James H. MacConnell, PE
President & Managing Member

Jim graduated from Cornell University with a BS in 1978 followed by a Masters of Engineering in 1979. He started work at the Boeing Company in 1979 as a structural analyst. Over his career at Boeing, Jim worked on a wide variety of product lines from spacecraft, rail cars, missiles and airplanes and in a variety of positions from analyst to team leader and project manager. The last seven years of his career were spent in the structural research organization of the Military Airplane Division working on Air Force and joint Air Force/Navy/Industry research programs.

Jim's team leadership experience has ranged from small design teams to teams of 150+ people spread throughout the country from six aerospace companies and four government agencies. He has presented at numerous national conferences on the work done by the teams he has led and, in particular, on the processes used to make those teams successful.

He has participated in and led workshops including applying his problem solving approach to develop consensus on the technology research directions for a $450 million, 20 year joint industry/government research program. This was significant because the industry participants were staunch competitors who needed to decide to collaborate in areas normally considered proprietary and very sensitive from a competition standpoint. Jim has been highly valued in the aerospace research community as a genuine problem solver who can always find a collaborative way through a difficult situation.

His approach is consistently based on the inclusion of all affected people in problem solving, the use of process to overcome team issues and a healthy dose of humor to keep things in perspective. Jim has continuously promoted the power of groups to be self-defining and self-governing.

Technical Memberships: American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, Washington Society of Professional Engineers, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering, Cornell Society of Engineers,

Business/Community Memberships: Greater Seattkle Chamber of Commerce (HR & Diversity Committee Member, Business Networking International (Chapter President)

Amy J. Avnet
Member and Office Manager

Amy holds both a BA and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Washington. She is active behind the scenes of Consensus doing graphics, writing, editing and reality checking.

Amy practices a variety of fine arts including painting and photography. She has been an active community volunteer, interfacing between manufacturers and the city to design the final stage of the community driven Green Lake play structure. Amy has held numerous leadership and project roles in her children's schools, and is looked up to as an organizer and problem solver.

Snorkeling, skiing and reading are three of her favorite hobbies when not busy with her children, husband and pets.

Vincent A. Ryan
Techno-Philosopher

Vince is a supporting friend of Consensus Technology. Vince holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics from the University of Minnesota. He participates in tool development and troubleshooting as well as brainstorming and other problem solving situations.

Others

From time to time, Consensus technology calls on other professionals and consultants to provide clients with expertise in areas that are beyond the scope of our mission or when specialized assistance is needed. If you feel you would be an asset to the Consensus team, please contact us.