For Immediate Release
Date:  August 25, 2006

Hetrick, Azpurua-Linares to Lead IIa Business Groups

Oak Ridge, TN. Bonnie Carroll, president of Information International Associates, today announced that the company has appointed two new business group leaders in biodiversity informatics services and web development and technology services. These appointments were made to accommodate the company’s ongoing growth and expansion in both the public and private sectors and are headquartered at IIa’s corporate offices in Oak Ridge.

Shelaine Hetrick will lead the Biodiversity Informatics Group, which will be the home for IIa’s major biodiversity informatics contracts with the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as joint work with the University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Hetrick will position the group to take advantage of the latest information tools and techniques to collect and disseminate biodiversity information and data for ecological and environmental decision making. IIa’s current work in this arena includes coordinating the Southern Appalachian Information Node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) and providing support to the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (a partnership of federal agencies).

Hetrick has a master’s degree in applied ecology and conservation biology from  Frostburg State University and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and statistics with a second major in biology from Roanoke College. She has worked with NASA on large-scale international field projects focusing on data collection, protocols, quality control and assurance, and data archiving. She gained experience studying the effects of fire in the ecosystem working for the U.S. Forest Service. Hetrick and her husband, Jon, live in Oak Ridge with their daughter.

Franciel Azpurua-Linares will lead the Web Development and Technology Services Group, which includes work currently under way for the Government Printing Office and The Heinz Center. IIa formed the new group to provide contract services for using the web to manage and disseminate information, including portal development, content management tools, and web design and implementation. In addition, Azpurua-Linares’ group will provide IT infrastructure support—network operations, user support and help desk services, system administration, software development, and enterprise information architecture—for organizations of all sizes.

Azpurua-Linares holds master’s degrees in economics and information sciences from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in information engineering from the Central Technological University. She has experience with cutting edge information and web technologies, including portal technologies, programming languages, and systems design and implementation. Azpurua-Linares and her husband live in Knoxville with their two children.

Headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, IIa provides information management, systems, and technology services to the government, industry, non-profit and academic organizations, and international entities. IIa is a woman-owned, small business with ~200 employees in 10 states, the District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom. More information about IIa can be found at www.iiaweb.com.