Our Staff

Mr. Brian Broderick

The later projects brought him to Oregon in 1996 with increased responsibilities. As Art Director for software development he managed and assisted in all aspects of 2D and 3D art production for six software development cycles.

Broderick became Tech-Aid’s primary 3D animator in Spring 2010.

Mr. Christopher Lindberg

Creative Director Christopher Lindberg has worked as a Graphic Artist and Computer Animator for more than 20 years. He began at Perrine Films as an Animator, then as Lead Artist for Adfiliation Advertising until 1994. Then he moved to Lane Community College as a Multimedia Lab Technician and later as an Instructor for Computer Animation and Interactive Media.

In 1996 he began working at the Oregon Center for Applied Science where he specialized in the development of computer-based education and behavioral change software. Later, he also worked in the development of video-based projects. It was here that he began working with Dr. Wells.

Lindberg has been working with Dr. Wells for the past 12 years. Together, they have designed an award-winning interface that is accessible to people with disabilities.

Ms. K. Kristina Mullins

Research Assistant, K. Kristina Mullins, graduated from the University of Oregon in 2006 with a B.S. with Honors in Psychology. She plans to get her masters in Medical Anthropology in order to further research in health measures for people with intellectual disabilities. The foci of her studies are health psychology, group psychology, human sexuality, medical and nutritional anthropology. As a Research Assistant to Dr. Holly Arrow of the University of Oregon, Kristina worked collaboratively with a team of researchers to study small group interactions including issues of diversity perception.  Analyzing focus group discussions through text analysis, she melded qualitative with quantitative analysis for a rich and validated understanding of those concepts.

Kristina has also worked in the field of support services for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. She worked as a Direct Support Professional, Advocate and Program Manager over several years. While working directly with this population she recognized the learning potential that was largely untapped in many people with intellectual disabilities, and desired to help them achieve a greater degree of independence and self-reliance. Working directly with adults with intellectual disabilities in their homes, Kristina began field-testing Tech-Aid computer programs in 2008 to evaluate their software and gauge it’s usability. In 2009, Kristina permanently joined the Tech-Aid team. Kristina is responsible for all subject recruitment activities, conducting telephone interviews, assisting with focus groups, conducting evaluation activities, and other research tasks that draw on her background and strengths.

Ms. Karen Sarno

Program Director Karen Sarno has more than two decades of experience in research environments. With a B.S. in Biology, she has held a variety of positions in not-for-profit as well as for-profit organizations spanning life sciences, biomedical, and educational/museum fields.

Ms. Sarno has a proven track record of progressive advancements in sales, product and marketing development, quality assurance, and project management providing a breadth of experience and knowledge that supports her understanding of the many aspects of a business.

With more than a decade of experience in project and program management, Ms. Sarno has collaborated with Executive Staff at Tech-Aid to develop and communicate the vision, mission, and goals of the organization through its projects. She has had fiscal, and direct and indirect personnel management responsibilities. Ms Sarno has also managed a diverse group of people including scientists, writers, engineers, graphic designers and artists. She has provided leadership and direction, while helping team members develop new skills and achieve goals.

Most recently serving as a Senior Project Manager of the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco, CA., Ms Sarno was responsible for co-leading multiple, multi-million dollar National Science Foundation grants that culminated in the creation of new exhibit collections on the museum floor, traveling exhibitions, and a website.

Ms. Sarno understands that surpassing expectations, exceptional organizational, and clear communication skills, along with building solid relationships based on trust and respect are keys to success.

Mr. Kevin Williams

Programmer Kevin Williams has been working with computers his entire life and has been programming for over ten years. Apart from a year spent at Lane Community College, Eugene, OR, he has been completely self-taught. He has worked on multiple low-profile indie titles as well as developing applications for the Android Mobile Operating System and is currently working on applications for the Apple iPhone and iPad.

He has experience programming in a number of different languages including: C, C++, Objective-C, Java, Javascript, Actionscript, TorqueScript, HTML, and PHP.

As a primarily indie game programmer he has also gained experience in high-tier game engines and development environments such as Torque, Flash, Irrlicht, Game Maker, Unity, Unreal, and more recently, Director.