Hi there, my name is
Radison Akerman.
I lead teams who deliver exceptional digital experiences. Currently, I'm studying CS + Business @ UIC, project managing a team of 7, and co-building Pulqra – a mission capitalist creative marketing collective.
Check out my lecture at UIC!01. About Me
Hello there! I’m Radison, a creative leader, project manager, computer science student, and professional photographer. My interest in digital technology started back in middle school when I tinkered with microcontrollers and competed in FIRST LEGO League competitions — it turns out you can learn a lot from bits of plastic and expensive servos.
Fast-forward to today, where I’ve had the privilege of working at a R1 research university, a department of the U.S. government, a U.S. Senate campaign, a start-up, and an event management group. Nowadays, you’ll find me relentlessly building and operationally leading Pulqra, a creative marketing collective with over 200 collaborations worldwide.
I’m also juggling quite a few responsibilities at the University of Illinois Chicago. For starters, I am studying computer science and business full-time (with a 4.0 GPA, whoop!). I also project manage 7 web and database developers working on over 10 full-stack web applications for the College of Engineering, part-time.
Making an impact is part of my DNA, especially when it comes to personal projects. I recently gave a 300-level guest lecture at UIC about Exploding Chickens — a popular full-stack card game I built with my friends. We dove deep into project management, design patterns, code review, and test coverage.
Huge projects like Exploding Chickens (built with over 30,000 lines of code!) necessitated an almost business-like structure to coordinate development. The RAkerman Foundation answered this call and now hosts over 12 web services, 2 web products generating revenue, and 5 organizational members.
02. Experience
Where I've Worked
Lasting impacts. Pushing things further.
Project Manager & Info Sec Analyst @ University of Illinois Chicago
Feb 2022 - Present // Chicago, IL
- Managed a team of 7 web and database developers working on over 10 large-scale, full-stack web applications
- Integrated new project management software (Paymo) and maintained framework templates/documentation in Github
- Single-handedly developed and published a Shibboleth (SAML SSO) to Express (Node.js) authentication package on npm
- Drafted and enforced university IT policies by working with UI system auditors and department leadership
- Aggregated sensitive data usages/locations and identified exposure risks across all 500+ faculty and staff
Executive Operations Director @ Pulqra
Feb 2020 - Present // United States
- Co-built and operationally led Pulqra, a mission-capitalist creative marketing collective
- Reimagined businesses and artists by designing over 5 commercial websites from scratch
- Rendered services to over 200 clients worldwide — from photography to social media management
Executive Director @ RAkerman Foundation
Apr 2022 - Present // Remote
- Created a foundation to support bleeding-edge web projects that focus on creativity, not monetary profits
- Designed, built, and deployed over 12 web services (full-stack to static), along with 2 web products generating self-sustained revenue
- Recruited, organized, and taught a team of 5 web developers to reduce development time
Digital Lead @ Steven Olikara for U.S. Senate
Apr 2022 - Aug 2022 // Milwaukee, WI
- Completely rebuilt campaign website from the ground up using Nuxt v3, Tailwinds, visited by 1,000’s of Wisconsinites daily
- Secured sensitive campaign data and digital infrastructure against cyber attacks using Cloudflare, NGP VAN, Informr
- Worked with a team of web developers and content creators to rapidly push media; took photographs in the field
Web Security Intern @ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Sep 2021 - May 2022 // Remote
- Examined and improved the operational protection strategies of dmeinterns.org through phishing campaigns, pen testing, web scanning tools, WordPress plugin security evaluations, and creation of strict security standards for interns
- Educated other VA departments on password protocol and breach prevention through Slack
03. Projects
Other Neat Stuff
Mighty projects. Huge breadth.
May blow your socks off.
Vibhav Bansal Website
A razor-sharp business portfolio website for a nationwide leader in Neuroscience
Nuxt v3
Cloudflare Workers/KV
Tailwinds
Space and Key
A full-stack web app streamlining data entry between physical accesses and spaces
Nuxt v3
Auth0
SQL
Tailwinds
ImpackAI
An inventory management and purchase order platform built for small packaging warehouses
Node.js
Express
MongoDB
Auth0
HTML/CSS
RAkerman Pace Clock
A pair of meshed swim pace clocks built using a neopixel segments and 2 Particle.io devices
Particle.io
C++
Small Electronics
Mesh Networking