The Design Team

This website was created by students from Metropolitan State University

Out of the need for a new website, Raeann Ruth executive director of The Portage for Youth and Mounds Theatre contacted Nadja Berneche at MSU, who in turn coordinated this project with John Simmer, instructor of a Graduate level course entitled Writing and Designing for the Web (Writ 573) at Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN.

Team members are listed below along with their contributions and bio (where provided). Feel free to contact them if you're in need of a web developer or related freelance services.

This site meets current authoring standards for web design and accessibility. Text content and some images were provided the client. Most of the text was re-written re-organized and formatted to best suite the needs of the client as well as the readability and usability of site visitors. All other aspects of the website were developed and deployed entirely by the design team below. This includes: site structure, graphics, web coding and menu system, as well as search engine strategy.

Design Team Photo

Team Members

  • Kumiko Borman - Kumiko is currently pursing a M.S. in Technical Communication while working at Center for Online Learning at Metropolitan State University. She previously worked as a web designer in both private and public sectors. Kumiko is native of Japan and does translation and website localization as well.
  • Carol Chapple – Carol graduated from M.S. in Technical Communication in 2007 and worked in Cargill as a web coordinator for Corporate Affairs and Noticeably Better Processes. She enjoys a variety of design work. Currently she focuses on her floral design business – Little Fish Designs. To learn more about Carol’s design & services, visit Little Fish Designs' website.
  • Meghan Dusek - Meghan is a freelance writer based in Hudson, Wis. and is pursuing a MS in technical communication from Metropolitan State University. She worked with Courtney Huber to provide text for the site.
  • Megan Godbold - Megan is currently working on a M.S. in Technical Communication and works as a student worker at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. She enjoys all types of design, and is excited to expand her creativity to the web. To learn more about Megan and her design services visit her website.
  • Courtney Huber - Courtney served as co-copywriter for the redesign of the Mounds Theatre website. She is in the home stretch of the Technical Communication M.S. program at Metro State University and currently works as a Marketing Copywriter for Llewellyn Worldwide in Woodbury, MN. She lives in Western Wisconsin.
  • Steven Paulson - Steven Paulson is a student as well as a Freelance Graphic Designer. His involvement in this project included the development of the overall page design, logo and color scheme, as well as the creation of the innovative side buttons.
  • Katherine Samson - Currently works as a database marketing analysis and has eleven years experience working in the marketing industry. In the summer of 2008 Katherine did an internship for Pearson as a website associate. Katherine is finishing her B.A. in Technical Communication at Metropolitan State University. She would like to further her education by getting her M.A. degree. She anticipates on having a career in web development and design.
  • Heidi Schermerhorn - Heidi will complete her master's degree in Technical Communication in early 2010. She began exploring web design in the early 00s during undergrad and has since created a handful of websites. Visit her website to find out more about her design.
  • Torleif Sorenson - Tor is a Technical Communication major at Metro State, where he also writes for The Metropolitan and his photography has been published in Haute Dish, the University's arts and literature magazine. By day, he is a professional technical writer and a quality management intern. Tor is also a fifth-generation musician who plays cello and six-string bass.
  • Nicole Cook
  • Teresa Davenport
  • Ryan Hogan
  • Noah Spannbauer