Dennis Sheppard

Dennis Sheppard began his development career more than 20 years ago on an Apple IIe writing BASIC programs that printed “Hello!” an infinite number of times. It wasn’t quite love at first sight, but it was close enough. Several years later, after graduating from Louisiana Tech University with a computer science degree, Dennis got all professional with front-end development using ExtJS and .NET. Since then, he’s worked with a plethora of technologies, including a handful of JavaScript frameworks. He’s quite smitten with AngularJS and the roller coaster ride that is being a front-end developer. Dennis is a
Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer and has delivered enterprise solutions for the private equity, insurance, healthcare, education, and distribution industries. Dennis is now the Front-End Architect at NextTier Education in Chicago, and lives in the suburbs with his wife, two kiddos, and a golden retriever.

Christopher Miller is an Architect in West Monroe Partners’ Technology practice. He received a B.S. with Highest Distinction in computer and information technology from Purdue University and started full-time at West Monroe Partners shortly thereafter. Beginning his career in the private equity space, he helped transform his client’s aging applications into modern web applications with the help of newer UI technologies such as HTML5 and jQuery. He has moved on from investment management applications and is currently working on a Software-as-a-Service solution in the renewable energy space at West Monroe Partners. A Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer in Web Applications, his interests include multi-tenancy, RESTful API development, message-based architecture, Microsoft Azure, and of course, AngularJS and other front-end web technologies. Chris lives with his new wife, Hatlyn, in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood.

AJ Liptak is a Senior Consultant at West Monroe Partners in the Technology practice, focusing on modern web applications. After earning his degree in computer information systems from Bradley University, he started at West Monroe Partners working in the banking, private equity, and distribution industries. He is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer and has recently provided transformative solutions for the telecom and healthcare industries. AJ lives in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, where he spends most of his free time riding his bike, trying new restaurants, and exploring cutting-edge technology.