Our Officer's Professional Bios

With over 13 years professional experience designing and delivering digital media technology solutions and strategies for DCC (digital content creation) professionals, Adam has witnessed the "democratization" of these technologies first-hand. The fact that advanced capabilities for computer-based manipulation of images and sound can be accessed by virtually anybody with an interest in doing so today still seems astonishing and wonderful to me.

Having worked for technology vendors, solution providers (technology integrators) and "creatives" alike, Adam has held roles in applications engineering, product development, technical marketing and business development - often combining my love and knowledge of technology, art and business in order to provide practical solutions and meaningful insights to clients and partners.

Statement of Intent - As both a "creative" and "technical" person, I've always felt a kind of kinship for like-minded people I've met through my involvement with SIGGRAPH over the years. Fostering and nurturing the vast array of personalities and expertise found within the world of computer graphics seems to be a worthy and worthwhile endeavor -and this is exactly what I feel is the primary value of SIGGRAPH. I would like to "give back" to the community and organization as much as it has given me. Hopefully my involvement with the Austin SIGGRAPH chapter will provide me the opportunity to do just that.

Sara Farr graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in Studio Art. She began her career working with 3D graphics for an independent post-production studio. Throughout her career, Ms. Farr has created 2D and 3D computer graphics for both large software publishers and independent game developers on a variety of products ranging from children's educational software to console games. In 2001, Ms. Farr joined the faculty in the Visual Communication department at Austin Community College. As the department's full-time faculty member and "3D Animation" section leader, she is responsible for overseeing the development of the 3D imaging and animation curriculum, helping to staff the 3D classes, and maintaining local and national industry ties to the 3D computer graphics industry.

Statement of Intent - During the new year it is my hope to recruit new members in both the arts and digital media including high-tech individuals who help SIGGRAPH bring new concepts in the entertainment arts to life.

Daniel is VP of Business Development and Senior Account Director for Rocket Recruiting, with extensive recruiting and business development expertise within the IT and game industry sectors. Daniel has recruited within these environments from executive level to mid-level technical and creative positions in every department. He has handled client relations and hiring initiatives for companies from boutique firms to large scale operations.

Prior to recruiting, Daniel worked in Human Resources as a generalist manager. His additional experience includes human resources development, employee relations, training, HRIS, benefits administration/contract negotiation (group health, pension, 401k), payroll administration, and five years as a buyer/procurement.

Statement of Intent - As the organization grows, my diligence will work in step with the requirements of the position. I believe I have created a better format to track and follow our activities and will continue to do so and find areas to improve efficiency. There are always areas to improve upon in any organization, my dedication is to improve the system overall.

Our Chair's Professional Bios

Claudia Chittim McFarland has worked in 3D animation and specializes in 3D polygon modeling. She has studied 3D modeling and animation at the Gnomon Workshop in Los Angeles and works as an interactive media analyst. She recently graduated from the Ic2 Institute at UT Austin with an MS in Technology Commercialization and worked at the Getty Trust in Digital Policy and Initiatives working with interpretive technologies in Los Angeles. This year Claudia worked as a commercial reviewer for the National Science Foundation in Electro-Optics. She currently serves as the chair of elections for the Austin SIGGRAPH chapter and is helping to plan the SIGGRAPH kick-off event for 2010.

Statement of Intent - During the new year it is my hope to recruit new members in both the arts and digital media including high-tech individuals who help SIGGRAPH bring new concepts in the entertainment arts to life

Nick is presently a Visual Communications student at Austin Community College, and will graduate in December 2009 with an Associate of Applied Science with a 3D Modeling Specialization. Nick followed his love for drawing and began his career in mechanical design, completing a certificate in CAD, where he soon found himself turning mechanical creations into weapons, robots, and environments instead of what they were intended to be. He then went on to pursue his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor, but a semester prior to completion, due to his passion for 3D, he made the difficult decision to move to Austin to pursue a more specialized 3D degree program geared towards gaming and film design. Nick is an avid gamer of pc and console, self-professed computer geek, freehand sketch artist, and avid travel photography enthusiast. Nick is also a member of IGDA.

Nick is excited about serving as the Student Outreach Committee Chair for the Austin ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter in order to educate present and future digital media arts students in Texas about the many opportunities ACM SIGGRAPH and the Austin Chapter have to offer students.