The AcanthusTech Management Team
Marlene Murray, President/Treasurer
The smooth functioning of Acanthus Technology's operations is largely due to Marlene Murray's expertise and ability to juggle multiple tasks. Her focus on quality, accuracy, and proficiency in job performance is paramount to the strategic operation of the company. She has experience in small and large business environments, and also in the education and non-profit fields.
Marlene has worked in the education, travel, and telecommunications fields. She has extensive experience in customer service, research, and information storage and retrieval. As a school librarian for 20 years, she was responsible for over 600 students each year, thousands of books, and supervised staff and volunteer aides. At Travelocity.com, she was responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of travel documents, ensuring that they were processed and delivered on time, and resolving problems when they arose. While working at AT&T, she provided direct customer service to callers. In her spare time, Marlene served as the General Manager of a Baroque chamber music society and as the President of a model rocketry/radio-controlled aircraft club, both providing families quality time together.
Marlene holds a degree in Library Science, is studying for certification as a database administrator, and is a whiz at remote maintenance of networked systems.
Will Murray, COO/CIO
In addition to being very involved with the management of Acanthus Technology, Inc. as the Chief Operations Officer (COO), Will Murray is the Chief Information Officer for the company. While attending Cal Poly State University, Will worked as night manager/auditor for a luxury hotel, improving management systems and policies. As a graphic design major with a lifelong love of computers, he founded a graphic design firm, which was one of the first to offer Web site design in the area. After school, Will was hired as the CIO/Network Administrator for the Endeavour Institute, which is an engineering and applied science prep school. Simultaneously, he founded a successful computer and network consulting business.
In 1999, Will's combination of proven leadership and management skills, along with an aggressive entrepreneurial spirit, led him to follow the "Dot.com" dream, and he co-founded an online auction company in Sacramento. Unfortunately, the Dot.com bust came crashing down around the fledgling business. Will decided to work with a "Smart Reseller Top-20" company in Sacramento, doing what he does best: computer and network consulting and service. In January of 2001, Will founded Will Murray Consultants and decided to reestablish himself as an independent business owner, supported by some of the best and brightest consultants in the field. In 2004, Will was selected as the COO and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Acanthus Technology, Inc.
Will has earned the following certifications: CompTIA A+, CompTIA I-Net+, Microsoft Certified Professional + Internet (MCP and MCP+I), Microsoft Certified System Engineer in Windows NT 4.0 (MCSE). Additionally, Will has completed two semesters of the Cisco Networking Academy program (CCNA) and many other computer and networking related courses.
David Murray, Secretary/Technical Writer
Dave's passions have long been writing, literature, and science. As an elementary school teacher for 25+ years, he instilled a passion for learning in his students, encouraging them to become better writers, devour books, and explore their universe in creative ways. Dave opted to take an early retirement from teaching to be able to spend more time writing fiction and non-fiction books. Dave photographs and writes about historical sites in California and Nevada. He is also science fiction author and a member of a local sci-fi peer-editing group.
He wrote and edited a weekly newsletter for a Kiwanis Club, winning a "Top 5 Best" award from Kiwanis International. After completing the Technical Communicator RCE program at Sacramento State University, he added technical writing to his skills set. Dave also has worked as a retail store manager, customer service agent for a major insurance company, and has volunteered as an assistant Scout Master, earning the Wood Badge achievement for adult leadership. Today he lends that same level of professionalism to AcanthusTech, both as Secretary and as a technical writer.
Dave has a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Masters in Education. He continues to take one or two computer courses each year to stay current in the field.
