About Us
Rick Rogers, President
“Here at Fenestra, we’ve built a cohesive, entrepreneurial, and diverse staff that focuses on our customers and their needs. Our decentralized decision-making allows each staff person to delve into their creative sides, and come up with innovative, “ah ha” solutions to complex challenges. We also take advantage of our varying backgrounds and experiences to cross-pollinate knowledge and ideas. As a result, we’re continually adapting, improving and inventing, to bring our clients the best possible solutions.”
BIO
Rick has a proven track record of winning government contracts; he led Fenestra’s effort to win multi-year contracts for research and development services from the United States Census Bureau from 1998 to 2012, and served as a key member of Lockheed Martin’s effort to win the multi-year contract to develop the National Archives and Records Administration Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system from 2005-2011.
Rick also participates actively in the wider government contracting community, including leading the Federal Chief Information Officer Council’s “E-Forms for E-Government” study in 2003, regularly presenting at the annual Federal Computer Assisted Survey Information Collection conference, and presenting at local ARMA International and Association for Information and Image Management meetings. He also serves on the Board of Directors of History Associates, Inc.
Rick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with Magna Cum Laude honors, from Carleton College in Northfield, MN, with a major in History and a concentration in Medieval & Renaissance History. He earned a Masters in Business Administration, with honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Chicago.
In his personal life, he enjoys serving others through his church and Boy Scouts of America. In the summer of 2009, he was an adult advisor on a co-ed youth backpacking trip in the high desert wilderness in New Mexico.
Steven Schafer, Chief Technology Officer
“One of the most important benefits of working at Fenestra is the opportunity to work with a team that is both highly skilled and highly motivated. Everyone on the team is a self-starter. At the same time, there are no celebrity personalities – everyone is willing to listen to differing points of view. The net result is quick convergence: there is no endless bickering over minutiae, but also no need to lead anyone by the hand – everyone understands each project’s goals, and works diligently to achieve those goals.”
BIO
Steve introduced the Census Bureau to the now-ubiquitous XML data interchange formats, embedded “behavior engines” that allow non-specialists to design the behavior of electronic surveys, the use of wikis as a collaboration tool and, along with Fenestra colleagues, agile development techniques to improve the quality and timeliness of software products.
His IT skills include a wide range of programming skills as well as relational and object databases.
Steve has a B.S. with honors in Engineering and Applied Sciences from the California Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University. He has authored a number of papers on XML.
John Elrick, Senior Software Developer
“Working with Fenestra isn’t for everyone. It’s a company where professionals need to take the initiative, handle many jobs, and to do so in an environment where decision-making is decentralized. I am an entrepreneur by nature, and in many ways, working with Fenestra is like being in business for oneself. It’s a place where you can accept responsibilities, take initiative, and be judged by your results. This environment attracts intelligent and progressive-thinking people who dedicate themselves to producing the finest work they are capable of creating.
It’s an environment where I can point to my colleagues and say “I work with that person” with sincere pride. So, the primary reason I enjoy working with Fenestra is being trusted to do the job, knowing that everyone who works with me can be trusted to do their job as well.”
BIO
John has founded a number of software companies through the years, and joined Fenestra in 2001. He is also a certified Scrum Master, and was a pioneer in introducing Agile Project Management methodologies to the Economic Directorate of the Census Bureau.
Recently, John has furthered his education through Colorado State University, Global Campus. He was accepted into the university’s graduate business program in November 2012, and is currently earning an MS in Organizational Leadership (MSOL). In 2012 he completed his BS in Organizational Leadership and was inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society in recognition of placing in the top 15 percent of all students in the university.
John has been very active with Toastmasters International, and holds the distinctions of Advanced Communicator Gold and Advanced Leader Bronze. He is working on completing Distinguished Toastmaster, which is the highest level of certification offered by Toastmasters International.
Lee Meininger, Senior Software Engineer
“Everyone that I work with here at Fenestra is committed to producing something that is head and shoulders above what is just ‘needed’ to get by and get paid. We are not shy about innovation and we are scrupulous about the quality of the work. We all have the experience and know-how to be outstanding advocates for our customers.”
BIO
Lee graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL with degrees in History and the Literature of Religions. He has also done post-graduate work in History and Anthropology at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.
Lee is also a Certified ScrumMaster associated with the Scrum Alliance.
Stephen Oates, Senior Software Engineer
“I’ve worked with Fenestra Technologies since 2006 and I appreciate the diverse resources available to our team. We cross over a variety of industries and skill sets and are able to interact on a regular basis. This allows our customers to benefit from our diverse knowledge base.”
BIO
Stephen has more than 20 years of experience in Systems Engineering, including requirements gathering, scope definition, analysis, architecture, planning, estimating, design, testing, implementation, maintenance, documentation and support.
He has contributed to business solutions in a variety of industries, including education, eLearning, government contracting, financial, insurance, telecommunications, transportation, and travel. His client portfolio includes Westat, Lockheed Martin, Amtrak, KnowledgePlanet (Mzinga), Freddie Mac, AT&T, Wellspring Resources (State Street), Airlines Reporting Corporation, Electronic Data Systems (HP), and GEICO.
Carolyn Salamon, Project Manager
“I joined Fenestra because I was looking for an innovative company with top-notch talent and an entrepreneurial spirit whose people thrive on providing the highest quality solutions.
I’m very impressed with the wealth of knowledge of Fenestra’s staff, but even more so by the mutual respect, trust, and camaraderie among everyone. We thrive on challenges that result in outstanding results.”
BIO
Ms. Salamon joined Fenestra in 2012, and brings many years of experience in Project Management with both government and commercial clients. She has her PMP from the Project Management Institute, a MS in Telecommunications from Pace University, and a BA in Psychology from Sweet Briar College.
Lisa Arant, Office Manager
“I enjoy the fact that we’re a small company and everyone is accountable. At the same time, there is a great sense of camaraderie here at Fenestra – a sense that if ever one of us needs anything, be it information, help with a project, etc, we’ll get it. We’re a close-knit group even though we don’t all work in the same space.
Rick appreciates his employees and values our input.”
BIO
Lisa’s career has been in accounting and administration, and she handles those areas plus government contract administration at Fenestra.
Porter Darby, Intern
“The culture of Fenestra is one that fosters communication and teamwork. As someone who came here with very little real-world work experience, the willingness and support from everyone is astounding. Everyone is friendly, intelligent, and willing to not only teach, but also to cooperate to help everything move forward efficiently. There are no overpowering egos — everyone accepts the camaraderie that is Fenestra’s culture. We all work together to make Fenestra and ourselves better.”
BIO
Porter is a sophomore at the University of Maryland, College Park. A Computer Engineering major, he is a member of the University Honors College. Porter has worked with Fenestra since June, 2011.