SAMANTHA ASHLEY SIMMONS
243 Yorktown Court • Malvern, PA 19355
Phone: 610-213-6983 • Email: sam.simmons8736@gmail.com
Web: www.samanthasimmons.com
EDUCATION:
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, Pittsburgh, PA.
Master of Product Development, May 2010
An interdisciplinary professional degree offered through the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, the School of Design and the Tepper School of Business.
Cumulative GPA: 3.71
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with University Honors, May 2009
Major: Art (Concentration: Photography & Painting)
Minor: Business Administration
Additional Minor: Film and Digital Imaging
Cumulative GPA: 3.81
ACADEMIC/CREATIVE HONORS & AWARDS:
Full-Academic Scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University, Aug 2005-May 2009
President of Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society (Eta Chapter), Fall 2008-Spring 2009
Carnegie Mellon Senior Leadership Award, May 2009
Member of Lambda Sigma Sophomore National Honor Society, inducted Spring 2006
Dean’s List, 8 of 8 semesters
First-Prize winner of the Salvador Dali Student Art Contest, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2005
EXPERIENCE:
Comcast Corporation, Converged Products Division, February 2011- Present
Marketing Trial Analyst on the Business Operations Team. Currently working on designing and implementing
product support and presentation material for the product currently being launched in trial markets.
Projects include: Help Videos: wrote scripts and developed visual layout and sequencing for each “how to” video,
facilitated negotiations with contract actors, and helped set requirements for the help website. Developed Metrics
Presentation: designed presentation material for the Corporate Executives, which outlined the current statistics of the
product in its trial phase.
Babson College, Babson Park, MA. January-February 2011
Design Consultant working to design visual presentations and websites for College Professors presenting at
corporate and collegiate conferences.
Atomni, Philadelphia, PA. November 2010-Dec 2010
Visual Design and Marketing Consultant. Work to investigate the visual implications of a client’s website and
propose various web interfaces using key imagery and wording to optimize the navigation and use of the site.
Clients: E-Commerce, Wholesalers and Retailers, Healthcare, Software Providers, Professional Services, & Non-
Profit Organizations. Programs of expertise: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Fireworks, Final Cut. Programming
Languages: CSS and HTML.
Carnegie Strategies LLC, Pittsburgh, PA. July-September 2010
Designed and created two websites for the heads of the Masters of Product Development program at Carnegie
Mellon University. The websites were used to market their independent product development consulting business,
Carnegie Strategies (CarnegieStrategies.com), and their book, Built to Love (Builttolove.com), which was used as
the basis of the master’s program.
GlaxoSmithKline, Pittsburgh, PA. May-July 2010
Marketing Intern. Worked as part of a small consulting team tasked with identifying a product opportunity
in the men’s weight loss market and rapidly developing a new brand. The process included a market
analysis to identify product opportunity gaps, in-depth user research to define the product specifications,
product and package design, cost analysis, and a deployment strategy for the product.
Personal contributions: Designed a series of pill cases specifically for male users; created one final
prototype for the pill case, designed a sample website for male users, created the logo and sample
packing, moderated and helped organize 5 focus groups, helped create and distribute consumer surveys,
helped develop and deliver presentations to upper management.
Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. February-November 2010
Graphic Designer & Photoshop Artist for Doctoral Candidate Thesis Presentations. Created still images of
products on super market shelves (mimicking a fast-paced market) used for an eye-tracking study to test
what visuals capture consumers’ attention best. Designed a variety of labels for each product.
Mother’s Voice Program, Allegheny County Jail. Pittsburgh, PA. January 2009-June 2009
Photographer & Photoshop Artist for the Mother’s Voice Program: Went into the jail and worked with
incarcerated mothers to create favorable portraits which were then sent with written letters to the homes of
their children.
Carnegie Mellon University. Pittsburgh, PA. Spring Semester 2009
Teaching Assistant for Black and White Photography I. Instructed students how to use a manual film
camera as well as gave feedback on different photography projects.
The Signal Holdings LLC, Wayne, PA. Summer 2008
Part-time work for the Finance and Human Resources Benefits Departments.
QVC, Inc. West Chester, PA. Summer 2007
Full Motion Video Intern in the Product Display Department: Designed the placement and shooting of
products for the live television show. Worked with clients to feature their products according to their
expectations.
Acme Filmworks. Hollywood, CA. Summer 2006
Production Assistant: Created layout and stencil designs for the Riverwind Casino animated commercial;
Created title page designs for the television show 20 Good Years starring Jeffrey Tambor and John
Lithgow (premiered October 2006).
Freelance Graphic Designer. West Chester, PA. 2004-Present
Clients include: The Delta Blues Museum (Clarksdale, Mississippi), Tepper School of Business (Carnegie
Mellon University), Carnegie Strategies LLC, The Chester County Hospital, SAGA Music Productions,
The Signal Holdings LLC, Betty & Karen’s Professional Services, Cell Insure (PTY) LTD (South Africa),
Goshen Baptist Church, Road Dogs Motorcycle Club.
PROJECTS:
Re-sealable Aluminum Lid; Patent Awarded February 22nd, 2011. The aluminum lid, exemplifying a
sustainable design, can be used for chemical containers as well as for various commercial uses such as
soda cans, which need to be re-sealed once opened. Created and developed a working prototype; currently
working on taking the product to market.
Google Lunar X-Prize Competition; An international competition to safely land a robot on the surface of the
Moon. January 2010 – Present: Project Leader; working to develop creative applications for Carnegie Mellon
University’s robot scheduled to launch May 2011. Working under the direction of Dr. Red Whittaker
(autonomous and tele-operated field robotics) and renowned space artist Lowry Burgess. Project includes
developing audio/visual methods for individuals world wide to interact with the robot during its time on
the moon. Gave Podcast interview at: http://music.cmu.edu/~jlevans/1-21-10_EricSloss_WilliamAl.zip
GlaxoSmithKline, January 2010 – May 2010: Worked as part of a cross-disciplinary product development
team for Carnegie Mellon to develop additional opportunities for GlaxoSmithKline’s current weight loss
product. Created and designed a custom template for the final power point presentation presented to Roger
Scarlett-Smith, President of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Health Care North America. Hired by
GlaxoSmithKline to continue product development for Summer 2010.
Nissan Motor Company (Global), January 2010 – May 2010: Worked as part of a cross-disciplinary
product development team for Carnegie Mellon to develop a product opportunity for Nissan’s third model
of zero emission, battery powered vehicles. Gave a series of 4 presentations to Nissan representatives over
the course of the semester.
SKILLS:
Computer (Macintosh & PC): Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign,
Dreamweaver, Java, Flash, Action Script, Director, Final Cut Studio Pro, Audacity, After Effects, DVD
Studio Pro, Soundtrack Pro.
ATHLETIC HONORS & AWARDS:
Captain Women’s Track & Field Team, Carnegie Mellon University 2009
Carnegie Mellon Tartan Award Winner, MVP Women’s Track & Field 2008
All-UAA (University Athletic Association), Women’s Track & Field, Indoor/Outdoor 2008
UAA All-Academic Recognition, Women’s Track & Field 2007, 2008, 2009
School Record Holder (Indoor): 200 Meter Dash (set 2008) & 1600 Meter Relay (set 2009)
School Record Holder (Outdoor): Long Jump (set 2008) & Triple Jump (set 2008)
UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES:
Varsity Women’s Track & Field Team, 2007-2009
Eco-Representative, 2008- 2009
SPIRIT, The African American Student Body Organization, 2009
College of Fine Arts Senator, Undergraduate Student Senate, 2006
Dining Advisory Council, 2006
Undergraduate Joint Funding Committee, 2006
Varsity Women’s Soccer Team, 2006
TRAVEL:
Paris, France. Summer 2005
Johannesburg, South Africa. Summer 2005