Rick Thomas Short
Clearance Level: Secret
Agency Granted by: DODCAF
Email: RickShort3D@yahoo.com
Objective
- A Creative Director position utilizing my technical, creative and leadership skills with over ten years of Information Technology, Creative Direction, Accessibility Testing, Development and UI Design experience.
Summary of Qualifications
- Award-winning Creative Director with over 15 years of experience in creative and technical roles writing, creating and testing Instructional Design courses, websites,videos, intranet sites and 2D & 3D graphics.
- Experience creating conceptual art, digital art illustrations, 2D and 3D digital art, video and camera-ready artwork for stock agencies, websites, print and mobile applications.
- Writing instructional design and e-learning courses for adult and K-12 students using the ADDIE model along with 508 Compliance and Web Content Accessibility (WCAG) guidelines.
- UX Accessibility and 508 Compliance SME (Subject Matter Expert) with over ten years of experience developing, testing and teaching 508 Compliance and Accessibility for education, state and federal government applications.
Certifications -IC Agile Certified Professional, Accessibility Testing Expert Certified, Deloitte Consulting, LLC
Technical Skills - UI Design, Instructional Design, Web Design / Development, Technical Writing, 508 Compliance and Accessibility Training and Testing, Graphic design in electronic and print media.
Graphic Design - Adobe Creative Suite, Stock Photography / Photo Manipulation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools.
Accessibility / 508 Compliance Tools - ANDI Web Accessibility Tool, Axe Google Plug-in Accessibility Tool, The Paciello Group Colour Contrast Analyzer, Google Chrome Color Contrast Analyzer, Freedom Scientific JAWS Screen Reader, Freedom Scientific ZoomText Magnifier / Reader, Site Improve Accessibility Checker, Trace Center Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT), JAWS, NVDA and Microsoft Windows Narrator Screen Readers, VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template), WebAIM WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool, Sort Site, W3C WCAG 2.0 / 2.1 / 2.2 Guidelines.
UI Skills - HTML / HTML5, CSS / CSS3, JavaScript, Three.js, JQuery, Twitter Bootstrap, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Creative Suite, Figma.
Methodologies – Agile using SCRUM, Waterfall, ADDIE Model.
Soft Skills - Received Monetary Awards and Recognition for coaching and mentoring, teaching, training, vendor management, project leadership.
Experience
Deloitte Consulting LLC 2/2017 - Present
Senior Solution Engineer
- Received 6 Applause Awards from upper management in supporting the QA Accessibility testing activities for Federal Government clients including the United States Navy, Department of Homeland Security and US Department of the Treasury (Internal Revenue Service).
- Serve as Co-Lead for the Accessibility Community of Practice for the Deloitte Florida office to teach and train testers on Accessibility law, WCAG 2.0 / 2.1 Guidelines, manual and automated testing tools.
- Create conceptual art, website design and testing and digital art for federal agencies including
- The United States Navy
- US Department of the Treasury (IRS)
- The Department of Homeland Security (TSA)
- US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
- Mentor other consultants in creating 508 Compliant websites, graphics, video content and ad copy.
- Create Instructional Design Courses and Video Tutorials to teach Developers how to use Accessibility testing tools such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, Windows Narrator, ZoomText, Colour Contrast Analyzer and other accessibility tools.
- Write Instructional Design documentation to serve as training for Developers, QA Testers and Upper Management on web accessibility tools using videos, screen captures and Microsoft Word.
- Teach Technical Writing Workshops for the Robotics and Cognitive Automation Eminence Team to help the team become more proficient in writing technical white papers.
Scenic Earth Studios 8/2011 - 1/2017
Creative Director
- Led a team of Web Designers, Artists and IT support staff to create web and print content for onsite and remote clients in Northern and Central Florida.
- Perform UX Design and graphic design creation of large banners, posters, email campaigns, advertisements, digital art and stock photography.
- Built relationships with printing and software vendors to gain bids, prices and print large (10 x 20 ) banners, signs and build software and website applications.
- Wrote ad copy, designed logos, and large scale banners for trade shows.
- Created conceptual and finished digital stock images for websites, print and electronic media using Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro.
- Created 3D User Interfaces over the web using WebGL frameworks such as Three.js and HTML5.
- Tested web applications for cross browser compatibility, responsiveness and mobile friendliness using mobile emulators, mobile devices and desktop browsers.
Florida Virtual School 8/2009 - 8/2011
Quality Assurance Analyst / Instructional Designer
- Ensured 508 compliance standards were met by testing all aspects of course content including alt tags, videos, interactive content and proof reading.
- Awarded vendor status for creating original digital artwork to be used in live courses resulting in monetary savings for the company.
- Improved game play and reduced errors for courses using 3D game levels, game play and UI design for 3D games developed by vending partner.
- Reduced errors found in beta released courses by 50% through QA testing.
- Created prototypes of courses including storyboarding, visual modeling and interactive websites using Adobe Photoshop, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
- Educated Teachers, Managers and Curriculum Services staff by teaching seminars on 508 Compliance & Color Theory in Web Design.
Education
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Information Systems
- Bachelor of Science, Marketing
Awards
- Deloitte Applause Award Recipient, Award Number: 2203833 on 04/21/2026.
- Deloitte Applause Award Recipient, Award Number: 1930876 on 04/02/2025.
- Deloitte Applause Award Recipient, Award Number: 1743575 on 05/15/2024.
- Deloitte Outstanding Performance Award Recipient, Award #: 1708039, April 2024, FinCEN.
- Nominated for Outstanding Coach, Deloitte Consulting LLC, October 2023.
- Nominated for Deloitte Team Inclusion Champion, October 2023 for work performed for the Test Automation / Accessibility Delivery Pool, Lake Mary, FL.
- Deloitte Applause Award Recipient, Deloitte FY22 USDC STAR Awards, 12/20/2021, Award Number: 1213700.
- Deloitte Applause Award Recipient, Deloitte Internal ChangeScout Project, 01/12/2021, Award Number: 1039159.
- Deloitte Applause Award Recipient, US Navy PMW 240 Support, 09/24/19, Award Number: 782159.
- Award Winning Artist / Photographer earning First Place, Second Place and Honorable Mention Awards and Cash Prizes in Central Florida Art shows (2000 – 2020).
Portfolio
Professional References Available Upon Request