Ken Cosker

Ken Cosker
P.O. Box 8134, Santa Cruz, CA 95061
e-mail:cosker@cruzio.com

Objective
A position requiring a combination of technical, interpersonal, and administrative skills within a dynamic technical environment.

Employment History l Technical Assistance and Training Consultation

Self-employed, Santa Cruz, CA 1997 to present

l Applications Manager Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency (Mental Health Department), Santa Cruz, CA 1996 to 1998
Worked closely with MH Director/Program Managers as technical liaison and applications manager. Worked with Information Services Department to implement various Mental Health applications. Database management, application training, and various technical presentations to staff. Supervised analyst staff. l Agency Information Services Coordinator Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, Santa Cruz, CA 1994 - 1996
System administration, staff management, systems/operations/network installations and management, training development/delivery, project coordination, hardware/software purchasing, Information Services facility management, co-management of multiple system-wide applications, 24-hour on-call systems support. l Information Services Specialist Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, Santa Cruz, CA 1990 - 1994
Hardware/software installation, troubleshooting, UAF computer account management, VAX applications programming and maintenance, documentation development, telecom/network installation and management, training development and implementation, applications support and troubleshooting, help desk management, hardware repair and maintenance. l Computer Operations Manager Data Medic Systems, San Francisco, CA 1985 - 1987
Computer operations management, job scheduling, system troubleshooting, payroll processing, billing processing, system backups, staff supervision, tape library management, hardware/software upgrades. l Information Services Manager Medicus Systems, San Francisco, CA 1982 - 1985
Information Systems representative, system operations management and administration, payroll/billing/scheduling processing, computer operations coordination, staff supervision, facility management, help desk coordination, hardware/software maintenance, equipment acquisition.

Skills

l Applications:

DEC All-in-1 Integrated Office System, GHiS COSTAR, PSP InSyst, Automated Vital Statistics System, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, WordPerfect, various PC productivity tools, World Wide Web Browsers, E-mail Programs.

l Platforms:

DEC VAX, Intel 80x86, DEC Alpha, Apple Macintosh, LAN Hardware (Routers/modems/data circuits), IBM Mainframe.

l Protocols:

DECnet, TCP/IP, SLIP/PPP, SNA, TELNET, FTP, UUCP for Internet e-mail services, Appletalk, X-Windows.

l Operating Systems:

VAXVMS, Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows, MVS, MacOS, some UNIX.

Recent Achievements

Created Tri-department database tracking childrens programs within county government system.
Implemented Health Services Agency Information Services Help Desk with seven-day, 24-hour e-mail/phone support.
Planned and coordinated all remote off-site installations, created network presence with varied application availability for 15 sites throughout the County Health Services network, including the Homeless Persons Health Project, Santa Cruz County Jail Medical Clinic, and Dominican and Watsonville Hospitals.
Created Health Services Agency VAX and PC backup/recovery procedures geared for high system availability, taking advantage of VAX volume shadowing.
Developed and implemented agency-wide computer training program (PC training, Microsoft Office, Using the Internet).
Designed and implemented agency-wide medical clinic calendaring application.
Successfully navigated bureaucracy within State and Local computing agencies to achieve reliable information transfer and delivery.
Coordinated/Implemented mainframe-based information sharing projects for California Children's Services, South County Mental Health, Community Mental Health, and HSA Information Services departments.
Worked with individual departments within the Health Services Agency to create and implement shared and confidential workgroup networks while upgrading from DOS/Intel to Windows NT/Alpha platforms.
Participated in the creation of wiring plans and determined custom wiring specifications for new County building installations.
Performed upgrades to VAX mainframe and PC Operating Systems, and associated applications (All-in-1, VMS, DEC DSM, VAX RdB, Windows NT).
Coordinated computer, peripheral, and network equipment moves for all departments within Health Services Agency.
Coordinated Network Upgrades for numerous county-wide sites, including South County Mental Health Offices. Used existing wiring to expand network access, realizing considerable cost savings.
Created/maintained on-line Help Library, including HTML-based documentation, and extensive on-line resources for IS staff support.
Installed and maintained agency-wide Internet e-mail access using an inventive, inexpensive, and dependable design.

Trainings and Seminars l U.S. Behavioral Health Various database and application trainings for software implementation at Santa Cruz County Mental Health Department. l NT 4.0 Training Recently attended a two day seminar on NT 4.0 troubleshooting, installation, and implementation. l Franklin Planner Project management, time management and time scheduling trainings. l Full Day Regional Seminars DEC User's Society courses in VAX System Management, Network Management, Beginning/Advanced Pathworks PC Management. l Cabrillo Community College Cabrillo Contract Education classes: Microsoft Office97 Access, Excel, and Word (Beginning through Advanced)
AA Degree in Music, with courses in Information Systems, Electronic Music, and Sociology. l City College of San Francisco Courses in COBOL, PASCAL, RPGII and BASIC programming, PC Management, Electronic Music. l Computer Processing Institute Theory and hands-on training on main-frame IBM systems using various operating systems(DOS and OS).
Diploma: Computer Operations & Administration.

Awards l 1996 County GOLD Award for Employee Excellence Voted by Health Services employees. Received a County Board of Supervisor proclamation and cash award.