Our Team
Proven and reliable history developing and installing voting and legislative management systemsThe IRC staff is comprised of legislative process and technology professionals that share an appreciation of state legislature functions to create and support superior legislative technology products. IRC knows the value of legislative staff experience and has actively employed such staff.
Bill Schaeffer
As President of International Roll-Call® Corporation since 2009, Bill has spearheaded the continued march toward developing voting and legislative solutions that are both forward-thinking and sustainable. This includes the strategic alliance formed with Daktronics in 2004, which he helped negotiate and solidify. As a former Clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives, Bill was key in spearheading the development migration of the voting system application from VB6 to the .NET platform and remains deeply involved in continuously improving the capabilities and performance of IRC's xmLegislator Voting Software as well as our Legislative Management System. Never one for time idly spent, Bill is always busy with some home improvement project or other during his downtime. He is also a Railroad Hobbyist (both model and life-size!), and enjoys restoring and reviving antique pianos.
Tyler Schaeffer
As the Vice President of IRC, Tyler works within every aspect of IRC’s specialties such as customer relations, business management, sales, development of new products, and support etc. Before taking on the role of Vice President, Tyler started off at IRC as a part time technician over 10 years ago and over the years he spent a great deal of time being mentored by IRC’s senior experienced team members, learning all of IRC’s new and existing products like the hi-resolution LED displays, xmLegislator.NET™ Voting Software, SCU-9000 and VSCU-1000 member desk voting solutions etc. Through hard work, dedication, and continued experience he became well versed in all of IRC’s inner workings, laying the foundation for his ascension to his current position of Vice President. To this day he continues to work closely with our clients whether it be through providing on-site and remote support, overseeing new installations, sales or commissioning of IRC’s new products, or learning more about each client’s unique legislative process. He is devoted to expanding his knowledge of the legislative process in order to discover better ways to improve the user experience for all IRC clients and maximizing the capabilities of current technology or laying the groundwork for the future. When not spearheading projects or policy for IRC, Tyler loves to travel, most notably to historic landmarks, achieving his goal to visit all 50 state capitols (4 left) and (since he is a passionate fan of Formula 1) other countries where F1 races are held.
David Ward Jr.
David has been with IRC since 1996 and has served in a variety of roles including field technician, hardware design, electronics purchasing, documentation, and proposal preparation. Serving as Client Relations and Operation Support for IRC, he works to ensure the success of every project and support case by providing logistical, communication, and product support for the field teams during installation. He is also intimately involved in the project estimation and proposal preparation process, and client relations document creation and website development and maintenance. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, reading, writing, and spending time with friends and family.
Ryan Babcock
Ryan’s role on the IRC team as Product Manager, Voting Solutions is to provide management, maintenance, and installation support for IRC’s Voting Solutions customers across the country. Well-versed in the architecture and function of both the SCU-9000 and current VSCU-1000 voting systems as well as the VB6 and the new xmLegislator.NET™ Voting Software, Ryan brings a diverse skillset to the company. When he’s not installing or supporting our products in state legislatures, Ryan enjoys building and modifying automobiles, hunting and fishing, as well as spending time with his wife and son.
Robert Feidt
Being the Director of Voting Solutions, Robert spearheaded the development of IRC's .NET Voting Software and has been personally been involved in every single xmLegislator.NET™ Software build. Since each client site is unique, Robert has to develop, maintain, and support the xmLegislator.NET™ Voting Software product on multiple usage levels, making sure the needs of each legislature are met and he has yet to miss that target.
Bryan Hogan
As the IRC Director of Legislative Management Solutions, Bryan brings his passion for data and the world built around it to IRC back office product division. With over 8 years of experience in business data strategy, management, and application development, he is key to ensuring the high quality and design of our legislative management system applications. His other passions include fishing, traveling, and building in his home workshop.
Jeff Finch
As IRC's Director of Client Relations and Legislative Process Consultant, Jeff works with IRC's current and prospective clients to help tailor their Voting Solutions or Legislative Management System functionalities to the specific needs of their chamber's procedures, Rules, and institutional culture. Jeff’s 38-year tenure with the Virginia House of Delegates including 23 years as Deputy Clerk for Legislative Operations prepared him to lead the charge for IRC’s Client Relations responsibilities and serving as consultant for legislative process documentation. As a graduate of Virginia Tech, he’s a Hokie to the bone and is an avid college sports fan and NHL ice hockey fan (Go Vegas Knights). He also enjoys traveling to Europe (especially Switzerland) with his wife Judy.
Chris Hayes
Chris brings his expertise in .NET Windows application development to the IRC team. Before joining up as a Software Engineer, he did similar applications programming for a state agency of Virginia as well as several federal contractors. Chris is an accomplished ballroom dancer who, in his downtime, also teaches dance locally.
Rita Barlow
As IRC's Product Manager of Legislative Management Solutions, Rita's focus is to work with the development team to manage the communication of and adherence to all technical requirements for all projects for the Legislative Management Solutions division. She has over ten years' experience in software development, implementation, testing, user training, and support, all of which she brings to the IRC product development process. She always kisses her dog goodnight and has a passion for travel and the outdoors, whether its indulging her photography skills or hiking, hunting, and fishing.
Allen Smothers
Allen comes to the IRC Team as a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason Universities with a creative .Net development skillset. Our 3rd Reading Legislative Management System clients may get to know him pretty well since that will be his primary focus. Allen is father to three wonderful girls and spends his time away from the IRC Team camping with his family, supporting his daughters’ activities, and tinkering with the cars he races as part of the National Auto Sport Association.
Howard Jorenby
As IRC’s Senior Hardware Engineer, Howard designs and maintains all of the custom electronics created for each chamber and installation. With a rock-solid background in electrical engineering, and with 47 years of microprocessor and mechanical experience, he is the resident expert on how to take the desires and visions of a customer for their legislative process and transform them into tangible components of their voting system. Before joining IRC, Howard spent over 31 years with Daktronics, including designing LED modules and LED display controllers, so the depth and breadth of his knowledge of display systems for the legislative environment is enormous. When not designing the next greatest voting system gadget, he participates in Scandinavian cultural activities in his home state of South Dakota.
Cortland Finch
A graduate of the University of South Carolina, where he was trained in hospitality and business management and with experience as a legislative assistant, Cortland takes on a number of roles at IRC, working with both systems installation and client relations and support. In his free time, Cortland enjoys outdoor pursuits like kayaking and snowboarding or just relaxing at home with his dog Chief while watching the Tampa Bay Lightning tear up the ice.
Scott Zinski
Trained in web development at University of Richmond, Scott’s background as a full stack web developer brings an invaluable development asset to the IRC Team. Scott’s focus will be on the 3rd Reading Legislative Management System, which he will work on during its continued development. When not writing code as part of the IRC Team, Scott might be found mountain biking, ferrying his kids to soccer tournaments, or tinkering in his garage with his dirt bike.
Joe Erhardt
Joe Erhardt hails from a time when Hollerith cards were a thing and COBOL was the premiere business language. With side-adventures through FORTRAN and a dozen other computer languages, Joe arrived at IRC in 1988 to assist with existing voting systems. In 1994, he was a crucial team leader in the development of the VB6 voting system that was the mainstay of IRC’s legislative systems for many years. These days, Joe assists with the conversion of the VB6 system to the .NET platform and applies the perspective that his half-century of software and systems development has given him to the problems and challenges facing IRC today.
Dan Sanderson
As a Senior Software Engineer for IRC, Dan heads up the development, maintenance, and support of IRC’s Chamber Automation Application. His considerable skillset includes over 30 years as a software developer. In a former life, Dan was a pastor in Texas who now plays piano for his local church, enjoys pickleball, and spending time with his beautiful grandchildren.
Scott Maddrea
As an IRC Legislative Process Consultant, Scott works with the IRC 3rd Reading Legislative Management System team and clients to document a legislature's various legislative process procedures and system requirements for automation. Scott brings his 30+ years of legislative service to IRC after retiring from the Virginia House of Delegates Clerk's Office in 2018 as Deputy Clerk for Committee Operations. Scott is a nationally recognized expert in parliamentary procedure, committee processes, and the history of the Virginia General Assembly, and is a frequent guest lecturer on the legislative process. Scott has served as an adjunct faculty member, teaching State and Local Government at Christopher Newport University and Virginia and Virginia and U.S. History at J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College. Scott received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Richmond, M.A. in American Military History from American Military University and is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute and the Legislative Staff Management Institute. In addition, Scott is a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve retiring in 2012 with the rank of Lt. Colonel; and is an active member of the American Legion Department of Virginia currently serving as Department Membership Chairman and Secretary of the Boys State Board of Directors. Scott resides in Mechanicsville with his two miniature long-haired dachshunds Leah and Jackson. He is an avid sports fan, runner, enjoys playing golf, and traveling to professional sports venues across the country.
Mary Gibson
Mary has 7 years of legislative experience from the Office of the Clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Beginning as a legislative intern and aide, she worked in the joint committees on Public Health and Health Care Financing before joining the Clerk’s Office as Second Clerical Assistant. More recently, Mary worked as Managing Director for the National Center for Public Performance at Suffolk University, Boston. With NCPP, she organized and led the 2022 Marc Holzer Public Performance Symposium, focusing on the Government Performance Results Act of 1993. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Long Island University and is a 2023 graduate of Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School where she received her Master’s of Public Administration, summa cum laude. Mary enjoys horseback riding, fishing, and exploring with her Springer Spaniel, Rory.
Nate Boucher
A graduate of the University of Richmond Coding Boot Camp, Nate was trained in full stack web development specializing in the MERN stack. Prior to joining IRC, Nate worked as a production manager at a performance suspension manufacturer with an international customer base. Nate’s drive for honing his development skills and enthusiasm to solve problems as part of a team make him a strong asset to IRC’s software development and engineering team. When he’s not behind the desk writing code and developing, his hobbies include Japanese and European car culture, gaming, and spending time with his wife, dog, and two cats.
Tom Skelton
As a Hardware Specialist for IRC, Tom will be working directly to provide maintenance and installation support for IRC’s Voting Solutions customers across the country. Tom’s experience in the electronics field includes a Bachelor's and Associate's Degree in Electronic Engineering and field engineering work experience with IRC’s video display partner Daktronics. In addition, Tom has worked as an Audio/Video Specialist. In these capacities, Tom has worked directly with clients to install, update, test, and train clients on the various systems provided. Tom’s talents will be utilized to work directly on IRC install jobs and to provide training to clients. In addition to Tom’s professional skills, he enjoys playing slow-pitch softball, disc golf, Lego and K’nex building, painting, and collecting toy John Deere tractors. Tom loves spending time with his pure bread Siberian Husky, Aluecia, which he refers to as his dream dog… a little rowdy, weird, and howls.
Kalen Wiley
Kalen joins the IRC team as a Software Developer for Legislative Management Solutions working primarily on the 3rd Reading legislative management system application. A graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Business and the University of Richmond Coding Boot Camp, Kalen is experienced in full-stack web development, finance and accounting, and management. Prior to joining IRC, Kalen used his accounting and finance knowledge to support a leading company in the automotive industry. Kalen takes pride in his dedication to self-improvement and continued education, as well as his strong desire to support others. When not writing code for the IRC team, or working on personal projects, Kalen enjoys skiing, running, reading, cooking, and spending time outdoors.
Anthony Zivcsak
Anthony Zivcsak has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a specialization in Operations Management and a Minor in Modern American History from The Ohio State University. Before joining the IRC team, Anthony utilized his project management experience in commercial lighting, construction, and real estate. In his spare time, he enjoys working on various home improvement projects, learning new skills, working on cars, hunting and fishing with his dogs (Remi, Colton, Dixie, and Penny), watching football and Nascar, golfing with his fiance, and spending time with family.
Joe Freeman
Joe Freeman was trained in web development at the University of Richmond. Before becoming a full-stack web developer and joining the IRC team, he was in client-facing positions with a few companies and has been a web developer for almost three years. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies and playing pickup basketball on Saturdays. Joe is engaged to be married very soon and spends lots of time with his fiance, his dog Jackie, and his cat Django.
Christopher Adams
As a 20+ year career software engineer and project manager, Chris brings his expertise and passion for providing advanced software systems to the IRC team along with delivering superior customer service. Over his career, he has built a number of flagship products for industries ranging from finance, conference, and project management. In his free time, if he’s not exploring the outdoors with his son, you will find him out on mountain biking trails, camping, strumming a guitar, or working on his next personal software project.
Noah Kombacher
Noah hails from Chesterfield County, VA where he spent a good deal of time working with his hands in the construction industry. His aptitude for understanding mechanics, his work ethic, and his keen interest in expanding his knowledge of electronic systems and the software that drives them led him to become part of the IRC team as a Field Technician. As a member of the Voting Solutions team, he has accrued a great deal of field experience in a short time, having worked on installation and service projects for the legislatures of Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Mississippi, Tennessee, California, New Jersey, and the U.S. House of Representatives.
James Coles
James is a Full-Stack Developer working on the Legislative Management Solutions team, coming aboard with over 10 years of IT consulting experience. He brings his expertise in architecture and implementation to the 3rd Reading Legislative Management System to deliver a high-quality and durable product. He studied computer science at James Madison University and has lived in Richmond since graduating. In his free time, James likes to play music, compete in powerlifting, and tinker on his cars.
Paige Mellinger
Paige joins IRC as a Project Manager for Legislative Management Solutions with over 9 years of IT consulting experience, along with a background in political science. Her focus is ensuring that requirements are properly documented and followed, development teams remain on track, and a quality product is delivered. An alumna of James Madison University, Paige has a degree in political science with a minor in political communication. She began her career experience as a communications intern for the U.S. Department of Education and went on to work for congressional campaigns after graduation. Outside of work, Paige has a passion for reading, baking, yoga, and travel.
Catherine Munn
Catherine has legislative experience working for the Chief Clerk's Office for the Oregon House of Representatives. In her time with the Oregon House, she coordinated the Honorary Page and Legislative Page civics education programs for students statewide. She also served as an Assistant to the Reading and Journal Clerks. Catherine also has experience in designing policy analysis research, project and campaign management, and public relations. Catherine is a recent graduate from Oregon State University with a degree in Political Science and Cultural Anthropology and a minor in Spanish. Catherine enjoys lifting weights, watching sports, being involved in her church community and studying scripture.
Mike Fulmore
Mike joins IRC as a Software Architect for Legislative Management Solutions with 19 years of software development experience. He brings expertise in designing robust software systems and leading innovative projects. Previously serving as a Director of Engineering, he has successfully guided teams in delivering high-quality solutions across various sectors, including government administration, healthcare, and system administration. Mike is passionate about fostering talent within teams and promoting best practices in software development. He believes in the importance of collaboration and communication to achieve project success. Outside of work, he enjoys the outdoors, fishing, hunting, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Experienced Staff
IRC's success is derived from the company's understanding and appreciation of the intricacies and desired efficiencies of the legislative process. IRC understands the legislative process from drafting to enactment and all the associated complex rules and procedures encountered in a political legislative environment. IRC realizes the importance of the legislative timetable and that any delay is detrimental to the overall operation.
IRC knows the value of legislative staff experience and has actively employed such staff. IRC has been fortunate in recent years to have on staff and in corporate leadership three former legislative Clerks and a Deputy Clerk, which presently includes the President of IRC, and the Director of Client Relations providing the company with direct legislative process knowledge and experience. These legislative assets are applied to each project and facilitate the development of correct technological solutions that account for any chamber's unique legislative procedure. Further, this foundation of legislative knowledge assures all legislative staff that their respective work products will be accurately represented for implementation in a digital environment. This collective knowledge of the legislative process allows these individuals to speak the legislative language, and understand the processes and complexities unique to a legislature and to pass this understanding to the IT and Software Development team.
IRC has a professional Information Technology, Software Development, Product Installation, and Training team that possesses indirect legislative experience and professional credentials having worked with or for state governments, diverse private companies, multi-million-dollar projects, and as private consultants. These individuals provide IRC with a proven pedigree of venerable legislative technology experience, passion for voting and legislative data integrity, and an adherence to creating a system that is reliable and efficient. Throughout IRC's successful technological development history, from product installations, iteration of system upgrades, and functional enhancements, our team has been in the forefront leading the way in the legislative technology realm.
IRC's collective foundation of legislative knowledge coupled with its technology proficiencies provide the essential elements for a successful team approach that is relied upon for the success of all our legislative solutions.
The IRC team brings over 100 years of legislative process and technology innovation experience to every system!