Russell earned a B.S. in Physics and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of West Georgia. He has held positions at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of West Georgia, where he was responsible for lab and classroom technology in the Technology Enhanced Learning Center, and in Douglas County schools, where he managed a team responsible for all of the technology needs for ten elementary schools. In the Center for Career Discovery and Development at Georgia Tech (now the GT Career Center), he supported the efforts of the staff, student, and employers daily to make use of laptops for remote advisement, CareerBuzz for Employer/Student interaction, and C3M for on campus recruiting management.  In addition to his role with the GT Career Center, Russell also supported a wide variety of user systems and applications for the Office of Undergraduate Education. Russell is now the Salesforce Administrator for the undergraduate advising platform Advisor Link in Undergraduate Advising and Transition.