About Us

History

Interactive Knowledge opened for business in 1991 as an educational publisher of CD-ROM based reading and math programs. Our research proved that students with an auditory learning style preference could learn basic skills up to three times faster if their learning materials included high quality digital voice recordings. CD-ROM was a new technology that offered digital audio. The products were a huge success despite the cost of adding a CD-ROM drive to personal computers.

In 1996 we sold our product line to McGraw-Hill and continued developing new products for them for a number of years. But we were drawn to the developing World Wide Web and the promise of delivering sound, photos, animation and video over the Internet. Two local clients, The Mint Museum and the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County had innovative leaders and a great instinct for taking risks with technology. They hired us to design interactive websites to support their exhibitions and learning programs.

In 2001 we launched an educational website for the Mint Museum that won wide acclaim including a Gold Muse Award from the American Association of Museums and Best of the Web from Museums and the Web. The Sport of Life and Death: The Mesoamerican Ballgame remains a unique and popular site. It helped introduce Interactive Knowledge to a national audience that lead to an ongoing relationship with PBS, the Smithsonian Institution and many other nationally recognized clients.

What We Do

Interactive Knowledge, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been in business for over twenty years. Since 1991, we have consistently created interactive experiences that were impossible to imagine even a few years earlier. We are focused on creating websites that engage visitors with outstanding visual design and intuitive interfaces. As technology shifts and advances, we search for the best way to deliver a compelling experience using the most appropriate tools available.

We have an outstanding client list and work primarily with three types of nonprofit organizations:

Cultural Institutions including museums, libraries and education providers (e.g. Smithsonian Institution, US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Girl Scouts)
Filmmakers and Producers who create documentary films that reach a national audience on PBS (e.g. American Experience, WETA and California Newsreel)
Foundations and Associations including some of the most innovative thinkers in America (e.g. Duke Endowment, Fetzer Institute, National Council of Teacher's of Mathematics)

Our Team

Tim Songer

President & Lead Consultant

Tim is a leader in the field of applying new technological solutions to the education issues facing this country. He has testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology on a bill that shaped the reauthorization of the Adult Education Act. He has spoken at the United Nations headquarters, demonstrating technology-based research and development during UNESCO’s conference titled Literacy : An International Urban Perspective.

Tim was one of the founders of Interactive Knowledge in 1991. He has served as the president and managing partner since the company began. In that role he has been instrumental in leading the company through a series of important changes. He negotiated the firm’s successful sale of its CD-ROM based product line in 1997. His leadership was critical as the company made the transition from educational publisher to web designer. He has helped initiate and maintain a series of successful business and consulting relationships with some of the best known non-profits and cultural institutions in America including, PBS, Smithsonian Institution, CPB, The Duke Endowment, The Kennedy Center and many more.

Education: Tim has a B.A. in Secondary Education from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and a M.Ed. in Instructional Design and Educational Media from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Recent project involvement: Executive Producer –  Smithsonian’s Web Redesign, Calculation Nation, PBS StoryShare, MySource, Carrier, The War, Off the Map, The Penland Experience, Key Ingredients, Race – The Power of an Illusion.

Eric Veal

Senior Web Developer

Eric joined Interactive Knowledge in early 2010, and hit the ground running during one of the busiest times in the company’s history. He immediately made himself indispensable to IK and to our clients. Eric quickly learned the intricacies of Drupal while delivering a site for the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Then he went on to tackle the planning, wireframing and development for a large WGBH/American Experience project.

As is the case with all IK folk, Eric loves being involved in every part of the creation process. He is a self-proclaimed "CSS ninja," an evangelist for standards-compliant HTML, and an active member of the web's open source movement.

Eric’s technical skillset includes PHP, Drupal, Flash, HTML/XHTML, CSS, ASP.NET, AJAX, Javascript, Joomla, MySQL. He is looking forward to the next Internet evolution, HTML5, which will change the way the websites are used and created.

Education: BS in Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Recent project involvement: Developer – Freedom Riders, Smithsonian’s Web Redesign, Columbus Neighborhoods, The Fetzer Institute

Allison Wolf

Creative Director & Producer

Allison began her relationship with Interactive Knowledge in 2005, when she was hired as a contractor to design educational materials and experiences for Girls are IT . She continued working as a freelancer in the Charlotte area, opening her own design studio which grew into a popular art gallery. Before long Allison was a successful graphic designer and prominent business owner. She garnered kudos from the local press and was proclaimed one of the “Women Who Rock: Presenting Six Ladies Who Make Charlotte A Cooler Place To Live.” To promote her gallery and design business, as well as her clients’ work, Allison created branding strategies that included fun and funky websites and email campaigns.

Eventually she was persuaded to join a local advertising agency where she worked with clients like the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte, Johnson & Johnson, and the McGill & Hill Group. In August 2010, Allison and Interactive Knowledge were happy to reunite and bring Allison into the family as a full time web designer.

Allison has had an interesting journey on her way to IK. She finished college intending to be a doctor, but three days after graduating with a degree in Zoology and Healthcare, she went into the Peace Corps for two years and worked in public health. "In any project that we did, I always added an art element and that sort of thing. I came back from that experience very different. I was not going to go to medical school, was not going to go into public health." We at IK are very glad that she followed her artistic intuition.

A relentless bundle of energy, Allison continues takes art commissions and paint in her spare time, as well as learn new computer programs. In additional to her design skills, Allison has basic HTML programming experience and is studying Drupal.        

Education: BS Zoology/Pre Medicine & BA - Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Health Care, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Recent project involvement: Designer & Producer – Freedom Riders, Smithsonian’s Web Redesign, American Sabor, Redesign of our own site, Our Mother Tongues and The Fetzer Institute

Scott Wilkening

Executive Producer

Scott joined the IK team in April 2012 and has immediately jumped into the several of our larger projects currently in development. With a passion for information architecture and content, Scott comes to us with 15 years of experience in web development project management, with eight of those years concentrated on education outreach and content design/development. In other words, he feels right at home here at IK. As our Executive Producer, he manages our project workflow, handles both client and partner relationships, and keeps our tracking and reporting running smoothly. A Nashville, TN native, Scott has a passion for all things music, the outdoors, and self-propulsion (primarily running and biking). He also stays active with local non-profit organizations, coaches youth soccer, and in the pursuit of eternal youth, continues to play as well. 

Education: BA, International Relations/Political Science, Berry College

Recent project involvement: Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & Space Museum exhibition website, Max M. Fisher Online Archive, University of Maryland's Building Trust website     

Andrew (Andi to us) Martin

Senior Web Developer

Andi Martin join the IK family In February of 2011. He is a skilled programmer in a number of languages. He comes with Joomla experience and is quickly acclimating to Drupal as he jumps headlong into several new projects. Andi has a BSc in Applied Computing from the University of Dundee. Did I mention that he’s Scottish? He was a Head Chef and Bartender in St. Andrews when a visiting Prince William complimented Andi on making the best chips (fried potatoes) he had ever tasted. There was also an incident with Sean Connery that Andi won’t talk about, but that’s all behind him now. Here “across the pond” he loves computers and we love having him on our team.

Recent project involvement: Developer – American Sabor, The Fetzer Institute, The Duke Endowment, King Events, Redesign of our own site and the Memory Train Interactive Kiosk

Evan Borden

Web Developer

Evan is the newest addition to the Interactive Knowledge team, helping to expand development efforts on current and new projects and quickly adapting to the inner workings of the Interactive Knowledge technical system. Originally, Evan started his career in design and IT systems but later switched to web development, giving him a unique outlook on the development landscape and a holistic approach to solving technical problems. He is always excited to research and learn new technologies and methods and is adamant about finding the best way forward and having fun with the work that he does. If you cannot tell, Evan loves web development and would program all day if you asked him. 

Evan is proficient in Windows, Linux, and Mac environments, utilizing industry standard practices and programs. He is well trained in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, PHP, Drupal, Joomla, and the Adobe creative suite. 

Outside of work, Evan enjoys cooking, spending time with his family, reading up on world history and art, and experiencing new places away from the concrete jungle.

Education: A.S. in Computer Information Systems, A.S. in Advertising and Graphic Design - Central Piedmont Community College of North Carolina.

Recent Project Involvement: The Fetzer Institute, Max M. Fisher Online Archive