My name is Susan Metoxen and I am a web developer and an instructor at Saint Paul College and Anoka Ramsey Community College. You are probably reading this because you are taking one of my classes and have an assignment to build a web page with the WordPress block editor. In this post I will share a bit about my personal and professional life, and share some favorite photos. At the end of this post you’ll see my work resume.
Personal Life
I live in the Twin Cities with my husband. My last name is my husband’s last name, and it is an Oneida name. I have one adult son, a programmer who lives in the San Francisco area, two-step children who live in Fort Collins, Arizona, and four grandchildren. I don’t have any pets anymore, but for most of my adult life we have had two dogs.
When I was in high school I played the oboe, and at one time I wanted to be a professional oboe player. After that plan didn’t come to fruition, I learned to play bass guitar. I have now played bass guitar for over 30 years. I currently play in a cover band called the Deep Fried Tweeters. We play most Saturday nights. I also sing some backup harmonies. Health care administration was my first career, web development and teaching my second, and for my third career I plan to be a professional musician.
My dream vacation is to go see the Matterhorn in the Alps.
Web Developer and Instructor
In 2012 I quit my corporate job to become a programmer. Initially I made iOS and Android apps, but my work evolved into web development., I own a small company, White Buffalo Websites that develops websites with a specialization in E-commerce and WordPress websites. My development skills are in PHP, MySql, HTML, CSS, and WordPress.
For my undergrad, I majored in history and minored in music with a secondary school teaching certificate. While I didn’t pursue teaching after I finished my BA, I’ve always had a passion for education. Now I teach for Saint Paul College as a part-time instructor. I love working as an instructor and watching students work on achieving their goals.
In addition to my more recent work as a web developer and instructor, I have thirty years of experience in health care administration, including Medicaid managed care, provider relations, and hospital accounts receivable. I have an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a B.A. from Calvin College in Grand Rapids Michigan.
Some Favorite Photos
Resume
PROFILE
Web and WordPress developer and instructor specializing in eCommerce, and healthcare websites. Extensive project management background with strong ability to execute on deliverables.
SKILLS
- PHP and mySQL
- Bootstrap
- CSS, and HTML
- Responsive Web Design
- WordPress Custom Development
EDUCATION
- University of St. Thomas: Masters in Business Administration
- Calvin College: Bachelor of Arts degree, with a history major, music minor, and a secondary teaching certificate
- Health Insurance Association of America (1991-1992): Passed with honors on all three group insurance tests (Parts A, B, and C)
TECHNICAL/TEACHING EXPERIENCE
White Buffalo LLC (2010 to Present): Owner and Developer
- Creates custom PHP and WordPress websites for clients.
- Specializing in customization of WordPress websites with CSS and PHP
Saint Paul College (2016 to Present) : Part-time Instructor
- Instructor for Web Fundamentals, Web Design, and occasionally for Server Side Programming
- I provide free website hosting for students, so they can experience live publishing.
Buzztouch (January 2013 to 2015): Plugin Market and Developer Relations
- Creates a positive learning environment for developers that encourages them to make plugins for the Buzztouch platform.
- Develops custom Buzztouch plugins for use in apps, some of which are for sale on the Buzztouch Plugin Market under the name Susan @ Buzztouch. Creating plugins requires knowledge of Javascript, PHP, JSON, and mySQL as well as iOS and Android development.
HEALTH CARE EXPERIENCE
Medica State Public Programs (1994 to 2012): Director, Compliance and Product Administration
- Provided project management for product changes, process improvements, and cost-savings initiatives. Received Medica’s Cornerstone Award for project leadership of an large product change to MinnesotaCare.
- Directed the work of the team that manages enrollment and encounter data transfers between DHS to Ovations, and from Ovations to Pharmacy Benefit Manager and Dental Providers.
- Negotiated administrative language in the annual contracts with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). These contracts allowed Medica to provide Medicaid and MinnesotaCare benefits to 160,000 enrollees and were valued at over $800 million per year.
- Led Medica-wide initiatives to improve the cultural competency of the Medica network of providers, including creation of the Walking in Their Shoes training program. Over 200 train the trainer kits were delivered to trainers at clinics and hospitals.
- Managed the development and printing of customer materials with an annual printing budget of $350,000.
UnitedHealthCare (1986-1994): Operations Administrator, Provider Services Supervisor, Provider Services Coordinator
- Supervised the work of fifteen employees in two phone service units.
- Integrated the provider service call centers of two merging organizations, Physicians Health Plan and Share Health Plan.
- Managed physician claim processing procedures and approved all proposed changes.
Methodist Hospital (1982-1986) Financial Counselor and Admitting Registrar
- Registered new patients into the emergency room, inpatient, and outpatient hospital.
- Assisted patients with applying for financial assistance through Medicare and Medicaid and collected revenue from insurance companies and patients.