Brian Sorrell, Ph.D.

Auckland, New Zealand
email: brian.r.sorrell@gmail.com

Profile

A skilled educator and wordsmith, specialising in educational content, who has also produced marketing materials, travel essays, computer code, parenting articles, and like any good writer, is hard at work on his first second novel.

Committed Open Source advocate.

Career Summary

Root Beer in New Zealand
(2012 – present)
Writer / Editor

  • Edit educational materials for online courses, especially through Open Polytechnic.
  • Produce persuasive, readable copy in such diverse areas as corporate office design, parenting, and brand marketing.

University of Auckland
(2015 – 2017)
Professional Teaching Fellow in Philosophy

  • Develop and deliver lectures in Critical Thinking and Early Modern Philosophy, report to Head of Department, and ensure that course content reflects stated university standards and learning outcomes.
  • Supervise tutorial staff.
  • Develop student assessments.
  • Create content for and assist in maintaining existing content on LMS.

Riverside City College & California State University, San Bernardino
(2011 – 2012)
Lecturer in Philosophy

  • Develop and deliver lectures in Introduction to Philosophy.

Provident Savings Bank
(1999 – 2010)
Senior Programmer

  • Design and implement software solutions for unique corporate needs, primarily written in Java, with extensive database integration (Oracle, MySQL, MS SQL Server) and Intranet-based delivery (CSS, HTML, JavaScript).
  • Administer programmers’ dedicated Linux (RedHat) server.
  • Reduce technology costs through automation and innovative procedural solutions.
  • Ensure data integrity and accuracy in reporting.
  • Mentor and train incoming staff.

The Bicycle Lounge
(2008-2012; 2018 – 2020)
Founder / Facilitator / Mechanic

  • Develop and manage bicycle repair co-op, including volunteer coordination.
  • Provide professional bicycle repair services.
  • Develop and deliver bicycle-related seminars such as:
    • What you can fix with what you can carry
    • Meet your bike
    • Getting around by bicycle
  • Develop relationships with funding sources and other stakeholders.
  • Advocate for a variety of alternative transportation solutions.

Qualifications

Ph.D. in Philosophy, 2010
University of California, Riverside, US
Specialisation: Critical Thinking and Ordinary Language Philosophy

Bachelor of Physics
Bachelor of Philosophy, 1996
Central Connecticut State University, US

Technical Skills

Education

  • Experience with Moodle and Canvas, including complete course development
  • Designing and testing marking rubrics
  • Developing and delivering academic lectures
  • Facilitating high-level discussions

Writing

  • Creative writing: novel, memoir, creative non-fiction
  • Technical writing: software documentation, operations procedures
  • Academic writing: course development, critical thinking textbook, writing about writing
  • Consumer writing: marketing-oriented, feel-good articles
  • Editing: copy editing, large project structure and organisation
  • Typesetting

Information Technology

  • Unix / Linux system administration, especially Debian-based systems, including Ubuntu
  • Java software development
  • Web server management, especially with Apache and Enterprise Java implementations on Tomcat
  • SQL, database management, especially MySQL / MariaDB, SQLServer, some Oracle and Postgresql
  • Technical writing, documentation, persuasive writing
  • WordPress

Bicycle Maintenance

  • Significant experience repairing older road bicycles
  • Expert at troubleshooting and repairing drivetrains
  • Expert at tuning non-hydraulic braking systems
  • Hub and headset overhauls
  • Wheel building

Portfolio