Richard Winn has worked with computers since the early days (he got a Commodore 64) when they first came out. He was working in Food and Beverage in Las Vegas, but his love of all things computer was sparked. He ran his Bulletin Board System (BBS) back in the day on a dial-up 300-baud modem. He was self-taught on most things computer related, including BASIC programming. Richard worked his way up to being the Director of Food and Beverage in one of the Casino/Hotels. He got bored with this and decided to do something more stimulating. He was looking for a challenge.
Richard started working as a Troubleshooting General Manager in restaurants. He was hired to go into a struggling restaurant to observe problems, arrange training, install new policies, and train his replacement. When the restaurant was running successfully, he would move to the next one. All the while, Richard was working on his own business of being a full-stack web developer, web designer, and IT Technician.
In 2008, Richard and his family moved to Wyoming. He was working independently and then opened a small business. After receiving an injury, he was unable to work and fell into a dark hole. It took him several years of counseling and getting medication correct before he was able to go out again. Richard's wife decided that he was spending too many days in the darkness and told him to get out and get some vitamin D. She is a teacher and her district was short on staff. So, Richard decided to get a substitute license.
Once Richard entered the classroom, he was hooked. The job that he decided to do two days a week turned into full-time. He was a long-term sub and went to a CODE.ORG training. There he learned that less than 1% of Native Americans make up the students working in Computer Science. Since the CODE.ORG training, Richard has made it his mission to change the statistic and guarantee there is a strong Computer Science program on the reservation.
Currently, Richard has begun creating a program that offers more certification and pathways than any other school in the State of Wyoming. When he has finished setting up his program, Richard will be able to give every district in the state a road map to ensure that their students have been provided with the opportunity to be successful in a Global Community.