Staff

  • Steve Blair
    Sr. Network Engineer

    Steve Blair is a Senior Network Engineer with ISC Networking & Telecommunications at the University of Pennsylvania. Steve specializes in voice and video over IP. Prior to that, Steve was a Network Engineer and a real-time process control Software Engineer with The Boeing Company. Steve holds a Master's Degree in Telecommunications Engineering, and an undergraduate degree in Computer Science & Mathematics and will soon receive a certificate from the Wharton School of Business Entrepreneurship Program.

  • Jeff Edwards
    NOC Manager

    Jeff Edwards is the Network Operations Manager for ISC Networking & Telecommunications at the University of Pennsylvania. He manages the Network Operations Center and Network Engineering group responsible for the design, implementation, monitoring, and troubleshooting of the University of Pennsylvania and MAGPI networks. Prior to Penn, Jeff was a Senior Network Engineer for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, SAP America, and Newbridge Networks.

  • Peter Heverin
    Subscriber Liaison and Special Projects Manager

    Peter Heverin is the Subscriber Liaison and Special Projects Manager for MAGPI. Peter works with new and upcoming subscribers to get them connected to the MAGPI network. Peter worked previously as a network infrastructure designer for Sunesys. Prior to Sunesys, Peter worked as Practice Manager in the areas of infrastructure design and educational technology consulting for system integration firms in the Mid-Atlantic region.

  • Shumon Huque
    Director of Engineering, Research & Development

    Shumon Huque is the Director of Engineering, Research, & Development for Penn's Networking & Telecommunications division and also serves as the Lead Engineer for MAGPI. He is involved in network engineering, systems engineering and the design and operation of key infrastructure services (DNS, DHCP, Authentication, E-mail, Web, VoIP, etc). Shumon
    holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Computer Science from Penn.

  • Deke Kassabian
    Sr. Technical Director

    Deke Kassabian is the Senior Technology Director and manager of Network Engineering, Systems, and Services at ISC Networking & Telecommunications at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, Deke was manager of Networked Computing for the School of Engineering at the University of Rochester. Deke has been a campus and gigapop Engineering representative to Internet2 since the national project inception in 1996, having attended the original engineering meetings in Boulder, Colorado and San Diego, California. Deke has presented on Penn's high performance network connectivity and MAGPI's design and connectivity to GigaPoP operators groups around the country. Deke holds a Master's Degree in Telecommunications Engineering, and undergraduate degrees in Math and Computer Science.

  • Michael Knight
    Multi-Media Services Manager

    Michael Knight is the new Multi-Media Services Manager at MAGPI where he will be looking at number of new technologies as well as being a resource for Penn and our 700+ connected institutions. Michael came to MAGPI from Montgomery County Community College where he was responsible for the technical logistics of many performing arts events andl was also in charge of video conferencing, web streaming, IPTV, and classroom technology and as such created an excellent environment for faculty. Prior to Montgomery County Community College, Michael was an Audio Engineer providing event support for many internationally known artists.

  • Shannon Kremski
    Business Manager

    Shannon Kremski is a Business Manager in the Billing Department for MAGPI. She takes care of all the invoicing and collection of payment for MAGPI services. Shannon previously worked as a fund accountant for SEI Investment Company. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Finance with a minor in Computer Information Systems from Bloomsburg University and holds a Wharton for Working Professionals Human Resource Certificate.

  • Dave Mongeluzi
    Contracts Administrator

    Dave Mongeluzi is a Sr. IT Project Leader for the University of Pennsylvania, serving as the current Contracts Administrator for MAGPI. Previously, Dave was a Senior Project Manger of IT wiring projects from 1993 through 1998 and prior to his current position, Dave was the Vice President of Tri-State Telecommunications, Inc. for the past six years. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Finance and Economics from LaSalle University.

  • Jennifer Oxenford
    Strategic Planning Consultant

    Jennifer Oxenford is a Strategic Planning Consultant for MAGPI working on special projects such as the brand/image redesign project. Previously she was the Associate Director of MAGPI. Jennifer is a member of the Internet2 K20 Advisory Board and was also the Co-Chair of the Internet2 Teaching & Learning Special Interest Group, and the Internet2 Commons Management Team. Jennifer also serves on the management teams for both Megaconference Sr. and Jr.

  • Mike Palladino
    Associate Vice President

    Michael Palladino is the Associate Vice President of the ISC Networking and Telecommunications group at Penn. He currently directs a team of 100 technical professionals and a $25M budget and is responsible for planning, engineering, installation, management, marketing, and operations of the University's data, voice and video networks systems and services supporting over 40,000 customers. He is also the CEO of MAGPI RON in Philadelphia, which provides Internet, Internet2 and Applications Coordination in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Michael has over 30 years experience managing IT in education and in 2001 was honored with ACUTA's Leadership Award.

  • Greg Palmer
    Executive Director

    Greg Palmer has been in the communications industry since 1980 working first as a technician for Inter-connect companies and then as full-time staff at Okidata, Inc. In 1988 he received a business degree in Operations Management from the LaSalle University, Evening Division. In 1990, he collaborated with the Okidata parent company, OKI Electric in Tokyo Japan, to build an international network that included Japan, Thailand, Australia, five sites in the United States, and the United Kingdom. Following ten years of service with Okidata, Greg assumed the responsibilities of Director of Campus Computing at Drexel University in Philadelphia. After returning to the corporate world, he took a position as Director of Global Computing Operations at Christian Dalloz, Ltd, a French company that manufactured and distributed personal safety products. He then chose to return to the academic community at the University of Pennsylvania as the Executive Director of MAGPI, the regional aggregation point for Internet2.

  • Mark Wehrle
    Director of Network Operations

    Mark Wehrle is the Technical Director of ISC Network Operations. His group is responsible for the daily operations and upgrades of the central routing infrastructure and associated LAN's and WAN's for both the University of Pennsylvania's network, PennNet, and the MAGPI GigaPoP. Mark spends most of his time on planning and implementing the next generation of networking for PennNet and MAGPI. Mark is a recent graduate of the Wharton School of Business, and has been employed by the University of Pennsylvania since 1986.

  • Heather Weisse Walsh
    Manager of Educational Services

    Heather Weisse Walsh is the Manager of Educational Services for MAGPI with the primary responsibility of fostering dialogue and collaborative efforts between members. Heather is responsible for developing and managing MAGPI’s educational services, including include interactive video programming and educational content, advanced video initiatives, virtual environments, remote instrumentation projects and professional development endeavors. She earned her MSEd from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania and her BA in English from McDaniel College. Recently, Heather co-authored a research study that investigated using interactive video technologies in reading comprehension instruction. While at MAGPI, Heather has worked with content partners to create more than 200 original, interactive video programs for the education community. She is the co-chair of the Internet2 Teaching and Learning Special Interest Group, as well as a member of the Internet2 K20 Advisory Council.