Meet Your Hosts

Your hosts for OptoScreencasts in the Learn section are Alexi Beck Gray and Kelly Downey.

Alexi Beck Gray

Alexi holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, where she worked as a research assistant and studied fluid dynamics at the Garfield Thomas Water Tunnels. She also has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine, where she received a full fellowship, researched active control of combustion, and found the control side to be her real interest.

At Opto 22, Alexi learned about our products as a Product Support engineer and then moved into training. Over her 12 years at Opto 22, she’s worked on a number of projects, including the creation of the Prove It To Me Toolbox and its subsequent incarnations (the latest being the SNAP PAC Learning Center), as well as 349 Training, a program that brought a day of hands-on training directly to customer sites.

Now Opto 22’s Director of Training, Alexi creates the curriculum for the company's product training classes and co-teaches the hands-on classes held several times a month at Opto 22 headquarters. She also develops and presents online tutorials and instructional videos. In addition, Alexi heads the OptoCertified Training Program, which certifies qualified individuals to teach Opto 22 classes and provide factory training around the world.

In her spare time, Alexi develops product seminars and has lectured around the country on the topic of industrial Ethernet networking—in locales as varied as a decommissioned battleship in New Jersey, the media room at a NASCAR track, and a yacht in Newport Beach Harbor.

Kelly Downey

Kelly received her Bachelor's of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), spending her summers working in the oil fields of Southern California. She also holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from UCR. During graduate school, she worked as a research assistant in the field of embedded systems; her research focused on medical equipment and sensor networks.

Kelly started her career at Opto 22 doing hardware and firmware design. She developed the Profibus SNAP I/O module, which is used primarily in Europe to communicate directly with Profibus systems. She was also heavily involved in the company-wide energy management plan, which utilized Opto 22 products to more closely monitor and control corporate water and power usage. As part of the plan, Kelly developed OptoTerminal interfaces, using Qlarity Foundry, to add flexible control to the lighting system. Most recently, Kelly developed the Lunch & Learn Toolkit.

Kelly now works with the Training and Marketing departments, using her enthusiasm and knowledge to provide hands-on training to customers who come for our free SNAP PAC System product training classes. She also develops and presents instructional videos about Opto 22 products. These videos are available for free download in the Learn section of our website.