Meet the Finalists of 2010's Exceptional DBA Awards

Kevan Riley

Jonathan
Kehayias

John Burnette

Tracy Hamlin

Jorge Segarra

Ted Krueger

Kevan Riley

I started my IT career 15 years ago, but it wasn't until 1999 that I discovered SQL Server 7. Since then, I have used all versions up to 2008 to deliver all kinds of data platforms. The majority of my work has been in the world of travel agencies and their ever demanding 24/7 websites, pushing the scalability of SQL. Travel is an interesting industry for a DBA, there is no tangible product, it is purely data, and having a good DBA at the heart of a travel company is key to success. In 2007, I moved to my current role at Destinology, a luxury tour operator in the UK. Primary remit here has been to redevelop the entire back-office system.

I can be found most days contributing at AskSQLServerCentral.com. The SQL Server community helped me get where I am today, so it’s only right to give back now that I am in a position to do so.

Why Kevan thinks he should win

As a DBA, I treat every piece of data with the same respect. The data belongs to the organisation that I am working for, and it is my role to make sure it is consistent with other data in the database; to protect it from damage, whether that be malicious or accidental; and to make it available to the organisation in a timely and secure fashion.  It's not MY data or MY database, it is the organisation's, and I am simply the guardian. 

I exhibit those qualities that differentiate Exceptional DBAs from average DBAs: experienced, with a desire to learn more; technical with true business skills; steadfast, yet flexible to change; self confident but not self-important.

I seek to broaden my knowledge of SQL Server and benefit the community by sharing as much as I can through my various community activities. To paraphrase David Wimbush (from Ask SQL Server Central), 'I used to know everything about SQL Server, but I’ve learned a lot since then!'

Jonathan Kehayias

I am a father, husband, Army Reservist, SQL Database Geek, and general goof ball and I have the same problems that most people have using SQL Server on a day to day basis. To be perfectly honest, a career path as a Database Administrator was the farthest thing from my mind early on in life. I got my start with SQL Server working as an Application’s Analyst for Infinite Energy Inc., a Natural Gas company headquartered in Gainesville, Fl, to put myself through college. One of the primary functions of my job was to find and quantify problems in the gas billing system that was based on SQL Server, so generating reports to identify all of the accounts affected by a specific billing problem led me to learning the basics of how to query data out of SQL Server. One thing lead to another and I eventually began writing specifications that included specific code updates to resolve problems and eventually found myself in a Database Developer position.

After spending two years as a Database Developer, I made the transition to Database Administrator when I moved to Tampa, FL to support my wife's post-graduate education. I accepted a job as the first SQL Server DBA for the parent company of a number of restaurant chains. While in this position I learned a lot of important skills from the Sr. Oracle DBA, who was not only my manager, but an excellent mentor. One of the key things I learned during my tenure at OSI was the importance of having an excellent mentor in the development of a becoming a DBA. It wasn't long after assuming this role, that a SQL Server specific question lead me to posting a question on the MSDN Forums, and while I was there I found a number of questions from members of the community that I was able to answer. This started a passion for helping others out online, that I have maintained for the last four years, and has really built my own skill set in SQL Server, while building my own online presence and network within the SQL Server community online.

After three years in my first job as a DBA, an opportunity to assume the role of Sr. Database Administrator for Tampa General Hospital, my current employer and the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the West Central Florida area, presented itself. I was really interested in working in a larger environment with new challenges and accepted the position. Changing from casual dining to healthcare was a significant transition in operating environments and business practices. The ability to apply my skills and give back to the community has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my professional progression, and has lead me to starting "Lunch and Learn", internal training about SQL Server, providing mentorship to fellow team members while building credibility for the DBA staff in my current position.

Why Jonathan thinks he should win

I feel that I should win the Exceptional DBA Award because I make sure that I stay on top of emerging technologies that affect SQL Server and application development by consistently reading blogs from industry leaders and Microsoft, and I share the knowledge I gain with others. To ensure that my skill set has remained up to date I participated in the SQL Server 2008 Certification Beta testing and upgraded my MCITP Database Developer and Administrator certifications from 2005 to 2008. This has allowed me to leverage additions to SQL Server to solve problems for my businesses, as well as teach others about the new features. I have a demonstrated history of implementing best practice solutions in my environments, as well as educating the community on these same best practices, through speaking engagements, blogging, answering questions on the forums, and even answering questions on Twitter, which has become a new popular medium for receiving assistance with problems.

John Burnette

I have more than 13 years experience within the IT industry, with over half of that time specializing in healthcare database architecture, design, security, operations and data warehousing for leading healthcare companies listed in the Fortune 500. I have also served as an IT Project Manager and a data center specialist and hold a current certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP), Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS:SQL2005) and numerous previous technology certifications, including Microsoft's MCSE level.  

I have managed high-performance teams in healthcare and government-compliance Information Technology to deliver value and efficiency in applications development, operations and infrastructure management. In the data warehousing and reporting realm, I have designed numerous technology solutions to deliver financial and operational information in a secure and timely manner to executive and managerial stakeholders. In one data warehouse project, my team saved $30 million in the first year in improving the contractual relationship process and providing a common reporting platform.

I am familiar with current trends in healthcare and government financial database operations, including compliance with HIPAA/SOX requirements, while leading data security, database projects and performance initiatives as a Senior Database Administrator at Link2Gov/FIS.

I am also active with the Nashville Project Management Institute and have previously served on its Chapter Board of Directors. I frequently review technical articles (such as those found at SQLServerCentral.com), attend the Nashville SQL Server Users Group chapter meetings and share T-SQL code I develop with other DBAs and developers. In 2011, I plan to start my Masters work and gain my MCITP-DBA certification.

Why John thinks he should win

I was hesitant to submit my entry because I'm not one that loves much attention or personal hooplah -- in fact, I'm sure that there are hundreds of qualified candidates out there that would deserve the same opportunity for recognition. But I am passionate about being a DBA and want to share my experiences with those who feel that they may have what it takes to succeed in this field. It's not often that someone can come into work and know that what they do in the next six to ten hours will directly impact the success of the entire organization and the level of personal responsibility required to protect an organization from data loss or outages. Although individual organizations may come and go, the need for experts to collect, organize and protect data will only increase and the future for DBAs is virtually a given for the next decade!

Tracy Hamlin

I was introduced to the world of databases with my first professional job in 1988. I was an Oracle developer and soon realized the power of the data. For many years, I continued to work with Oracle then moved on to work with Sybase and SQL Server as well. I have worked in several industries and in nearly every facet of the database field including development, modeling, administration, and architecture. In the last several years, my concentration has been entirely on SQL Server and the Windows environment. Databases have been my passion, and in my current position with Medmined, it's very gratifying to know that I am using SQL Server to help save lives every day.

By keeping SQL Server as my central focus, I've been able to dig deep into it's capabilities and power. Data has become a huge commodity and I place a strong emphasis on giving the users and developers the tools they need to use the databases wisely. This allows me the opportunity to enhance the performance of the databases through administrative and architectural means. As engineers continue to add new functionality to systems, it takes more ingenuity to design ways to make these systems more efficient. Database Administrators must act quickly as the size and demands on the databases grow at an incredible rate. Although I have had great successes, I make strong use of other DBA's discoveries and as such, have started blogging my own experiences to share with others.

Why Tracy thinks she should win

I believe I should win the Exceptional DBA Award for several reasons. I work very hard to stay on top of the latest technologies that will benefit my employer and have grown as a DBA more in the last 5 years than any other time in my career. I am also more than just a technical person - I am also a people person. I work very well with all my peers and that allows me to better understand them and to help them. I work closely with users of the systems and they feel comfortable coming to me with any issues they may have. I work hard because I really care about what I'm doing - I'm not just trying to get the job done so I can go home at the end of the day. I have a great passion for what I do and feel extremely fortunate to get introduced to databases as an intern in college. Being a DBA is the best job in the world!

Jorge Segarra

I began my database career as many others have in that I became the "accidental DBA" for our department. My qualifications? I'd recently graduated from college and in one of my web development classes I used SQL Server 2000…that's it! Luckily our environment was extremely basic so I was shown the basics of backups, recovery and the occasional DBCC CHECKDB session in order to appease the spirit of Paul Randal that surely lived within the code. At the time, SQL Server 2005 was just about to come out and I wanted to learn all about this new product as well as some of the cool stuff I thought I'd never deal with like partitioning, SSIS, and a whole slew of other goodies. It was then that I discovered my local SQL user group (Tampa Bay SQL Server User Group) and started plugging into the community. I became hooked! The community was amazing and there was so much knowledge out there waiting to be tapped into and eagerly waiting to be shared.

Shortly thereafter I realized I needed to move to another job with a more robust SQL environment in order to further my skill set. So I packed my things and went to work for a hospital in Tampa where I spent the last two years being the SQL Server DBA there. During that time I was able to organize and clean up the backup environment, began a consolidation project of smaller SQL Server database deployments, assisted in virtualizing and deploying SQL Servers, implementing Policy-Based Management with Enterprise policy management framework, and helped develop databases and scripts for custom projects.

The last two years have also seen a great deal of personal growth as I've become more and more involved in the SQL community. I’ve had the honor and great fortune of being asked to co-author a book on Policy-Based Management with Ken Simmons and Colin Stasiuk. I've created and organized a community-based blogging project called SQL University which brings bloggers from all over the world together to help educate newcomers to the SQL Server world. On the local front I’ve assisted Pam Shaw in running the Tampa Bay SQL Server User Group as well as helped her in organizing our SQLSaturday event in Tampa this past year. Five years ago when I started this journey I never would have imagined I'd be where I am now!

Why Jorge thinks he should win

In the course of my career I feel I've truly embraced the principles of PASS (connect, share and learn) which has helped me grow by leaps and bounds from just an everyday DBA to a truly Exceptional DBA. I hope to never stop learning and sharing the knowledge I've gained through the community, as well as to help continue to build and grow our community.

Ted Krueger

My career path towards database administration started in the late 1990s. The company I worked for at the time had SQL Server installations running freely, ignored until something went wrong. I introduced myself to managing SQL Server so I could prevent problems, rather than correcting them. Ever since, I strive to dig deeper into database administration, and to be a valued asset to the businesses that employ me and the professionals with whom I work.

I'm currently employed by a large pharmaceutical company, which has shown me how rewarding this career path can be. I make it my mission to work with the teams around me and share my knowledge with them, so we all can sit back at the end of the day and be proud of the systems we've built together. Another milestone for me has been co-founding the LessThanDot.com community.

Why Ted thinks he should win

Several years ago I set a personal goal of continuing to learn on a daily basis and sharing that knowledge with the community and teams I’m fortunate to work with. As a database professional working with high volume database servers, time is always limited. Finding ways to manage a DBA career and share all of this with the community can be a task in itself. The long nights and hard work don’t compare to the rewards that I gain from helping others, though. I'm exceptionally proud of the work that I have done to this point, and I look forward to regularly being a devoted part of the community in the years to come.

If awarded the Exceptional DBA of 2010, the award will allow me to reach more professionals in our community. Reaching more people around the world and building the community will allow all of us to become exceptional, and our community foundation will only become stronger.