to Game Audio

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Nicholas Kornek

Distinctions & Awards

Innovation Award – MIGF 2015, Official Selection – Alt.Ctrl.GDC 2015, Official Selection – TIFF Nuit Blanche 2015, Finalist Best Interactive Experience – NUMIX 2017

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Al Larsen

Biography

Al Larsen is a media artist and writer whose work engages with ideas of public space and populist uses of media technologies. He works in and across multiple media and processes including programmable technologies, textiles, performance, audio production and printmaking. His work has shown in festivals in the US and internationally and his writing on popular culture, art and performance has appeared in P-Queue, Careless Talk Costs Lives, Plan B and The Squealer. He directs toe Creative Media BFA program at Champlain College.

Distinctions & Awards

Residencies:
– Center for Machine Arts, Peekskill, NY
– Burlington City Arts, Burlington, VT
– Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center, Buffalo, NY
– International Artist Exchange Residency, City of Glasgow, Scotland

Favorite Quote

“Find a place you trust and then try trusting it for a while.”

—Corita Kent

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Felipe Lega

Biography

Felipe Lega is the Director of the Animation Program at Champlain College and holds an MFA in Fine Arts with a focus on 3D Animation and Special Effects from Lynn University, USA. Felipe has designed educational models for Champlain College and has taught several classes for the animation and video game programs. He is also currently advising the projection mapping project at the Emergent Media Center, which is being developed in collaboration with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.

His teaching methodology is based on motivation, self-realization, and compassion. His work with students always involves mentorship, fostering the development of individuals with strong human and professional capacities. The success of his method is attributed to his faith and motivation in his students and in understanding them as individuals to support them in achieving their desired results.

He was an associate professor at UDEM – Universidad de Monterrey, where he developed and taught several classes in the master’s program in video games and the bachelor’s program in 3D animation and visual effects. He also participated in significant academic projects for this institution, such as the Experience 360 “Lamentos Encontrados” project developed in collaboration with Breda University in the Netherlands. Additionally, he served as an advisor for several award-winning thesis projects and short films.

Felipe was involved for approximately four years in the design, production, and creative direction of animated content for various projection mapping shows across Europe. Notable projects include: the HCA Hans Christian Andersen Festival show in Haderslev, Denmark; the Taastrup Library projection mapping show in Denmark; and the Christmas show at the Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania, among others.

During his industry experience, Felipe has worked as a visual effects artist and 3D animator in different areas of TV post-production and production, including Hasbro toy commercials for Avengers, Spider-Man, and Transformers. He also created special effects for Latin American international series such as Kdabra, Sikis, and Mentes en Shock, and developed 3D animations for Nat Geo and Discovery Channel.

In 2014, he was awarded the YCE (Young Creative Entrepreneur) Award by the British Council in the Broadcasting category, representing his visual effects studio, Entertainment & Visual Arts, at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Distinctions & Awards

Rising Star Award – Champlain College, YCE – Young Creative Entrepreneur Award, 2014 British Council.

Favorite Quote

“Imagination is Everything, It is the preview of life’s coming Attractions.” – Albert Einstein

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John Levee

Biography

John Thomas Levee is an artist, composer, and educator working at the intersection of a variety of mediums. His work often examines notions of human interaction with the environment and with technology. Often site-specific, Levee’s work strives to ask of the viewer: “How does this work relate to its surroundings? To you? By extension, how do you relate to your surroundings?” These questions are meant to drive dialogue regarding humanity’s influence on the natural world and on ourselves, specifically in regards to industrialization and technological advancement.

Obsolete technology, field recordings, and found objects are all integral to Levee’s work. For him, all of these components are evocative of specific places and times, and function as transportive tools. In regards to obsolete technology, his video work tends to use VHS tapes, CRT TVs, and cameras which record to outdated media formats. Not only do these provide constraints to the process of artmaking, which is integral to Levee’s artistic production, but also point to technology as a thematic element of the work.

Levee believes that using obsolete, recycled, often landfill-bound technology in the production of the work draws connection to the relationship between ever-advancing technology and human destruction of natural spaces. They currently teach at Champlain College, where they are the Assistant Program Director of Game Sound Design. They have studied at Columbia University in the City of New York, where they received their MFA in Sound Art, and at Stetson University, where they received their BS in Audio Technology & Industry and their BA in Digital Arts.

Favorite Quote

“If I was an artist, and I was in the studio, then whatever it was I was doing in the studio must be art.”

—Bruce Nauman, 1978

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