Our Educators
Bob brings over 20 years of IT and training experience into his classroom. He garners rave reviews, no matter the format: in front of a classroom of students, over the internet via remote tools or in a mentoring or consulting situation. Bob is the IT Project Lead and has guided the successful rollout of programs such as our Mentored Learning solution. Bob played a key role in Microsoft's MCDST curriculum development and has created custom course material for key clients. He has recently developed and designed a Windows 2008 PKI course, Windows 2003 PKI Course, Windows 2003 Clustering Course and several Windows Vista awareness seminars as well as a course for Benchmark Learning on Windows Vista for IT Support Professionals to update their skills from previous versions of Microsoft operating systems. When he’s not in the classroom or writing curriculum, he provides Windows networks consultative services to both small- and medium-sized businesses, including 3M, MoneyGram, Deluxe Corporation, the Mayo Clinic and Caribou Coffee, just to name a few.
Author of Windows Vista
Personal Mentoring topics:
Implementing an Active Directory Integrated [Digital] Certificate Infrastructure (Windows 2003 or 2008)
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Brady joined the Benchmark Learning team in September of 2009. He is a self-proclaimed tech junkie who enjoys keeping up with the latest trends and devices in the consumer marketplace. He possesses a wide range of creative and technical skills which he has been told is unique for an “IT guy”. Brady has a great deal of experience doing web design work and is a certified CompTIA A+ technician who also holds a Microsoft Certified Application Specialist (MCAS) Master certification. He calls upon his years of experience with the Microsoft Office Suite and his on-the-job design and troubleshooting techniques to teach and mentor students at Benchmark Learning. He enjoys interacting with and helping students and will gladly spend one-on-one time with anyone who asks for his help. He joined Benchmark Learning after spending the previous 10 years working for a large marketing company as an IT Analyst. While working there, Brady specialized in application and desktop support, web design, and technical documentation and training. In his spare time, Brady is an avid sports fan who enjoys playing golf and following local teams.
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In April 2005, Brian Bandelin joined the Benchmark Learning team. Brian is ITIL certified, and his teaching spans a wide array of classes at our facility - everything from Word, Excel, Access to Lotus Notes, SQL, ACT! and many others. He's a huge movie buff (and master of the Kevin Bacon game) and enjoys collecting maps and atlases. Brian's previous employer was ExecuTrain.
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With over 15 years of experience in the industry, Brian is a skilled educator who is moved through the roles in the programming world from UI Designer to Architect. He is continually customizing his training to the goals and abilities of his students. In 2009, he was named one of the Top 10 instructors in the world by our previous franchisor, which consists of over 240 centers worldwide. Brian has a focus on development and is the lead .NET instructor at Benchmark Learning. Among his many qualifications, he has achieved his Microsoft Certified Professional Developer certification. In 2008, he was asked by Microsoft to write courseware for Silverlight 2.0 (50197: Developing Web Applications using Silverlight 2.0).With great success from delivering the Silverlight 2.0 course, Microsoft then requested Brian to build a one-day, hands-on lab that included topics such as Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, LINQ, Silverlight and Application Lifecycle Management. This offering has been delivered both locally and remotely to universities around the country.
Author of Developing Web Applications using Microsoft Silverlight 2.0
Personal Mentoring topics:
.NET Cafeteria
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Dan takes pride in adding extra value to classes by finding and presenting information beyond what you would get out of a book. Our students’ high information retention rates are a testament to his superior presentation skills. These qualities have helped him become one of the top five Exchange 2003 instructors nationwide for our previous franchisor, which consists of over 240 centers worldwide. Dan’s dedication doesn’t end in the classroom, as he frequently travels to deliver on-site consulting and mentoring to clients upgrading or migrating to new Microsoft Exchange and/or Citrix XenApp technologies. He also develops and teaches custom classes based on clients’ exact needs. His specialties are Microsoft Exchange Server (2000/2003/2007) and Citrix XenApp (4.0/4.5/5.0). Dan won the Instructor of the Year award for us in 2005 and was chosen as the #4 IT Instructor in the World at the conference hosted by our former franchisor in August of 2006.
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Don joined Benchmark Learning in 2005 with extensive education experience — he was at one time even a high school teacher — that serves him well here. As an MCT who quickly picked up his MCSA and MCSE certifications, he was able to apply his flexible aptitude of teaching to end-user application classes, ITIL process improvement and lifecycle classes as well as complex IT classes — proof that he is an Educator with unique groupings of strengths. Don teaches core Microsoft Windows classes including XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Server 2003 and is an Exchange 2007 Educator as well. Don has also taken on teaching and writing SharePoint courses and has helped develop Benchmark Learning's internal SharePoint intranet.
Personal Mentoring topics: Automating InfoPath Forms with SharePoint Designer and SharePoint
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Gail joined Benchmark Learning in 2007 as a Business Software Educator. Before coming to Benchmark Learning, Gail worked in IT with Target Corporation for almost 10 years as a Systems Analyst where she gained experience in Business Analysis and Project Management. She also spent 3.5 years running her own business. Her IT background serves her well at Benchmark Learning. She was quickly able to transfer her IT experience into the Microsoft Office Suite and currently teaches Windows XP, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Project in addition to business skills classes, including Project Management Fundamentals and How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service amongst others. Gail is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and is ITIL v3 certified in Foundations, Operational Support & Analysis and Service Operations.
Personal Mentoring topics:
Features of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
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As a Senior Educator on the Business Applications team, Helen Krone has been training students on various business and proprietary applications since 1993. Her training expertise includes delivering education through a wide variety of modalities, including instructor-led training, classroom facilitation, web-based delivery, lecture/seminar presentations and mentoring/consulting. Helen also works with clients on instructional design, curriculum development, and project management. She has developed and written curriculum, both for general use and customized for specific business policies and procedures. In addition to her education and curriculum development capabilities, Helen is skilled at creating custom educational solutions in a variety of modalities to meet clients’ needs and goals. These solutions have included one-time custom needs as well as large migration and upgrade projects.
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With a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Industrial Education, John has been delivering technology and computer education since 1982. He has a passion for education, especially when working with SQL Server, which he has been working with since SQL Server 6.5. John specializes in database design, database programming, administration tasks and high availability technologies, including SQL Server Integration Services, Analysis Services, reporting and data mining. With the introduction of SQL Server 2005, he has observed a Business Intelligence tidal wave and has developed training paths to address those needs. He is also the lead for the Microsoft Hands-on Labs for SQL Server in the North Central District.
Personal Mentoring topics:
Learn SQL Server Performance Measurement, Monitoring and Troubleshooting Create SQL Server Maintenance Plans Analyze Your SQL Server Security and Implement Solutions Automate Your SQL Server with Jobs and Alerts Implement Database Mirroring for High Availability
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As the lead Professional Development and Design/Media Educator, Jon’s commitment to student satisfaction is second to none. His education philosophy is centered on using multiple learning styles to make material familiar, relevant and easy to understand for each student. Jon started his career as a trainer for the United States Air Force. He was responsible for training both enlisted members and officers on problem solving and decision making. He developed training programs and wrote procedures for the 321st Missile Wing in Grand Forks, ND.
It was there Jon developed his love for writing. He obtained his Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Technical Communications and began working as a technical writer and trainer for US Bank. There, Jon was responsible for creating training programs for new partners while following strict banking regulations. Jon is also an Adobe Certified Expert and teaches Captivate, Acrobat, FrameMaker, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and HTML/XHTML/CSS. In addition to training, Jon specializes in video editing, sound editing and curriculum development. In his spare time, Jon is the Program Director for the Rosemount Wrestling Club.
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In July of 2007, Kent Huelman joined the Benchmark Learning team. Kent carries several Microsoft and CompTIA certifications but is proudest of his Microsoft Certified Trainer status. His certifications include MCSE 2003: Security, MCITP: Enterprise Administrator, CCENT, CCNA, A+, Network+, Security+, CTT+ and CISSP. Kent’s teaching and mentoring spans a wide array of IT infrastructure and security topics in our classrooms and Mentored Learning Classroom. The Mentored Learning students he has worked with are the first to attest that he has been a valuable resource to their learning. Kent never hesitates to start up an impromptu whiteboarding session or in-depth discussion to help students better understand the material. Kent enjoys combining his years of real-world IT administration experience and his computer training background to provide additional content and context to his classes.
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Laurel joined Benchmark Learning in April of 2007 as a Business Software Educator. She teaches Microsoft Office Suite classes including Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Word as well as Crystal Reports. She is MCAS certified and is truly passionate about training. Laurel’s goal is to be the liaison between the software program and the user, making concepts easy to understand and relatable. She continues to expand her knowledge on a variety of business applications and is particularly focused on programs that turn raw data into useful information, as well as application programming in order to help people streamline their workflows.
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Lu joined Benchmark Learning in mid-2006 after spending the four years prior
as an independent consultant and trainer, specializing in assisting companies with their SMS 2003 and MOM 2005 deployments. Lu has created custom courseware on Windows Installer Service, System Center Operations Manager and System Center Configuration Manager. She has also delivered private training on AdminStudio. Before coming to Benchmark Learning, Lu provided desktop software support, implemented software solutions and was a systems manager for LANs and VAX systems.
Author of PowerShell and System Center Configuration Manger 2007 Skills Update for SMS 2003 Administrators
Personal Mentoring topics:
Automating Processes with SMS or SCCM
Deploying Applications with System Center Configuration Manager 2007
Deploying Operating Systems with System Center Configuration Manager 2007
Working with Operations Manager 2007
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Mark Slade started as an Educator for Benchmark Learning in June of 2005 and teaches a variety of Microsoft classes. He recently became one of two Education Managers for the Benchmark Learning education team. Mark graduated from St. John's University with a degree in education and taught in the Eden Prairie School District for four years. He also started his own carpentry/remodeling business. Mark enjoys carpentry, running, biking, camping and spending time with his family. It is his goal to make learning an enjoyable, meaningful and approachable experience.
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Mark Vickerman
With a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Education degree from the University of Minnesota, Mark has been delivering education to various audiences for more than ten years. He has a passion for education, especially when delivering SQL Server and ITIL classes, which makes Mark one of the most diversified yet relevant Educators to our students today. What further makes Mark unique is his business acumen, stemming from his real estate business that he has co-owned for five years. Being responsible for the operation of a business allows Mark to share stories with his various IT and business students on how IT and business interface through strategy, service, perceived value and results. While Mark is one of Benchmark Learning's SQL and ITIL leads, he also has many other strengths and competencies in teaching, including Crystal Reports, Microsoft Excel VBA and Microsoft Access.
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Matthew Teegarden joined the Benchmark Learning IT Educator staff in 2005. Prior to this position, he worked for eight years designing numerous solutions for SMS infrastructures. He is able to use his prior experiences in the IT trenches to help his students more easily take their classroom education and apply it immediately in their work environments. Matthew currently teaches courses covering SCCM 2007, Server 2008 Administration, WMI, VB Scripting, SQL 2008 Administration, SharePoint 2007 Administration, ITIL and PowerShell. He co-authored the course “50025 PowerShell for Administrators”. Matthew approaches each class with technical detail and know-how but also with humor.
Author of PowerShell
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