Professional Biography
Mark Lucas,
SharePoint Information Architect and Trainer, JamesTech, LLC
“My innate ability is to meet people in the place they are, define their goals and coach them from there,” says Mark Lucas, Coach and Trainer and CEO of JamesTech, LLC. “I have developed custom software, led software development teams, managed IT workers and trained students….it all comes back to what people can do when they’ve had the benefit of good instruction and support.”
“Technology is only as good as what it can do, and what users can do with it. My goal is to help information workers use technology to free them up to get to their core work, giving them the skills and confidence as quickly as possible.” Part of his mission is to make computer technology accessible to everyone. Mark has found that a large segment of the population is afraid of technology, and he believes it needn’t be so: “I want to help people of all ages, but especially those over 30, to see that computers are very manageable. Technology isn’t just for their kids, or computer nerds.”
Mark was a cooperative education student through the University of Maryland College Park and NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Upon graduation in 1992, Mark became a fulltime employee at NASA Headquarters. Five years later, Mark left NASA to pursue a software development consulting career. Mark quickly obtained is Microsoft Certified Solution Developer certification in 1998 and has kept it current. A longtime member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), Mark obtained his Microsoft Certified Trainer credentials in 2000. That year, Mark founded his own company to provide training, JamesTech. Mark worked for BAE Information Systems and finally Microsoft before he took the plunge to work in his own company full time in February 2007.
In addition to his professional practice, Mark, along with his wife, Allison, has offered technology training to the community. He speaks warmly of an experience at his church, where they created a free training course on the PC and Microsoft Office. “We had all ages in these classes, including a 75 year old. Some students utilized their new computer skills at work; two students even got promoted at their jobs because of them. Knowing the positive impact of our classes was an incredible feeling for me and my wife.”
Mark has been married to Allison, who works as a software developer, for 15 years. His children are beginning to gravitate to another passion of his: music. “I’ve been a percussionist for 27 years, and I love playing live in front of audiences and connecting with them through music and drama. My dream is to create a system that will provide a way for kids to get involved in musicals, etc., at a young age. Kids who may not have strong music and arts departments at their schools can have that experience, the buzz of a performance.” He describes his ten-year-old daughter, Jennifer, as a “great writer and actress, and a beautiful singer.” As for, Kaj, his son, Mark grins and says he’ll wait and see. “He’s only six, and I’ve made it a point not to push either of my kids, but to be there to support and help them learn. He does love dancing though! ”
Mark has worked with a wide array of companies in the technological field, including Blue Cross Blue Shield Maryland, Aerotek and Booz Allen. But it all comes back to people for him. “My best experiences occur when a team of people comes together, sharing their experience and knowledge to solve a problem. When each person on the team is comfortable enough to speak up and participate, performance reaches the next level.”
Why the name JamesTech? Read our mission statement.