
Technical Writer at Micrium Inc.
Montreal, Canada Area

Technical Writer at Micrium Inc.
Montreal, Canada Area
My life's work is about communication.
I'm a information architect, technical writer, designer, webmaster, and photographer. I'm a former journalist. I was president of the Montreal chapter of the Society for Technical Communication.
Learning and variety and creating things excite me, and I look for work that allows me to flex as many different kinds of creative muscles as possible.
Writing complex material for a lay audience; Confident and engaging public speaking; Elegant web design; Technical illustration; Video encoding; An uncanny knack to remember dialogue from Babylon 5.
(Computer Software industry)
September 2009 — Present (3 months)
I handle the book publishing workflow, from the design of templates, to editing, to prepress. I also am developing multimedia training modules for our clients.
(Writing and Editing industry)
January 2008 — September 2009 (1 year 9 months)
Volunteer position. I designed and rebuilt the web site for the Montreal chapter of the Society for Technical Communication, and helped reshape the chapter's marketing strategy. The STC is a worldwide organization for the professional development of technical writers.
(Privately Held; Marketing and Advertising industry)
June 2007 — June 2009 (2 years 1 month)
An IA's job is to make sure that web sites work. I defined the organization of information, findability, usability, and functionality; I touched upon everything that affects how people interact with and use information.
(Privately Held; Myself Only; Graphic Design industry)
January 2003 — June 2007 (4 years 6 months)
Digital Wind is my own company, specializing in elegant web and print design, technical writing and editing, and corporate photography. The company is on hiatus.
(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; ADSK; Computer Software industry)
June 2005 — March 2007 (1 year 10 months)
(Recurring contract) I was lead tester for Autodesk Cleaner, a Windows and Macintosh application for processing video for CD, DVD, and the web. I traveled to India to work with the development team in Bangalore.
(Non-Profit; Computer Software industry)
2004 — 2005 (1 year )
The Society for Technical Communication is a worldwide organization for the professional development of technical writers. I served as vice-president, then as president, and as a frequent workshop and lecture speaker.
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; EGY; Computer Software industry)
April 2001 — August 2002 (1 year 5 months)
Although hired as a technical writer, I quickly grew into a broader role, creating five corporate web sites and a truckload of corporate communication material. I won an award for the design of the company's 2001 annual report.
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; Computer Software industry)
September 1999 — April 2001 (1 year 8 months)
I designed and produced innovative video-based training modules for Softimage products. I designed PDF-based tutorials and created numerous technical illustrations for several product manuals. In addition, I wrote three training course workbooks for Softimage products.
(Public Company; 201-500 employees; EIC; Computer Networking industry)
September 1993 — September 1999 (6 years 1 month)
I started at Eicon as a junior technical writer and left as a senior writer and group leader. I wrote, designed, and illustrated over three dozen complex technical manuals and online help systems on tight deadlines.
B.A. , Specialization in Journalism and Communications , 1989 — 1991
D.E.C. , Pure and Applied Science , 1985 — 1988
Photography, new technologies, Macintosh, 3D modeling, public speaking.
Society for Technical Communication, Montreal chapter (President, 2004-2005)
Received Platinum Award from the League of American Communications Professionals in their competition of the Top 100 Annual Reports for 2001 (annual report designed for eNGENUITY Technologies).