About the Editors

RYAN PETERSEN

Ryan has been a magazine and newspaper editor for 13 years, with the last seven covering a variety of bases for BizTech. As Editor in Chief, he works on developing editorial strategy and is always on the lookout for new writing talent and sharing great stories with the business IT world. Before working on CDW’s family of magazines, Ryan worked at the Kane County Chronicle, the Moline Dispatch and the Rock Island Argus newspapers. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, biking and obsessively following Iowa Hawkeye sports. Against his better judgment, Ryan is raising his children as Cubs fans.

BRAD SOWELL

Brad is a senior editor for BizTech magazine and works closely with media relations and other professionals to develop articles for the magazine. He’s the best person to contact about story pitches, contributed articles, product review requests or when seeking general information about the magazine. Brad was most recently a public relations specialist at S&S Public Relations. Before that, he handled public affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy. When not following the Cubs and Hawkeyes religiously, Brad is an avid distance runner and has been competing in races across the Midwest for more than 15 years.

RICKY RIBEIRO

Ricky publishes and manages the content on BizTech magazine's web site. He's a writer, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all-around digital guy. You can learn more by following him on Google+ or Twitter: @ricktagious

Desktop Applications & Utilities

JASON HOLBERT
Contributing Editor

Jason covers desktop applications and help-desk utilities, including reviews geared toward the IT end-user support function. Jason is a Tier II Desktop Support Technician for Harcros Chemicals, a worldwide leader in chemical manufacturing and distribution. At Harcros, Jason supports more than 350 end users, who reside at a total of 30 branch locations. In his free time, Jason enjoys reading, motorcycling, competitive shooting and remodeling his starter home with his wife of 15 years.

Handhelds & Tech Gadgets

DR. JEFF SHEEN
Contributing Editor

Jeff is tasked with separating the “gee whiz” factor from the truly useful when it comes to the latest tech gadgets, and oh, he holds a Ph.D. in physics. He currently works as the supervisor of enterprise architecture services for Grange Mutual Casualty Group of Columbus, Ohio. His biggest challenge is being an avid Wolverine fan while living in the midst of Buckeye country. 

Microsoft Technology Best Practices

RUSSELL SMITH
Contributing Editor

Russell is a technology consultant and trainer specializing in management and security of Microsoft server and client technologies. He started his career as a trainer in web authoring software during the dot-com boom and later moved into systems support and administration. A Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer with more than 10 years of experience, Russell’s projects have included everything from deploying Small Business Server to developing security practices on large-scale United Kingdom government IT projects. Russell is also author of Least Privilege Security for Windows 7, Vista and XP published by Packt. During his spare time, he is studying Russian but in his less serious moments enjoys lounging in coffee houses with friends.

Information and Network Security

MIKE CHAPPLE
Contributing Editor

Mike Chapple is an IT professional and assistant professor of computer applications at the University of Notre Dame.  He is a frequent contributor to BizTech magazine, SearchSecurity and About.com as well as the author of over a dozen books including the CISSP Study Guide, Information Security Illuminated and SQL Server 2008 for Dummies.

Desktop Deployment and Management

MITCH TULLOCH
Contributing Editor

Mitch is a widely recognized expert on Windows administration, deployment and virtualization. He has been repeatedly awarded Most Valuable Professional (MVP) status by Microsoft for his outstanding contributions in supporting users who deploy and use Microsoft platforms, products and solutions. Mitch has published more than 300 articles and two dozen books, including the Windows 7 Resource Kit, for which he was lead author, and the free e-book Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions: From the Desktop to the Datacenter (both titles available from Microsoft Press). He currently owns and runs an information technology content development business based in Winnipeg, Canada. Find out more about Mitch at his website, www.mtit.com. 

JAMES GASKIN
Opinion Columnist

James writes books, articles and jokes about technology from his Dallas-area home office. He also consults for those who don’t read his books and articles.