Stephen E Slevinski Jr
slevin@signpuddle.net

Stephen E. Slevinski is the developer of the open standards for SignWriting Software since 2004 to present, working together with SignWriting inventor Valerie Sutton to create software used by signwriters around the world in all the world's sign languages.

Slevinski's software includes:
Binary SignWriting (BSW)
IMWA Convert Package to ISWA
SignMaker Add signs to SignWriting dictionaries
SignPuddle Online, Read & Write Documents & Dictionaries On Web
SignPuddle PersonalPuddle, SignPuddle Desktop Server
SignPuddle PocketPuddle, SignPuddle Server on a USB Stick
SignPuddle Reader, Offline Reading of SignWriting Literature
SignPuddle Servers for Networks
SignPuddle Writer, Offline Writing of SignWriting Literature
SignText for creating SignWriting documents
SignWriting Image Server (SWIS)
SignWriting MediaWiki Plugin (SWMP) for Wikipedias in SignWriting

Steve Slevinski is the first in history to program important grammatical elements of the SignWriting script that had never been accomplished before, including writing in vertical columns with lanes, a unique grammar requirement for writing Sign Language Literature properly. In 2009, Slevinski is doing important work with encoding the International SignWriting Alphabet (ISWA 2008) with his new Binary SignWriting (BSW) which is a model for the structure of character encoding in SignWriting. Binary SignWriting is a "Character Encoding Model". New products are under development, including the new SignPuddle Reader and Writer.

History Before 2004
Steve Slevinski graduated from Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania in 1994, with a BS degree in Mathematics, thereafter working for the New York State Education Department in 1994 and 1995 as a Senior Computer Programmer / Analyst.

In 1996 Slevinski started with Danet Inc; a Telecommunications Integrator and a US subsidiary of Danet GmbH out of Germany. From 1996 till 1998, he worked in the Technical Services business unit in a Windows, Unix, and Oracle environment. Steve performed manual and automated testing including module testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing, working closely with customers and programmers to help debug problems encountered in production environments. Steve created custom applications to aid in his role in the technical services business unit.

1999-2002, Steve was promoted to a systems engineer working on the internal systems. He was responsible for improving the overall quality of the project administration and management information systems, working closely with managers, project managers, accounting, human resources, sales, and executives to enhance and integrate the diverse information technology used within the company.

In 2003, Steve discovered SignWriting on the internet and attempted to start a non-profit organization called Pittsburgh United for Deaf Literacy (PUDL). Steve developed his own PUDL software for SignWriting, feeling strongly that literacy is important for everyone and that SignWriting is the key to literacy for Sign Language users.

In 2004, Valerie Sutton learned about Slevinski's PUDL software for SignWriting, which later became known as "SignPuddle" Software, and invited him to work as a consultant for the Center for Sutton Movement Writing. That was the beginning of the Sutton-Slevinski collaboration. Steve Slevinski and Valerie Sutton work together daily, providing tech support to SignWriting software users, and expanding current software.

History 2008-2009
In 2008, Steve started pushing for more stable and open standards. Val and Steve worked closely to finalize the ISWA 2008, subsequently released under the Open Font License. The SignWriting Image Server beta was released under the GPL. The foundational ideas of Binary SignWriting were being developed.

In 2009, Steve continues his work on Binary SignWriting, the SignWriting Image Server, the SignWriting MedaiWiki Plugin, and other SignPuddle software.

Steve and Sonia Slevinski.