THE PAST:
Born in Washington D.C., Alejandro Jose Wood was dubbed “A.J.” by his father as that was the proper colloquial nickname for a southern boy. A.J.'s early childhood was spent moving around the state of Virginia reared like an army brat and disciplined by the church. In 1982 the family made a run to the Motor City where, in spite of himself, he found friendship, love and even made a little money as a musician (pianist). With stars in his eyes and rock star aspirations, A.J. was quick to drop out of college. Traveling the country he bounced from New Orleans, Boston, Manhattan, San Francisco, even back to Virginia looking for something more than what he thought Michigan could offer. Many a mishap brought his music career to an end, and in 1992, A.J. found himself working as a computer hardware technician for a manufacturing company.

With a natural aptitude for electronics, A.J. was quick to expand on his fledgling computer skills. Over the next few years he achieved success as he increased his skill-set working with network systems. Riding those golden years during the 90's he traveled around the country consulting with companies who needed LAN & WAN systems. As a necessary part of the craft, he picked up IT certifications from Novell, Microsoft and Cisco. In the summer of 1999, A.J. settled in Dallas, TX, and after a 15 year network engineering career he decided he needed something different.

THE PRESENT:
His cavalier days behind him, A.J. currently works as an Adobe Certified Instructor teaching graphics & multimedia courseware. Combining his vast technical expertise with artistic passion, A.J. has helped many companies in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area with their training needs. In addition to training, A.J.'s company Media Cats, Inc., also provides digital services including photography, videography and web design. If you need InDesign or Photoshop work done, he's your guy.

If there's such a thing as spare time then it is spent with his wife Michelle. A.J. wouldn't be able to accomplish any level of success without her infinite support (or the endorsements from Red Bull and Mountain Dew).

A.J. on the web:
www.adobecertifiedinstructor.com
www.media-cats.com