Computer Training Instructors
Phyllis Barnard has over thirty years of art and design experience and a Master of Fine Art degree. She has exhibited her artwork throughout the southeast and has many years of experience teaching art to children. She continued to develop her artistic career and now has a Multimedia Arts and Science degree. She has been working as a Freelance Web Designer for over four years. Presently, she is a full-time Graphic Designer at Burco International and she does freelance Web Design and Digital Photography.
Gary Crossey has served on the A-B Tech Digital Media Technology Advisory Board since 2004, and has taught digital media and design classes as an Adjunct instructor since 2005. Gary specializes in utilizing the Adobe Create Suite for creating interactive design for print, online, video and audio production. With a constant focus on workflow ideas and techniques, Gary’s ideas have been included in six Thompson Delmar multimedia/web design books. Gary is the founder of Irish Guy Productions – an award winning Contemporary Web & Multimedia Design Firm (www.irishguy.info), as well as receiving numerous design awards, including “Best Business Website” award from WIRED magazine.
Barbara Guffy is a Buncombe County School Business teacher and has been for 14 years. She received her Master’s in Business Education from NC State University. She is A+ Certified and the local treasurer for the North Carolina Association of Educators. Currently Barbara is working on her National Teaching Boards, but when she has spare time she indulges in her interests of swimming, reading and the theater.
Joe Morrison currently teaches “Introduction to Computers” in the curriculum programs at Greenville Tech, Spartanburg Community College and AB Tech. Joe holds a BS and MS degree in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Illinois and he operates a small part-time business that provides 3D architectural modeling, rendering and animation services to architects and builders in western North Carolina and northern Illinois.
Cyd Dawson-Smith originally hails from Long Island, New York, but has lived in the Asheville area since 1993. She began doing computer training in 1998, and joined the A-B Tech family in 2004. She is a Microsoft Certified Master Instructor for Office 2003, and is learning to embrace the ribbon of Office 2007. When she isn’t teaching people to look upon computers as their friends, not enemies, she is usually busy with her family, working in her garden, or designing web pages.
Peggy White began teaching at AB Tech in 2003 after retiring from the Federal Government, where she worked in the Computer Information Systems office for more than 20 years. Peggy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, with a minor in Computer Information Systems. Training was an important part of her Computer Specialist position with the US Forest Service. She trained new users on Data General’s “Electronic Office”, software similar to Microsoft Office. Peggy later worked for the Veterans Administration in Ann Arbor, MI, and when the Government switched from vendor specific software to personal computers, she taught classes in WordPerfect, WORD and EXCEL. After transferring to the VA Hospital in Asheville, NC, she became System Manager for the hospital computer system and taught various classes at the medical center.
Nancy Worley graduated from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Institute in 1967 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Programming. She was a programmer and systems analyst at the UNC Chapel Hill and for the state of NC in Raleigh. After moving home to Asheville, Nancy provided computer consulting services for local and state agencies and business, established a data processing department for a local company while also providing systems analyses, programming and supervising programmers and operators. She instructed computer courses for the US Office of Personnel, Southeast region for a number of years and was a member of the Data Processing Management Association in Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Asheville for over 10 years. In 1983 she was the first instructor hired by the Dean of Continuing Education to teach and develop a Computer Training program. Teaching is Nancy’s passion, especially the beginner and introductory courses, but also word processing, database management, spreadsheet and powerpoint presentation. Nancy has witnessed the evolution of the Computer Training through the Continuing Education program over the last 25 years and is excited to be a part of it.
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