My resume documents experience spanning an unusual range. The big-picture strategic leadership and hands-on technical skills may be expected, but what about that transition from a comprehensive editorial career into IT terrain? The connection came via project management.
AWWA’s launch of a completely new CRM system included capabilities for its first online product catalog. The annual print catalog was planned to pull product data from the online database after launch, so information in both would be in sync. That’s as it should be, but in February the print version for the current year — traditionally the source of one-third of annual revenue — hadn’t even started production, because upstream tasks were languishing. Something had to be done.
That something was to put the print book in the hands of someone with demonstrated success in editorial project management — me. After we got that project straightened out and off to the printer for delivery in a few weeks, I was asked to PM the online version. Using a set of Word macros I developed on the fly, I transformed the print manuscript into a well-structured table that became the online catalog data. After a bunch of meetings on screen design and some expedited template coding by a vendor, AWWA had its first significant e-commerce application.
Technology platforms came and went, but online content moved steadily toward the center of the association’s business. My mix of technology skills and editorial experience made me a natural leader within all metadata and information architecture efforts across the organization. To solidify and expand my knowledge in those areas, I undertook MLIS studies in the UW iSchool via distance learning. Intensive use of the online interface for coursework has deepened my thinking about user experience and good design, which have become my core topics.
Technical skills enhance my editor’s eye for content to inform my strategic perspective on how to structure the information environment to help users formulate and fulfill their needs. I bring the experience and vision, along with the practical bias toward action, to lead a complex online publishing effort end-to-end.
Professional Objective: To support and contribute to effective processes for collaborative development, publishing, and management of information that meets a vital need of its audiences.