Tony Erskine
Founder / PRINCIPAL ENGINEER
Tony has been hacking out code since he was in third grade writing BASIC and Logo on his dad’s Commodore 64. He graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BS in Computer Science in 2000. Afterwards, he began his career in software development and consulting. He also taught computer science to high school students and served a tour as a paratrooper in the armed forces where he earned the Purple Heart and Army Commendation medals.
As an engineer and consultant, Tony has led numerous software projects and has provided direction and consultation for the adoption of agile development methodologies, continuous integration, TDD, BDD, DevOps automation, RESTful web services, and the Atlassian development tools.
In business, Tony's goal is to forge cooperative relationships and customer engagements where every party gains more value than they give up.
Jon Carlson
PRINCIPAL ENGINEER
Jon is a developer with over 10 years of experience. He began developing websites in the early 2000's, in the days when animated GIF's and marquees were all the rage; and found a passion for crafting quality websites and applications that has continued ever since.
Jon has worked professionally for enterprise institutions and startups, through which he has gained experience in all aspects of development. His specialization is frontend development, where he prides himself on not just completing a project, but making sure the user is able to effectively and enjoyably use it.
Ryan Heathcote
Software Developer
Ryan grew up in South Africa and has been programming for about as long as he has had a computer. He got his start by teaching himself how to code from textbooks and help files. After taking classes in High School, he decided to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from Liberty University, which he received in 2013.
His specialization is being able to learn new things quickly. This skill has enabled him to build or work on projects spanning a number of platforms and programming languages. It has also helped him successfully investigate undocumented systems, security breaches, and complex bugs.
In addition to being passionate about learning new things, he is also passionate about passing on what he is learning to anyone who wants to learn. He enjoys working with our apprentices and giving guest lectures for his former professors.
He loves to make code clear and easy to maintain by using object-oriented design and functional programming techniques. He also has an interest in information security that probably comes from growing up in a country with a very high crime rate.
When he isn't developing software, he enjoys ginger beer, running, shooting handguns, urban exploration, driving down curvy country roads, and (as a testament to his ability to learn new things) knitting.
Debbie Carlson
Designer
Debbie has been in the design field for over 10 years. Her love for painting and drawing in her early years developed into a love for designing for the web and screens later in life.
Shortly before graduating with a degree in Visual Communication Arts, she began working professionally as part of a design team for a major university. Since then, she has held a number of design positions with different companies and continues learning and honing her talents along the way.
She specializes in UX design and focuses on ensuring the user has the best experience every step of the way.
Kim-Mai Ryan
Software Developer Apprentice
Kim-Mai is currently a software development apprentice at SharpTop Co. Born and raised in Northern Virginia, she has moved down to Lynchburg to pursue a B.S. in Business Management Information Systems: Web & App Development at Liberty University.
Since then, she helped start Technology & Engineering Club (TEC) and is now the Vice President and Secretary. From this position, she helps students by providing the opportunity to network with local businesses, work on real-world projects, and leadership opportunities.
