April Ann Pierson-Drake

425-466-8329

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I took a position with The Technical Committee as a Research Test Engineer for the 3.H component of the Final Judgment (outcome of the 2000 Microsoft Antitrust lawsuit between the DOJ, 9 states and the software giant) in September 08. I research Microsoft's compliance with the middleware components of the judgment (3.H), focusing on Windows Media Applications and Windows 7 platform. I'm also currently studying .NET, C# and SQL 08, ASP.NET and ADO.NET, and just passed the MCTS exam .NET Application Development.

Summary of Merits:

Here’s a link to my official resume including references – or for PDF version click here.

MCP Certifications:

To validate click here – CERTIFICATE VALIDATION - and use the transcript code: “868120” and access code “aprilpiedrake”

· Networking Essentials

· SQL 6.5 Administration

· .NET Application Development Foundations

· .NET Web-based Client Development

Microsoft - from Tester to Program Manager from 1995-2004

o SharePoint Portal Server – I was the Release PM and owner of the customer development programs for the V 1 and 2. I drove the Joint Development Program from nominations, selections, site visits, training events to release rollouts and signoff. I coordinated war meetings, managed the software release channels, and handled all feedback channels for our customer beta programs. I worked with all components of the software development and release channels, including cross team collaboration and dependency management.

o Office – As a Lead PM I received the Trustworthy Computing Outstanding Achievement Award, Reliability Pillar for work in Office Watson. I coordinated company-wide events, determined through the Watson data top issues to address in SP and follow-up releases, and drove the release channels. I was also the Build PM for the Office Sustained Engineering Services team.

o I also worked as an STE on Site Server, Connection Manager and Netshow, which is now (over 12 years later) Windows Media Player

o Here are the recommendations I’ve received as a PM:

Freelance Writer/Tester:

o I write and test quiz applications for a company that develops quizzes for Facebook. One quiz has over 5 million viewers so far: http://apps.facebook.com/qwhat-barbie-d-cgeff and is one of Facebook’s most popular quizzes.

o Blog entry I wrote when I decided to Green Up my office (and all the other business offices of my neighborhood): http://www.aprilp.com/gogreen/why%20i%20decided%20to%20go%20green.mht

Mortgage Broker & Owner of Spire Lending Solutions – from 2004-2008

Mortgage Broker 510-MB-45267. I left Microsoft in 03 and began working in real-estate. I owned a home and was buying another...and fell in love with the financing side of things. I took my broker license exam the day I was due to give birth. I thought I'd ace the test then have a baby. Well, I did pass the test but it took me another week to give birth. I loved financing...learning about the economy at this, shall we say, 'historic' time - but let's face it, you can't make a living doing loans anymore. These are the best resources I’ve found for staying current with the Market.

o The Mortgage News Daily - a little dry for the masses, so learning the basics about Mortgage Backed Securities helps.

o The Mortgage Blog - an awesome tool and when I was in the business I checked it several times a day.

v Here are some of the Kudo's I've received working on Mortgages.

v Here are the recommendations I’ve received as a Broker:

Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce 'Go Green' Committee Chair - I established the Go Green website, and started working towards helping businesses Green Up their practices by using digital signatures, digital faxing and soft copy filing methods to eliminate paper-waste. This ended when I moved to Kirkland last year, but I was able to get some momentum behind the idea. I'll likely try and do something like this in Kirkland once i'm more established.

Women's Business Owners of Seattle - I was a member for 2 years when I owned my Mortgage company, and highly recommend it to any other women entrepreneurs out there, even just for the ability to have a really nice lunch with the ladies once a month and learn about all the amazing things we accomplish.

Favorite Things to Do:

o Gardening, Composting, Raising Chickens, a Dog, a Husband and a Toddler

o Working on my houses – I have 3 (2 rentals in Seattle and my residence in Kirkland)

o Reading (Historical Fiction mainly), Creative Writing & Blogging

o Hiking, Yoga, Snowboarding and Camping

o Facebooking, Wikipedia-ing