People

Cher Cornett has been working professionally as a graphic designer and illustrator for over 25 years and has been involved in developing interactive multimedia products for over 15 years, including pioneering work in interactive instructional product design at Florida State University. Prior to coming to ETSU, she has owned and operated CC Design, a mid-sized design and multimedia studio in Tallahassee, FL; chaired the Graphic Arts Technology program at State Tech at Memphis where she built one of the first interactive multimedia programs in a 2-year college; and coordinated and taught in the Interactive Multimedia Masters Degree Program at Southern Illinois University. Her research interests include the history of digital media art, interactive storytelling, and computer-based interactive instruction for K-12. Cher is certified in Adobe Photoshop, is a member of ACM SIGGRAPH and the International Digital Media Arts Association, and is on the register of Judges for the American Advertising Federation ADDY Awards Competitions.

To his great surprise, Marty finds himself teaching at ETSU’s Digital Media Center after spending 15 years working in the San Francisco area. He earned two music degrees and owned Pixelworks, Inc., a graphics and animation house, for 12 years. Marty also taught at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. When not stuck in front of a screen, he co-exists as an ultra runner and in 2001 hiked all 2700 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Jonathan has been teaching at ETSU since 2007, but his industry journey began in 1996 and included experience in graphic design and advertising with cultural non-profits such as Barter Theatre, Old Salem Living History Town and the National Storytelling Foundation. His agency work also included regional food service favorites like Pal’s Sudden Service and a little dash of Texas Pete. His professional work centers on print media and brand identity but has included the occasional foray into web design and television advertising. Jonathan holds two degrees in fine art and graphic design from Virginia Intermont (1996) and an M.F.A in Studio Art from ETSU (2004). His new media art continues to explore themes of human memory and movements on the backdrops of history and locale. This work has been exhibited regionally and as far as New York, Boston, Miami and Los Angeles. Jonathan loves travelling around the U.S. and abroad. A bucket list item for him is to take his wife and two sons to all of our National Parks. As a volunteer for the BSA, his free time is full of teaching merit badges and leading adventures in nature. A four-day hiking trek in Peru to ancient Machu Picchu has been a definite highlight of his work with the Scouts.

Since 2008, James Livingston has been teaching at East Tennessee State University and is currently an Associate Professor. He teaches a variety of classes that include techniques in video capturing, visual effects compositing, motion graphics, 2D and 3D animation and effects animation, and digital image manipulation. James’ past experience was 19 years in broadcast television. He held positions from production assistant, production manager, to senior graphic designer. James has considerable freelance experience in digital art and design, live action sporting events and motor sports production. In addition to classroom instruction at ETSU, James has taught courses at Milligan College and Northeast State Community College in Graphic Design, Digital Imaging and Advertising Graphics.

Keith began teaching at the college level in the early ‘90s in Ohio. He started teaching at ETSU in 2000. Keith also has 16+ years of experience in leading businesses and technical teams to bring new product innovations to manufacture and market and has a number of patents. He is a proven leader in Management, Engineering, Product Design, Marketing and Innovation. Keith has an exceptional propensity for identifying opportunities for improvement, scalability, sustainability and facilitating advancements. In his spare time, his role as Scoutmaster resulted in thirteen Eagle Scouts.

Laura has earned two degrees from East Tennessee State University, a Bachelor of Science in game design and visualization in 2013, and a Master’s of Art in New Media in 2016. She has worked freelance as a graphic designer and visual effects artist for the past six years as well as taught animation, film, and visual effects basics for the past three years. She specializes in visual effects, technical animation, video production, and compositing. In her spare time, she drafts and creates fantastical costumes, casual outfits, and plush toys.

Deborah keeps our students on track in our four concentrations and sets them up for success from their freshman year to graduation day.

Todd spent several years in Fort Lauderdale, FL where he operated his design studio “Voodoo Designs” and taught at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. He later become the Director of Marketing and Web Design at Steeda Auto Sports while continuing to teach part time. Missing the world of gaming and 3D, Todd went back to teaching full time at the Art Institute in the Game Design department as the Game Engine Technology Expert. Working with the leading 3D game engine and 3D modeling software, he successfully lead graduating classes into successful gaming positions across the country. After a short stay at South East Missouri State University as a multi-media instructor, he is now helping to guide the gaming and interaction program at ETSU in new and exciting gaming areas including new work flows in the 3d pipeline, online interaction, effects for gaming, hud development, mobile gaming and 3d gaming production just to mention a few.

Marty holds two degrees from East Tennessee State University, a Bachelor of Science in computer design and animation, and a Master of Art in figurative sculpture. He has worked as a designer and illustrator for twenty years. He was co-owner of the brothers Grimm Games llc. He has received two international awards from IAAPA, a Brass Ring award for best new product 2010, and best new product impact award 2004. His games sold internationally and have been use by Disney, NBC, and the White House. Marty was a featured artist for Smith-micro makers of Clip studio paint. He is an active illustrator, designer, and sculptor. Marty currently works as a freelance toy designer, digital sculptor and fabricator at NECA toys and Kidrobot.

Anthony earned his undergraduate degree in Digital Media at ETSU in 2002 and continued his education with digital media courses at The Renaissance Center near Nashville, TN. He worked as a digital media consultant for a management firm, gaining real-world experience, and returned to ETSU to earn a graduate degree. He is currently the director of ETSU’s Academic Technology Services group. Specialties include 3D work, primarily modeling but with a strong understanding of animation, rendering and other aspects; 2D work, primarily photo manipulation and web design; and a strong understanding of video production and editing.

Gregory Marlow holds two degrees from East Tennessee State University, a Bachelor of Science, obtained in 2003, and a Master of Science, obtained in 2006. He also received a Certification in Advanced Character Animation from Animation Mentor in 2008 and an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University in 2018. He has worked in the animation and video game industry for ten years. He spent nearly five years at Firaxis Games (2K) in Baltimore, MD, working as a Character Animator for the Civilization and XCOM franchises. Some of his published titles include Civilization V; Gods and Kings; Brave New World; XCOM: Enemy Unknown Slingshot DLC; XCOM: Enemy Within; Bioshock Infinite; and Civilization VI. In his free time, he continues to work as a contract animator for various animation and game studios.

Reedena is so excited to be a part of supporting the Digital Media Center work family of faculty, staff, and students. She has gained a plethora of interesting experiences that should hopefully carry over well. Some of those major experiences include serving in student service areas such as Campus Activities, Campus Ministry, and Country Dancers all while obtaining a BA degree at Berea College. And then also serving in student service roles at UNC Charlotte’s Colleges of Business and then Arts and Architecture, and then more recently at ETSU’s Office of Assessment and Department of Engineering. Reedena is at heart a counselor, crafty, detail-oriented, etc. She gets pretty excited about everything, and counts relationships at work and of course with family, friends (even the furry kind), and nature to be what makes life worthwhile!

Saritdikhun Somasa (Sarit) has three degrees in Art Education, a BFA In Visual Design, and an MFA in Multimedia Design. He taught digital arts focusing on 3D digital form and animation at Bowling Green State University for 14 years since 2004. In 1998, during his bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon, he worked part-time at game developer company, Dynamix, Inc. and published by Sierra On-Line, Inc.in Eugene, Oregon. He worked on texturing and modeling on Starsiege: Tribes (Dec 23, 1998) and Field & Stream: Trophy Bass 3D (Jun 16, 1999) game. Since 2011, he has been working with 3D animation, digital sculpting and 3D printing along with woodworking, metalsmithing, photography, painting, drawing, and video as part of his creative practice. In his research practice, he combines virtual and physical art forms, along with Buddhist philosophy and psychology (Freud, Jung, hidden personality, dreams). The Thai culture in which he was raised is a major influence on his work. His interests are in kinematic arts and 3D zoetrope, and his future works will focus on using both virtual and physical hi-tech interactions such as robotics, holographic, stop motion, and digital animation.

In 2016, Caitlin graduated from the Honors College at East Tennessee State University with a BS in Digital Media and a minor in Studio Art. She then commenced graduate studies at the University of South Wales in the United Kingdom where she earned a Masters in Animation with honors. She has worked professionally as a portrait and character animation artist and illustrator for the past 9 years, and is a freelance animator. She has taught classes and presented instructional lectures to undergraduates, graduate students, and adult learners in various organizations including the BFI Film Academy and the University of South Wales. Caitlin enjoys the conceptual and practical challenges of developing story boards, animatics and associated artwork for use in film, graphic illustration, cartooning, advertising and marketing.