Background

Dr. Torrance P. Fennell is a fiscally responsible Servant Leader, Business Developer, and Educator focused on identifying and solving complex problems to grow organizations. As a Servant Leader, Dr. Fennell is focused on the needs of others (students, clients, team members, and partners) to drive higher engagement which results in increased trust, innovation, stronger relationships, and overall greater performance. Since 2008, Dr. Fennell has been an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, Northern Virginia Community College, and Howard University and teaching Information Technology (IT) and Computer Science courses. In addition to his pedagogical experience, he brings a wealth of real-world industry experience to students during classroom instruction as an IT professional with over 20 years of experience developing and supporting Next Generation Network (NGN) solutions for companies such as Cisco Systems Inc., Lucent Technologies, and MCI communications. Dr. Fennell’s research interests include Optical Wireless communications for 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), Internet of Things (IOT), Offshore Outsourcing and STEM Education. Dr. Fennell has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Howard University, M.S. in Telecommunications Management from University of Maryland University College, and a Ph.D. in Information Technology from Capella University.

Job experience

• August 2020 - present
  Adjunct Professor
  Howard University
  

  Washington D.C., DC, USA

  EGPP 101 - Introduction to Engineering
  Classroom instruction to introduce and engage first year engineering students to the process of innovation in engineering design; the engineering profession and its impact on issues of relevance to society; and non-technical skills critical to professional success.

• August 2009 - present
  Adjunct Professor
  George Mason University
  

  Fairfax, VA, USA

  IT 101 - Introduction to Information Technology - Classroom instruction to introduce students to the fundamental concepts in information technology (IT) that provide the technical underpinning of digital devices, computer hardware, software, telecommunications, networking and multimedia.
  IT 300 – Modern Telecommunications- Led course instruction to introduce students to a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles of telecommunications, including concepts of frequency, wavelength, bandwidth, repeaters, multiplexing, error performance, electromagnetic spectrum, atmospheric effects.
  IT 304 – IT in the Global Economy - Provided classroom instruction to introduce students to how IT is changing the nature of work in terms of information privacy, intellectual property, computer related crime, e-commerce related regulation, public policy and world economies.
  IT 341 - Data Communications and Networking Principles- Taught course focused on the primary aspects of data communications networking, including a study of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) and Internet models. Topics include: RIPv2, and OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, IS-IS, TCP, UDP, FTP, HTTP, SMTP, DNS, and TFTP.
  IT 306 – Program Design and Data Structures- Led course instruction to cover the fundamental programming concepts, event-driven programming, object-oriented programming, basic data structures, and algorithmic processes. Concepts taught during the course include: Arrays, Linked structures, stacks, queues, graphs, binary trees, Collections, and Generics.
  IT 105 – Architecture Fundamentals- Provided classroom instruction to introduce students to fundamental hardware and software concepts of information technology (IT) to understand the basics of modern computing environments.
  

• January 2008 - present
  Associate Professor
  Northern Virginia Community College
  

  Reston, VA, USA

  ITE-115 - Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts - Led classroom instructions in information technology concepts, computer applications, computer ethics, computer security and HTML (Website development).
  ITN-154 – Network Fundamentals, Router Basics, and Configuration : CISCO
  Provided classroom instruction to introduce the principles and structure of IP addressing, Ethernet concepts, media, and operations. Students are taught the knowledge and skills to build simple LANs, perform basic router and switch configurations, and implement IP addressing schemes.
  ITN-155 – Introductory Routing: CISCO
  Led classroom instructions to provide knowledge and skills to configure a router and a switch. Students are taught to configure and troubleshoot routers and switches and resolve common issues with RIPv1, RIPng, single-area and multi-area OSPF, virtual LANs and inter-VLAN routing in both IPv4 and IPv6 networks. During the course, students learn the basics of routing, switching, and advanced technologies to prepare for the CCENT and CCNA certification exams.
  ITN-156 Basic Switching and Routing: CISCO
  Provided classroom instruction to study the advantages of LAN segmentation using routers and switches. The course provides an extensive hands-on configuration of switches using the command-line interface method. Surveys protocols needed to design and implement a converged switched network. This course includes Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) and the different methods of inter-VLAN routing.
  ITN-157 WAN Technologies: CISCO
  Led classroom instructions to focus on Layer 2 and Layer 3 of the OSI Model, Network Address Translation, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and Network Management Systems. Extensive lab activities will reinforce router and switch configuration learned from previous modules, using Variable Length Subnet Masking (VLSM) and Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR).

• March 2000 - present
  Business Development Manager
  Cisco Systems Inc.
  

  Herndon, VA, USA

  Cisco Systems Inc. Herndon, Va. 8/2016 - Present
  Business Development Manager
  • Increased bookings by 35%, developed new customer relationships and provided guidance for deal structuring through tight interlock with the extended sales and delivery teams within GES NE accounts.
  • Generated 15% business growth by providing expert knowledge of market and technology transitions as well as customer consumption models contributing to the creation of new business streams for Advanced Services.
  • Gathered customer requirements and business objectives to translate technology requirements into Level of Effort (LoE) to generate budgetary proposals, SOWs, and Subscription quotes for renewals.
  • Developed strategic initiatives for the broader Cisco such as “Repeatable SOWs for ease of sell and pricing models such as value-based pricing, cost-based pricing and leading to a pricing model.
  Cisco Systems Inc. Herndon, Va. 7/2013 – 8/2016
  Services Sales Consultant
  • Renewed AS annuity base of customers such as Sprint, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and SFDC to drive AS Subscription revenue, which resulted in 100% “on-time” renewals.
  • Increased sales by exceeding booking and revenue targets for FY 14 by achieving 150% of Plan and FY 15 by achieving 130% of Plan.
  • Served in a lead technical sales role prospecting, qualifying, and closing solutions to drive business outcomes for US Service Provider customers by effectively packaging, pricing, and presenting solution to US SP customers.
  • Led service and solution scoping process to help drive solution sales process for AS and TS to ensure customer satisfaction and prevent change request during the delivery of services.
  Cisco Systems Inc. Herndon, Va. 1/2011 – 7/2013
  Business Development Manager
  • Drive services business growth 75% in FY12 and 102% in FY13 to increase relevance of services by engaging with multiple stakeholders including product account teams, services sales, BUs, and cross-functional teams across AS in order to ensure alignment of the customer needs with the proposed services.
  • Create, track and drive pipeline of opportunities using appropriate forecasting tools to identify future focal areas and trends.
  • Perform accurate sizing and scoping for a given opportunity by working closely with sales and delivery organizations to help create both the commercial proposal and any associated legal framework (e.g. SoW).
  Cisco Systems Inc. Herndon, Va. 9/2009- 1/2011
  Product Manager
  • Responsible for increasing Cisco’s market share, revenue and profitability by developing and executing marketing strategies such as promotions, roadshows, and advertising for product and services migrations.
  • Defines and executes marketing campaign for migration services, which includes technical and business deliverables that are focused on a product offering.
  • Manages product or service launches and transitions, including delivery to the field, partners channels
  Cisco Systems Inc. Herndon, Va. 3/2006 – 9/2009
  Network Consulting Engineer
  • Lead Engineer for Sprint’s potential $20M 7500-GSR migration project. Responsible for Low level Design, configuration conversion implementation as well as lead advisor for Development of the 7500-GSR automation tool.
  • Improved customer processes via Best Practice Recommendations and Root Cause Analysis to raise Sprint's Network Availability from 99.9 operations to a 99.9952 annual average with peaks at 99.998.
  • Working daily outages and providing Proactive procedures to help drive a $7M incentive payout for the year by Sprint for exceeding the targets established for Network High Availability.
  Cisco Systems Inc. Herndon, Va. 3/2000 – 3/2006
  Customer Support Engineer
  • Performed analysis, troubleshooting, and diagnosis of most complex networking problems.
  • Builds simulated networks in test labs to recreate and resolve the most complex problems related to software, design, and hardware issues.
  • Acts as a focal point for network problem resolution by utilizing case management tools such as Topic, DDTS/CDETS, C3, and CALO Labs.
  

• October 1999 - February 2020
  Central Office Engineer
  LB Price Communications
  

  Bowie, MD, USA

  Central Office Engineer
  • Prepared Method of Procedures (MOP) and Design Specifications for the installation of SONET transport equipment such as FT2000s, DDM2000s, FLM 150s, and Titan 5500s in Verizon’s Central Offices.
  • Responsible for updating and completing Mechanized Central Office Record assignments via INFOBANK.
  • Performed traffic engineering analysis of Sonet Transport Equipment for LEC’s and CLEC’s based on TEO information in a Co-Located environment.
  

• May 1998 - October 1999
  Network Design Engineer
  Lucent Technologies
  

  Hunt valley , Maryland

  Network Design Engineer
  • Responsible for the design, traffic analysis, and price quote for 5ESS Switch Installations for Bell Atlantic
  • Prepares the Network Design Order package which consists of Switch Module layouts, SS7 requirements, and time slot limitations
  • Served as a first point of contact to Bell Atlantic’s Central Office engineers, Planners, and Vendor Manager as well as Lucent’s production engineers to ensure proper design specifications are implemented by Lucent’s installer’s
  

• October 1997 - May 1998
  Network Engineer
  MCI Communications
  

  Arlington, VA, USA

  Network Engineer
  • Responsible for circuit installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of MCI’s Voice & Data networks
  • Execution of Test Plans for DS3, DS1, and DS0 circuits in the MCI’s Virtual Private Network
  • Performed installation and maintenance of CISCO routers/switches, DXC’s, CSU/DSU, M13’S, and channel banks.
  

Education

• Capella University
  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Information Technology
  

  2008 - 2016

  Majored in Information Technology
• University of Maryland University College
  Master of Science (M.S.) Telecommunications Management
  

  1998 - 2001

  Majored in Telecommunications Management
• Howard University
  Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Electrical Engineering
  

  1990 - 1996

  Majored in Electrical Engineering