Meet Our Team

Brady Helkenn, Principal and Jedi Master

Brady is the founder of BH Tech Connection. He started his formal education in IT services and support in 2007 and received his first full-time job within a year of that. He quickly took to the social aspect of IT, and even though he could fix printers and replace hardware like any self-respecting IT professional, he quickly realized his passion lay in finding new ways to improve performance or make workflows more efficient.

He started to moonlight while still at this first job, helping fellow coworkers out with home computers and taking on occasional clients through Craigslist. He called his budding solo proprietorship BH Tech Connection in 2010, but it wasn't until 2015 after a few different jobs and a stint as a freelance contractor touring some of the Bay Area's tech companies that he decided to make his side hustle the main show.

Brady has earned several Microsoft and Apple certifications throughout this career, including:

  • Windows OS Configuration

  • Apple Mac OS X Troubleshooting

  • Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA)

  • A+ (hardware troubleshooting)

  • Network+ (network protocols and troubleshooting)

  • Security+ (security algorithms, best practices for computer security)

Over the past several years, he has helped migrate entire companies to new phone systems, email systems, set up brand new offices, and provided services and support to thousands of people. Throughout all of this, his passion for looking to help the person behind the tech has only intensified, and he strongly believes in reducing IT-related stress whenever possible through transparent communication and simple, clear, and inclusive service offerings.

Outside of work, he plays the piano, goes hiking, tries new restaurants, and freely embraces his nerd-dom in universes such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and Harry Potter.

Tara Nieves, IT Manager

Tara started her career in IT back in High School working at a local ISP, then moving into the MSP field for the last 9 years. She enjoys a challenge and finding solutions to complex problems. In 2014 she earned a Bachelors in Computer Science from UMass Global (Formerly: Brandman University) and is currently working on a Masters in IT Business Management and Leadership at Western Governers University.

Tara enjoys working at BH Tech Connection because of the family environment and using her experience to contribute to the team.

Outside of BH Tech Connection, she enjoys crafting, cosplaying, cooking, and spending time with her family.

Niko Nikolaidis, IT Consultant

Niko proudly serves our clients here at BH Tech Connection as the front line troubleshooter. From a young age, he has had a penchant for disassembling and reassembling things to see how they work. Starting back in grade school, he was already building PC towers and later in high school taking courses in HTML, DHTML, and JavaScript. Currently, Niko's big passion lies in Cybersecurity where he earned his CySA+ certification and is continuing his education attaining a Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. Protecting people from malicious threats and remedying people’s tech related issues is what drives him to never stop his ever growing knowledge of IT.

Aside from work, Niko enjoys spending time working on vintage European motorcycles, reading comic books, and listening to records from punk rock to soul. He goes by the lesson he learned from a mentor years prior, of “always enjoying your time and be your best at what you do”.

Henry Ossentjuk

Henry Ossentjuk, IT Consultant

Henry proudly serves our clients with BH Tech Connection as an IT Consultant. He is experienced in managing enterprise as well as residential assets in addition to providing advice on best industry practices and standards.

Henry started in IT at a young age, building his first commercial-level network at the age of 14; he considered himself a hobbyist. Growing up, he always had a drive for learning the latest tech and staying current as technology evolved. Helping people in this field came naturally to him, further nurtured in his term as a satellite/cyber-space specialist in the U.S. Army for six years.

Currently, Henry is attending university to renew his CompTIA certifications such as Network+, Security+, and Cloud+. While studying, he continues his goal of obtaining his CCNA. Some of his personal specialties include Network Security, Windows/Linux based hosts, coding, and ethical hacking.

Working for BHTC is exactly how he wanted to continue his life working post-government positions: helping a niche of people who are often overlooked by larger entities, who still need consistent and competent support.

When Henry is not taking care of his family, he indulges in his "inner nerd" and plays games with friends such as "Dungeons and Dragons", as well as motorcycle riding. Participating in his community where I can and volunteering his time keeps him happy, fulfilled, and grounded.

Jacki Keys

Jacki Keys, IT Consultant

In the nearly 2 decades that Jacki has been in the IT field, she has had many roles from help desk technician to Oracle/SQL Server DBA and many things in between. She has worked extensively with Windows, Mac, Unix and Linux operating systems.

In 2012 after being a DBA for 5 years, she felt like something was missing and chose to return to her favorite role of IT support technician. Helping to make technology work for people is something she has been passionate about since she started using computers. One of the best ways she learns is by gaining an understanding of something and then teaching others with patience and kindness.

Our clients come from all walks of life, and often their technology is something they need for their business to function, but not the main focus of their business. Jacki does an excellent job of meeting people at their comfort level and then building on that to get things working the way the client wants it.

While she spent much of her career in enterprise environments supporting hundreds to thousands of end users in healthcare IT, she is very happy to lend her skills to BH Tech Connection where she can develop relationships with our clients and help to ensure that their technology is working for them so they don’t have to think so much about their technology and can focus on their business.

Outside of work, she enjoys playing video games on her beloved Nintendo Switch, tabletop board games, sharing memes, and finding the best mac & cheese in town. She has a penchant for purple and can be easy to spot from far away.