Staff Bios

You may also view bios for emeritus Scout staff.

Edward Almasy

ealmasy@scout.wisc.edu

608.262.6606

Director

After publishing his first shrink-wrapped software package for the original Apple ][ at the tender age of 18, Ed spent most of the next six years tinkering with photons before being sucked into the Internet vortex in 1987. Since then he has been involved in various Internet-related ventures and high-tech startups before finally ending up herding virtual cats at Scout. When not sitting in front of a computer and/or pontificating on novel new ways to use the Internet, Ed can often be found boating, snowboarding, writing and playing and dancing to music, or maybe just enjoying some of Wisconsin's finer exports in the great outdoors.
Rachael Bower

bower@scout.wisc.edu

608.262.6587

Director

Born in NYC and having spent most of her life east of the midwest, Rachael moved to Madison in 1995 to work for the Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin. After many years in Wisconsin she has finally learned to appreciate domestic cheese, fish icing, the true meaning of the phrase "wind chill factor," and her uncle Luke's hotel in Mexico. With a background in communications and library science, and having gone from academia to Internet-startup-land and back again, she brings strong project management, organizational, and fundraising skills to Scout. It also doesn't hurt that she has a wicked sense of humor and the ability to throw a fabulous dinner party with less than a day's notice. When not at Scout she spends her time practicing yoga and barre, knitting, reading way too many murder mysteries, and hanging out with friends, her fabulous family including her talented brother Isaac, and her wonderful husband Iain.
Kendra A. Bouda

kbouda@scout.wisc.edu

608.265.9453

Metadata and Information Specialist

Kendra is metadata and information specialist with Internet Scout Research Group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds her MA in library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a MA in arts management from Columbia College Chicago, and a certificate in artifact collection care from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining the Scout team, Kendra taught as adjunct faculty at Columbia, instructing arts management and business writing courses, and served as acting collections manager of Columbia’s fashion study collection. Kendra has a strong interest in the openness movement, particularly as it pertains to cultural objects and datasets that have the potential to help realize positive change in people’s lives.
Corey Halpin

chalpin@scout.wisc.edu

608.262.6608

Software Engineer

As a tender young undergraduate at UW-Madison, Corey studied electrical engineering and computer science with an emphasis on processor design. This lead naturally to a stint at the Forest Products Laboratory where he helped build robots that squished samples of building sealant while being outside. From there, Corey mastered science and then doctored philosophy in the department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology. His research used computer modeling combined with field data to examine trade-offs between growing space efficiency and species diversity among different silvicultural systems, and to elucidate the long-term developmental trajectory of northern hardwood forests subject to natural disturbances. He also enjoys hunting 4+ leaf clovers, teaching his daughter useful phrases like 'existential angst', eating the delicious food his wife makes, revising his spam filtering system, lusting after beautiful pens, and contributing to various free software projects (primarily FreeBSD).
Emma LaSaine

elasaine@scout.wisc.edu

608.265.8042

Outreach Coordinator

Emma is a writer and editor from the Chicago Area. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, focusing on nativism and ethnonationalism in the U.S. in the context of globalization. Emma holds a BA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago and has worked as Managing Editor of Habitat Magazine, Contributing Editor for HT 2.0, and Production Editor for Hair Trigger 38, Columbia's multiple CSPA award-winning anthology. In her free time she enjoys reading novels, trying out new vegetarian recipes, and engaging in rousing debates on the use of the Oxford comma.
Erin Bartenstein

ebartenstein@scout.wisc.edu

Content Writer

Erin grew up in Waldo, Wisconsin. but has called Madison home for the last six years. She received an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Community and Nonprofit Leadership and Environmental Studies and is currently a second-year law student at UW with a focus on public interest law and policy. In her free time, she enjoys boxing, basketball, and browsing local bookstores.
Andrew Bennett

abennett@scout.wisc.edu

Web Developer

Andrew is from Brookfield, Wisconsin and is a first-year computer science student at UW-Madison. He enjoys playing old video games, drawing, starting (but never finishing) various programming projects, and cooking.
Michelle Hagenbaugh

mhagenbaugh@scout.wisc.edu

Internet Cataloger

Michelle is the lead cataloger and support specialist at Internet Scout Research Group. She received her MA degree in library and information studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During her time studying at UW, Michelle focussed on archives and digital collections. She has worked at the Wisconsin State Historical Society digitizing maps and processing film collections and at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum as an assistant processing archivist. In her free time, she enjoys baking, sewing, and obssessing over and adding to her collection of designer fabric.
Debra Shapiro

Contributing Editor, The Scout Report

Debra Shapiro was an Internet Cataloger at Internet Scout from 1998 to 2000, and is now an instructor at UW-Madison's School of Library and Information Studies, where she teaches in the areas of organization of information, online searching, and web design. Prior to coming to Scout, Deb was a photo archivist, and her undergraduate degree is in art history, so she contributes reviews of art, museum, and pictorial web sites to The Scout Report. That undergraduate degree in art history prepared Deb for about 15 years of restaurant work, which gave her a long-lasting love of cooking and recipe development, that you can read about on her blog, Deb's Lunch.
Isaak Mertz

imertz@scout.wisc.edu

Outreach Assistant

A Madison native, Isaak is a rising junior and prospective communications major at UW-Madison. In his off-hours, he enjoys hiking, long bike rides, songwriting, tinkering with music gear, expanding his repertoire of country cover songs, and thrifting.
Keila LaBelle

klabelle@scout.wisc.edu

Outeach Assistant

Keila grew up in Franklin, WI, a suburb southwest of Milwaukee. She began her education at the University of Wisconsin-Washington County where she graduated with an associate's degree before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is now a senior studying Operations & Technology Management. She loves being active with her friends, playing video games, and reading in her free time.
Stephanie Sparrow

ssparrow@scout.wisc.edu

Internet Cataloger

Stephanie grew up in Glenview, IL and, after spending her undergraduate years in rural Ohio, was determined to leave the Midwest. It was not until moving and living in Washington, D.C. that she finally embraced her roots and opened her heart to the Midwest. Stephanie is now happy to call Madison, Wisconsin home! She is getting her Masters in Library and Information Studies from the iSchool at UW-Madison, where she has been able to explore her interests in digital archives and preservation, accessibility, and digital learning. Stephanie enjoys brewing and drinking coffee, the outdoors, creating art, and exploring physical and virtual spaces.