Joseph Busch
Mr. Busch is an authority in the field of information science, with an emphasis on helping organizations develop metadata frameworks and taxonomy strategies to ensure that content realizes its highest value through re-use and re-purposing. He has extensive knowledge and experience developing content architectures consisting of metadata frameworks, taxonomies and other information management methods to implement effective information management applications such as search engines, portals, web sites, content management systems, digital asset management systems, document management systems, knowledge management systems, e-learning and e-government. Mr. Busch was President of the American Society for Information Science and Technology in 2001, and is a recent member of the Board of Directors of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative.

Zach Wahl
Zach Wahl is the Global Director of Information Management at PPC, with oversight for all taxonomy and metadata, knowledge management, portal, content management, collaboration, and social computing efforts for AEA and PPC. He is an expert and frequent speaker on the topics of Taxonomy Design, Knowledge Gathering, and Information Governance. He focuses on the strategy, design, and deployment of Information Management technologies and systems including collaboration tools, portals, content management systems, and social computing technologies. In addition, Mr. Wahl has designed his own series of workshops on the topics of Information System Best Practices, Taxonomy Design, and Information Governance. Mr. Wahl has managed the deployment of over 100 information management systems in both the public and private sectors. He sits on the board of the Washington DC Knowledge Management Institute and is the Chairman of IIRUSA’s Enterprise Web, Portals, and Collaborative Technologies conference. In addition, KMWorld Magazine identified PPC’s knowledge management offerings amongst their trend setting products of 2010.




Nick Nylund
Mr. Nylund is a Principal Analyst in Project Performance Corporation's internationally known Knowledge Management Practice with a concentration in the design and development of knowledge management strategies for clients in both government and commercial industries. He is well versed in portal and web technologies, and providing content and information management strategies for improving end user experiences. Mr. Nylund is skilled in improving IT process management and ensuring that IT plans align with organizational strategic vision. He is experienced in taxonomy and metadata design, content management, governance strategies, and providing critical analysis on proposed IT investments and their overall value to the organization. Mr. Nylund is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and holds an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certification.





Tatiana Baquero
Ms. Baquero is a Knowledge Management Analyst with ten years of experience in the development and implementation Principal of Web-based content management systems and other corporate information systems for the banking, health care, telecom and micro-finance industries, as well as for the government and multilateral organizations. Ms. Baquero has extensive experience with portal strategy and taxonomy design for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) portals. She excels at designing and conducting taxonomy workshops and training sessions to effectively manage corporate content. Her project management skills and bilingual skills have allowed her to successfully implement organization development projects in the U.S. and Latin America. Ms. Baquero is an active board member at the Knowledge Management Institute in Virginia.





Niels Nielsen
Niels Nielsen has over 25 years of experience focused on helping enterprises create, secure, manage, find, measure, and use information effectively. Mr. Nielsen has applied his expertise in project leadership and business analysis to portal, content management, identity management, and business process solutions for telecommunications, media, hospitality, government, and non-profit organizations. Before joining Avalon, Nielsen was a Managing Consultant at EDS and previously held product and marketing management positions with Prentice Hall.






Joe Hilger
Joe Hilger runs the Washington, DC office of Avalon Consulting, LLC. He is widely regarded as an expert in implementing both Enterprise Content Management and Enterprise Search products. Mr. Hilger consults with organizations around the country and has spoken on the effective use of search as well as complex portal implementations at numerous industry conferences. Mr. Hilger’s interest in Enterprise Search and Content Management comes from a desire to show his clients how to use both unstructured and semi-structured information to solve complex business problems. Mr. Hilger is passionate about helping clients bridge the gap between business needs and technical implementation. He has led numerous high performance professional teams to deliver integrated enterprise application and content management solutions. Our teams at Avalon Consulting, LLC have a strong record of accomplishment in client satisfaction, innovation and leadership.




Sam Carson
Sam Carson focuses on technology direction, channel and partner strategy, and sales and delivery enablement for Avalon Consulting, LLC. Mr. Carson draws on more than 17 years of IT industry experience, ranging from directing large web development teams to building out channel development programs for software companies. He has significant experience implementing enterprise content management solutions for financial services, hospitality, and telecommunication clients. Before joining Avalon, Mr. Carson was the Director of Channels and Alliances for Neighborhood America and previously held partner management responsibilities for Vignette.







Sam Mefford
As the first consultant at Avalon Consulting, LLC, to focus on Enterprise Search, Sam Mefford has pioneered the consultancy’s practical implementation of Enterprise Search projects, helping organizations smartly manage their digital content while mitigating the risk involved with executing their Enterprise Search strategies. After 5 years and over 50 Enterprise Search projects at Avalon, Sam Mefford has become a passionate advocate for efficient meta-data techniques to power better search experiences. Sam is a progressive architect and thought leader when it comes to parlaying Enterprise Search, navigation, and content intelligence into competitive advantage. His foresight and unique skill in layering intuitive, enhanced user interfaces on top of these platforms has led to increased user acceptance and adoption of the implemented solutions.






Ryan Merriman
Ryan Merriman is Avalon’s Capability Lead for Vignette and Content Management. Ryan has architected and designed sites of all sizes, from compact, efficient microsites to large enterprise, high traffic and highly personalized sites. He has deep implementation experience with all aspects of Vignette Content Management (VCM) and Vignette Application Portal (VAP), including content management, delivery and search. He is passionate about creating sites that are fast, simple to use, and easy to maintain.