Head First Design Patterns

Creators of the Head First series (and co-conspirators on this book)

Kathy has been interested in learning theory since her days as a game designer (she wrote games for Virgin, MGM, and Amblin’). She developed much of the Head First format while teaching New Media Authoring for UCLA Extension’s Entertainment Studies program. More recently, she’s been a master trainer for Sun Microsystems, teaching Sun’s Java instructors how to teach the latest Java technologies, and developing several of Sun’s certification exams. Together with Bert Bates, she has been actively using the Head First concepts to teach throusands of developers. Kathy is the founder of javaranch.com, which won a 2003 and 2004 Software Development magazine Jolt Cola Productivity Award. You might catch her teaching Java on the Java Jam Geek Cruise (geekcruises.com).

Likes: running, skiing, skateboarding, playing with her Icelandic horses, and weird science. Dislikes: entropy.

You can find her on javaranch, or occasionally blogging at seriouspony.com. Write to her at [e-mail].

Bert is a long-time software developer and architect, but a decade-long stint in artificial intelligence drove his interest in learning theory and technology-based training. He’s been helping clients become better programmers ever since. Recently, he’s been heading up the development team for several of Sun’s Java Certification exams.

He spent the first decade of his software career travelling the world to help broadcast clients like Radio New Zealand, the Weather Channel, and the Arts & Entertainment Network (A & E). One of his all-time favorite projects was building a full rail system simulation for Union Pacific Railroad.

Bert is a long-time, hopelessly addicted go player, and has been working on a go program for way too long. He’s a fair guitar player and is now trying his hand at banjo.

Look for him on javaranch, on the IGS go server, or you can write to him at [e-mail].