About Us

We provide the foremost in networking industry training. Our core business focus is on expanding and developing our role as Arista’s exclusive Elite Plus Training Partner.

WHO WE ARE

Our status as an Elite Plus Training Partner has created a close relationship with Arista Training which enables us to efficiently and effectively manage Arista’s Certification Program, from Arista Cloud Engineer (ACE) courses to custom made courses. We proudly create and deliver courses with high technical content and fully utilize the comprehensive range of Arista products and technologies.

FOUNDER/BRAND STORY

Victory for Veterans (VFV) is at the heart of SDN Pros. Steve is the founder/CEO and Shawn started working with the non-profit as a Veteran mentor who eventually joined the Board of Directors. Together, they continue to build Veteran outreach programs to expand the help that Victory for Veterans can provide to our Veteran community.

The goal and focus of VFV is to minimize Veteran suicide by giving them a foot forward through providing housing, medical, financial, and employment services. SDN Pros aims to help specifically in the employment service through scholarships for IT training, direct employment, and job search resources/training.

Now, Steve and Shawn work on both entities together and look for additional ways that SDN Pros and VFV can collaborate on the veteran suicide crisis. As new courses are created for Arista, they look at ways this may be able to help a transitioning veteran that doesn’t know what he will do after he separates from the military, or a veteran that needs that extra training in order to pursue the career she has been striving towards.

“This is our passion, but if others are looking for ways to help through donations, volunteering for local programs, or get involved in other ways, we encourage you to visit victoryforveterans.org and look around. We thank you for the ‘foot forward’ and we thank our Veterans for their service.”

- Shawn Jones

Turning of the Tide

SDN Pros was founded to provide the best network engineer training in the market by offering a newer, more relevant approach. Existing vendor training and certification programs were not providing the needed skills for the next generation of network engineers. We wanted to make it accessible to all, breaking the confines of ‘traditional training’.

This was no easy feat. Our approach in those formative years – working hard, bold experimentation, learning from mistakes, and challenging the status quo – has now become a part of who we are. Today that hustle is what we strive for every day.

Leaving the traditional office space behind, SDN Pros proudly encourages a flexible working environment, using Zoom and other technologies to support our cohesive and ever expanding global team. Our team includes a wealth of expertise from networking professionals and instructors across the globe.

The Team

The SDN Pros and Arista Training Teams are made up of a group of employees who began as mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, close family friends and siblings, who very much identify as such but became so much more, fearlessly establishing a culture of empathy, collectiveness, belonging, collaboration, and shared values and goals.

Leadership
SDN Pros
Arista

Steve Durgin

CEO/CFO

Steve Durgin

CEO/CFO

As CEO, Steve brings decades of experience as a business owner and CFO for many top companies. Steve continues to spend his spare time heavily involved in the Veteran Non-profit space and has an incredible ability to bring people together. He loves spending time with family and enjoys building/DIY projects.

Elan Beer

CTO/Senior Instructor

Elan Beer

CTO/Senior Instructor

Since the early 1990s, Elan has been involved with large-scale Data Center and Service Provider implementations worldwide. Elan is known internationally as a leader in training and architectural design, and has worked on many high-profile projects assisting organizations with their goal of implementing leading edge technology in their corporate infrastructure. As CTO for SDN-Pros, Elan leads and mentors an international team of the industry’s top instructors and content developers.

Shawn Jones

COO

Shawn Jones

COO

Shawn is a US Army Veteran and operates as the COO overseeing the project management of our course development engagements. In addition to Victory for Veterans, he is actively engaged in many other projects in his spare time including (TX)NUG Central which aims to be a vendor neutral networking group for network engineers in Central Texas.

Jessica Agnew

Customer Support Manager

Jessica Agnew

Customer Support Manager

Jessica comes to SDN pros with a wealth of varied experiences and is integral in providing customer support and quality customer experiences. In addition to enjoying her church community, Jessica is truly family oriented; with a family of 9 siblings and three of her own children she naturally spends much of her time enjoying life with them.

Monica Berkley

Operations Director

Monica Berkley

Operations Director

Bringing over 10 years experience working in operational logistics and customer support, Monica is a linchpin within the inner workings of SDN Pros; giving strategic input, providing critical customer support, effectively resourcing, and monitoring quality assurance. Monica especially enjoys spending time with her family, but has a passion for travel and house projects, and revels in being outdoors.

Jillian Durgin

Copywriter/Editor

Jillian Durgin

Copywriter/Editor

Originally from Colorado, but now a long time resident of the UK, Jill has an extensive background in teaching and English, and began her journey at SDN Pros as a Customer Support Manager. However, she now enjoys all things written and has transitioned into a role as a copywriter/editor. Jill enjoys supporting her neighborhood donut shop; she believes that a donut a day keeps the long winters at bay. Her joy for running also keeps her local shoe shop in business…

Taylor Jenkins

Customer Support Manager

Taylor Jenkins

Customer Support Manager

Taylor has been with SDN Pros for 2 years now; he is the jack of all trades and is deeply nestled in every aspect of the training program and customer cycle. Taylor spends absolutely every bit of his free time pursuing wingsuiting, bodyflight, high performance canopy flight, and various other disciplines within the sport of skydiving. The minimal time he has left he spends traveling in his converted school bus and training dogs.

Zackary Jenkins

Expert Program Concierge

Zackary Jenkins

Expert Program Concierge

Zack is a US Navy veteran that comes to the SDN Pros team to help motivate and direct customers through their journey to achieve the highest level certifications with Arista. In his personal life, he is actively training for an Ironman triathlon in Woodland, Tx.

Alexia Mendoza

Customer Support Manager

Alexia Mendoza

Customer Support Manager

Alexia is from Costa Rica and the only SDN Pros member from LATAM. She works along with the team on the logistics side of training and exams. In her free time she enjoys watching movies, loves sunny days, and watching sunsets at the beach.

Josh Norden

Lab Developer

Josh Norden

Lab Developer

Josh is a U.S. Army veteran of Desert Shield / Desert Storm and has been in IT since shortly after separating. He has focused his career on Network Engineering and has experience in service provider, .com, and development environments. He joins the SDN-Pros team as a Lab Developer helping to deliver the most realistic and engaging labs possible. Outside of work, Josh enjoys spending time with his family touring the states in his RV, which also doubles as an outlet for his passions of technical and mechanical creativity.

Sarah Parkin

Web Developer

Sarah Parkin

Web Developer

Sarah works closely with Jill looking after our company website and social media accounts. Based in the UK, she enjoys being corrected on the differences between UK and US spellings and complaining about the weather. When not chasing shares, likes, and follows, she can be found outside in the fresh air away from screens getting her zen on, enjoying DIY and gardening.

Felicia Pinkney

Customer Support Manager

Felicia Pinkney

Customer Support Manager

Felicia is a versatile and adaptable forward thinker, focused on creating consistent results and delivering accurate outcomes for clients. She comes to SDN Pros from the health and wellness industry. Felicia believes in living a balanced intentional life. To her, life is an opportunity to create an impact in this world. When she's not working, you’ll find her relaxing, reading or listening to music.

Mariela Thomas

Accounting Assistant

Mariela Thomas

Accounting Assistant

Mariela is from Costa Rica, but now lives in the USA. She is studying for a nursing degree whilst working with the accounting department. In her free time she likes outdoor activities, watching TV shows, looking after animals and spending time with family.

Johnny Bass

Training Lead, NAM

Johnny Bass

Training Lead, NAM

Johnny has been in the networking industry since the late 1980s with extensive experience in the Aerospace, Health Care, Data Center and Service Provider industries, providing network design, education, and technical support. Johnny enjoys spending time with his wife Tiffany & children Sean & Cayman and visiting theme parks around the world.

Amber Dragon

Training Operations Coordinator

Amber Dragon

Training Operations Coordinator

Amber has a background in customer support, is supportive and steadfast, bringing a creative and enthusiastic approach to work. Impassioned for family (mother and wife) and people, Amber also spends time volunteering at The Rose Center, a not-for-profit organization bringing awareness of human trafficking, teaching prevention, and offering recovery support for those affected. She enjoys outdoor activities, traveling and has continued interest in Aviation Maintenance from her husband's work in the Coast Guard.

Kimberley Freeman

Global Operations Lead

Kimberley Freeman

Global Operations Lead

Kim has been working in the training industry for 14 years and counting. She strives to ensure she is always providing the most efficient systems and processes along with pleasant and helpful support for Account Managers, Engineers, and Instructors. Hobbies include: spending time with family, puzzles and brainteasers, reading, and of course, College Football!

Chris Jaecker

Training Lead, APAC

Chris Jaecker

Training Lead, APAC

Born in the UK but a quarter century into living in Australia, Chris is tasked with growing Arista's training business in Asia Pacific. A professional trainer in sales and technology, Chris sees education as critical in helping technology drive business success in the enterprise. Because life should be challenging he is teaching himself the 3D Animation software Blender.

Terry Jenkins

Global Head of Training and Certification at Arista

Terry Jenkins

Global Head of Training and Certification at Arista

Terry began his career in the US Airforce as a Special Operations TACP-JTAC in the early 90’s. After leaving the military he began his career in IT and Networking. He has held positions as VP of architecture for several Global Financials, advisor to Cisco on GTM strategy and executive roles within the training industry. In 2018 Terry joined Arista with the charter to revamp the existing training program. Over the past 4 years Terry’s leadership has driven the creation of the new Arista Cloud Engineer program. Terry continues to lead this joint endeavor with Arista, SDN Pros and the many partners now part of the program. Between his endless conversations with customers, partners and internal Arista departments, he can still be found developing and writing courses, working on lbs and occasionally teaching a course. Outside of work you may find him jumping out of airplanes, helicopters and hot air balloons as part of his skydiving adventures.

Sasa Kariz

Training Infrastructure Developer

Sasa Kariz

Training Infrastructure Developer

Mauro Lollo

Training Lead

Mauro Lollo

Training Lead

Abbas Masnavi

Training Lead, EMEA

Abbas Masnavi

Training Lead, EMEA

Abbas has held technical and business leadership positions in training and enablement at three Startup BUs (DC SDN, Compute, Storage) and presently at Arista over the 20+ years of his work experience. He has built and led multiple global and scalable programs and teams to technically train and enable the field, partners, and customers to accelerate product adoption. In his spare time, Abbas enjoys hiking and reading.

Rich Parkin

Head of Training Infrastructure

Rich Parkin

Head of Training Infrastructure

Our lab expert Rich is the longest serving member of the Arista training team. He is a source of history and knowledge, regularly tapped, and is responsible for writing and assessing the current ACE level exams. Before covid locked him down, Rich roamed the world as a network engineer and instructor. He now makes do by exploring fantasy worlds playing computer games.

John Riley

Training Lead, Tier 1

John Riley

Training Lead, Tier 1

John’s experience includes over 30 years of Information Technology in various disciplines and roles, with 15 years at technology Integrators both in Canada and the U.S. designing solutions, migrations and roadmaps for organizations. John enjoys RV’ing, traveling and billiards. Reading choices include biographies, business and technical journals, and anything that feeds his insatiable appetite for knowledge in technology and Market trends.

April Scott-Gallegos

Training Operations Coordinator

April Scott-Gallegos

Training Operations Coordinator

April comes to Arista with a varied background extending from medical health and fitness to management and time in the tech industry. She now uses her wealth of experiences identifying training needs and mapping out development plans for clients and individuals. Her vivacious disposition brings comedy and laughter to the team daily. April has a strong passion for community service and education, specifically youth programs, and enjoys sharing her passions with her family and friends.

Ruhan Sharief Shaik

Training Infrastructure Developer

Ruhan Sharief Shaik

Training Infrastructure Developer

Ruhan has over five years of experience in DevOps, Cloud, and Python automation. He is a masterful infrastructure developer for Arista and takes care of the lab environment development and the system that performs deployments, alongside Rich. Ruhan mostly enjoys being outdoors, especially playing badminton and cricket.

Nithin Tata

Training Infrastructure Developer

Nithin Tata

Training Infrastructure Developer

Nithin is a Training Infrastructure Developer with experience in multiple cloud technologies and data engineering. He develops and maintains technology that is related to lab infrastructure and exams alongside Rich. Nithin loves coffee, cooking south indian dishes and building small electronic DIY projects in his free time.

Testimonials

"Great course which did an amazing task to introduce us to 'The Arista Way' in a manner which was easily graspable and fun”

Jayeshh S

ACE:L1

"It's refreshing that a tech company is still teaching/stressing networking basics ; a solid foundation is key for any capable architect or engineer.”

Anon

ACE:L1

"Really nice course. It is great and many important topics are touched e.g. VXLAN, Routing, CloudVision”

Pawel K

ACE:L1

"The course helped me to have an overview of network areas that I didn't have contact with and to understand the field application of the ones I had. ”

Robert O

ACE:L2

"Great course that goes into detail for each topic listed. Learned many concepts that will help me in the future with my network assignments.”

Anon

ACE:L2

"The in depth explanation of the topics, especially the inner working of EVPN and VXLAN was excellent. Deconstructing the packets and operational flow is very valuable to understand exactly how these technologies work. The instructor did a great job of explaining this and his depth of knowledge was obvious.”

Shayne K

ACE:L3

"The course does a good job of covering all the aspects of automation and how they apply to Arista products. The lab content is very structured and I really like the large and comprehensive lab environment. Much better than other vendor classes I've participated in.”

Nathan M

ACE:L5

"The course was what I was looking for - introduction to automation. The difficulty level was perfect, it was challenging enough and I felt like I learnt a lot. I especially liked the labs.”

Anon

ACE:L5

"I liked the fact the course was designed for both people knew how to code as well as people familiar with it. I learned a lot, and it made me more comfortable realizing that automation is not actually out of my grasp.”

Andrei M

ACE:L5

"The instructor was fantastic, had a clear understanding on the materials that were being presented and was able to backup his presentations with his knowledge.”

Brian B

ACE:L4

"The instructor was very knowledgable and able to explain the concepts very clearly, using his own diagrams that he drew during class specifically to explain certain topics. I felt he was also very approachable and helpful when answering any questions I had.”

Anon

ACE:L4

"Fantastic course. The layout was great and the labs were great also. Not a single complaint or even constructive criticism. You can see the amount of hard work that went into building this class.”

Mike C

ACE:L3