The purpose of this website is fourfold:

1. To enhance my professional online presence
2. To provide a means for people to contact me easily
3. To provide blog content to visitors
4. To promote discussion among people with similar technical/business/career interests.

To point 1, a robust website makes for a better professional presence than simply having a LinkedIn account.

To point 2, it’s pretty convenient to contact a guy when he has a contact form right there under your nose and all you have to do is click a button.

To point 3, there needs to be something more here than an about me page and a contact form.

To point 4, I need to be able to talk about work outside of work with someone other than my wife. Sometimes I get all technical and her eyes start to glaze over. Plus, she’s a psychotherapist and the more I talk, the more she is convinced I’m crazy. (She’s written my name next to all kinds of disorders in the DSM.)

Here’s what I do: I lead Agile practices for Chubb’s Global Data Office, working with 100+ Agile teams in a global setting. I teach, coach, mentor, lead, analyze metrics, persuade, explain, adapt – at all levels of our organization. Whether a colleague is an engineering trainee or an executive VP, my mission is to be their servant-leader in order to promote their growth and understanding of Agile for the sake of improved product delivery for Chubb’s business. I am also a JIRA wizard.

Here’s my previous background:

I have 20 years of experience as a software engineer with much of that time spent developing software for risk analysis. I have done extensive work with geographic information systems (GIS), including spatial analysis, geocoding, and map presentation. I have done work with other risk management systems for such areas as life sciences, capital modeling, and executive risk. Technologies I have worked in include ArcGIS, Java, WebSphere, Python, C#, .NET, PHP, Perl, JavaScript, COBOL, Telon, JCL, and more.

Here are a few things I’ve earned:

• ICAgile Certified Agile Coach (ICP-ACC) certification through ICAgile
• Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) certification through Scrum.org
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification through Project Management Institute
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification through Project Management Institute
• Certificate in Computer Programming with Honors from the Chubb Institute
• Associate in General Insurance (AINS) from the American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters
• Certificate in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship from Raritan Valley Community College
• Competent Communicator and Competent Leader designations from Toastmasters International.
  I’ve also co-founded a Toastmasters club and served two terms as Club President.

I am an avid reader and lifelong learner.

I’m a trail runner.

I’m an artist.

I’m a damn good drummer.

I’m a husband.

I’m a dad.

I am the Advancement Chair for the Trail Life Troop NJ-0514.

And this blog isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve had a number of websites over the years, publishing my first blog post in December of 2000. That was before we even called them “blogs.” Read: “Snow and Chinese Food” on bloggingsam.com.

I also have an art website: Doodlesam.com.

Please drop me a line. There’s a contact form right under your nose.

(All photos and articles on this website are by Sam Snyder unless otherwise noted.)