INSTRUCTOR
Ascend Training
After Ogilvy, the low-pressure job at Ascend Training was a real treat, as it was a company started by an old colleague of mine from Allen Interactions. Ascend made it possible for me to work regular hours again. I enjoyed the variety of teaching onsite, moving around offsite, and traveling. But more importantly, I just loved being able to teach again, and apply the knowledge and experience I’d gained designing in the high-pressure environment of advertising to my courses.
Applications Trained
I first met Jori Curry, the owner of Ascend Training, when I was an instructor at Allen Interactions. Jori was their Photoshop instructor. I was incredibly impressed by all the trainers working at Allen Interactions. I felt honored to be working with people I believed to be at the top of their field. So I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Jori started Ascend Training with the support of Allen Interactions. When my contract was up at Ogilvy, I was recruited by one of the execs to come with him as a designer when he moved to a new agency. The pay he offered was excellent, and I very nearly accepted. But when I heard that Jori had an opening at Ascend Training, I jumped at the chance to work with her again, and she did not disappoint.
I was happy to support her in her new business, and I was ecstatic to see her grow it into a huge success. I’m honored that I could be part of that as one of her instructors. This was the first company that had me teach Acrobat. I hated it at first. But after she allowed me to come up with my own curriculum (I didn’t like Classroom In a Book for Acrobat), teaching this widely misunderstood application became one of my popular classes.