About Me, Stephen Venters

About

I was born and grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri, which is medium sized city along the banks of the Missouri River. I had a typical mid-Missouri childhood; I played in the woods a lot, went to church, spent summers at the pool, and was a Boy Scout, getting my Eagle at fifteen.

My mom's family lived in Jupiter, Florida and my dad's family lived in and Cave Springs, Arkansas, so we would take trips to visit them often. We would also take vacations floating the rivers of southern Missouri or road trips to the national parks out west.

I was fortunate enough to learn the benefits of traveling at a young age and as an adult, that drive to seek out new experiences has allowed me to fill my life with an eclectic collection of hobbies. Over the years, these have included backpacking and camping, traveling, rock climbing, road and mountain biking, swing dancing, singing opera, playing the banjo, Judo, and golf. All the while, I have spent time writing and learning history.

I moved to St. Louis, Missouri after college, and after twelve years there, I moved to Manhattan to experience New York and all of its culture. While living near Lincoln Center, I met my future wife, Rebecca, and a few years later we had our son, Emmett. Currently, we live in Evergreen, Colorado which is about 30 miles west of Denver in the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

Computer Science

My original intent for attending the highly regarded engineering school University of Missouri, Rolla was to attain an Aerospace Engineering degree and become an astronaut. But, during my second year, I transferred into the Computer Science department because I as having a much easier time writing computer programs than airfoil formulas. Little did I know during my graduation in December of 1997 that it was the dawn of the Internet age and I was one of the first of a new breed of software developers.

I moved to St. Louis, Missouri to start my career, landing my first job at Flight Safety International writing UNIX C programs to generate 3D CAD files of airports for their simulators. Over the years, I have grown my skills writing web sites, designing databases, and Windows applications for companies such as US Bank, CPI Corp (former owners of Sears Portrait Studios and Picture-Me Portrait Studios), Ameren, and the United States Air Force.

The leadership skills I learned as an Eagle Scout displayed themselves as I became a lead developer, then a technical lead, and then a development/project manager. As an IT Consultant I have worked with influential and well-known companies such as ASME in NYC, Deutsche Bank on Wall Street, and Wells Fargo to solve their software development problems and offer sound advice from my many years of experience.

Contact me if you would like to see my most current resume.