Eric Bowen is a former Microsoft Architect Evangelist and currently an independent consultant specializing in architecting, developing, and leading complex projects using Microsoft technologies. Eric has been programming for 28 years since he taught himself Z80 assembly language on his family's TRS-80 Model I Level II. And he has still never worn the t-shirt that Bill Gates signed when he won the programming contest at the Microsoft PDC in 2001.
In his spare time Eric works as a photojournalist providing independent coverage of the Minnesota National Guard and the war in Iraq. Eric has made multiple trips to Iraq, and his work has appeared locally on Channel 5 Eyewitness News and MinnPost.Com, as well as nationally on the CBS Evening News and in Parade Magazine. Eric is also a former US Army Paratrooper, and former member of the US National Biathlon Team.