SPECIAL NOTES:
I'm unable to consider onsite projects out of the Austin, Texas area. If I am a fit for your project
please consider having me do it on a telecommuting basis. I have a long history of successfully
completed telecommuting projects for national and international clients.
Non-Disclosure Agreements prevent me from providing details on several positions. In fact, one
company’s NDA prevents me from even acknowledging that I’ve ever worked for them!
EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
Telecommuting: Numerous projects have been completed on schedule and within budget. References are available on request.
Home Office: Fully equipped, secure home office consists of four networked systems on high-speed cable, color printers, scanners, dynamic backups and an extensive library of software packages.
Technical Documentation: User friendly technical documentation (online and hardcopy) for over twenty complex automated systems, website development, SEO search content, including accounting, oil & gas and general business for state, federal, military and private organizations. SDLC, Documentation has been developed for senior management, software development team, nontechnical staff and for customers.
Web Content Developer: Have developed clear, concise, customized web content for dozens of businesses, national and international, and ranging from a dude ranch to IBM. Work has included Landing Page development and SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Editor / Copywriter / Proofreader / Screenwriter: Books, articles, manuals, websites, textbooks, catalogues, resumes, marketing pieces, commercials, advertisements, catalogues and Slim-Jims. Familiar with Chicago Manual of Style and Editing Standards.
EXPERIENCE
Writer / Editor 1997 - Present
Some of these positions were not full-time, which allowed me to work for multiple employers at the same time. For that reason, some of the dates will be overlapping.
Harcourt Achieve, Feb 2005 – Present
Freelance Writer on eight projects including website design and content development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), development of marketing literature and worked on several projects focused on cross linking some of their educational products, including books, libraries,
software, CDs, and a wide variety of evaluation and administration tools
for students K thru Adult.
BazaarVoice, Content Reviewer / Editor Feb 2006 – Aug 2006
I reviewed hundreds of product evaluations daily, making sure they were
on point and appropriate before being uploaded to the client websites.
Texas Co-Op Power Magazine, Columnist and Photo Editing 2001 – 2006
I wrote a monthly column looking at events across Texas. (2.4 million
readers/month) For each column I provided all of the essential facts about
the event, colorful sidebar items, photography and even some art items.
Book, Haunted Encounters (contributing author), Atriad Press 2004
This book was a compilation of true stories.
DisplaySearch Magazine, 2003
Contract Editor, Tech Writer, Layout and Photo Editing
Highly technical 100 page monthly technical magazine focused on developments in the production of products that display information, including TVs, phones and computer monitors, particularly in Asia. I did story and photo editing, as well as some magazine and page layout work.
Hewlett-Packard Technical Services 2003
Contract Tech Writer and Editing
I helped developed literature (educational and marketing) for some of their new laptop models. Some of these materials were hardcopy, while others were online.
Book, Legendary Texas Storytellers 2003
This book includes the biographies of some of Texas’ storytelling legends who are also some of my friends, Kinky Friedman, Willie Nelson, Hondo Crouch, Americo Parades, Steven Fromholz, Gayle Ross, Molly Ivins and many others.
Book, FUN Texas Festivals & Events 2001
A chronological look at 1,300 events held in Texas. Besides the Who, What, When and Where, I tried to provide insights into the event and its’ history.
Book, Famous Texas Folklorists and Their Stories 2000
A look at folklore and storytelling in Texas, including brief biographies of legends and friends, including John Henry Faulk, J. Frank Dobie, Allen Wayne Damron, Liz Carpenter, J. Mason Brewer, Cactus Pryor, Ben King Green and many others.
Republic of Texas Press, Writer, Editor and Proofreader 1999
Worked on three book development projects.
QIV Systems 1995 – 1998
Editor / Writer / Recruiter
QIV Systems was a business partner with IBM, Oracle, Novell, Compaq and Dell. My title was Recruiting Manager, but my responsibilities also included web site development, technical writing (online and hardcopy), creation of radio ads, marketing literature, slim-Jims, bid proposals and several white paper reports.
Writer / Editor, 1989 – Present (continued)
Ralph Kirkley Associates 1989 - 1994
Editor / Technical Writer / Programmer / Systems Analyst
Systems design, programming, recruiting, technical writing and editing services were provided to IBM, Dell, State Board of Insurance, the Public Utilities Commission, FBI, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and Credit Swiss Bank of Switzerland. Much of this work involved development of technical documentation (hardcopy and online) and white paper reports.
Recruiter / Project Manager / Technical Writer
Responsible for recruiting, development of marketing literature and radio scripts, preparation of user documentation for several advanced business software systems.
EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO 1989
Computer Programmer / Systems Analyst / Technical Writer
For several years I designed, programmed and documented over 20 large software systems, from mainframes to micros. I do not normally include the details on these positions, to save you from mushing through all of the employment details (full details are available on request). My employers during this period included the University of Texas, Employees Retirement System of Texas, Texas Attorney General’s Office, LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority). Telos, CAS, Pro-Fit, TXDOT(Texas Department of Transportation)
EDUCATION / PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS
BS, University of Texas at Austin (Biology, English & Chemistry)
Graduate Studies, University of Texas, St. Edwards University & Harvard University
Certified Texas Teacher, all secondary sciences and some other area specific certifications
Many of my articles have been published and I have taught AICPA certified courses on computer security and computer fraud. Articles have appeared in several business and technical publications including the Austin American Statesman, Associated Press, Texas Co-Op Power and Security Management Magazine
COMPUTER RELATED DETAILS
Software: MS Office (14 years of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, FrontPage, Publisher), PaperKiller, MS Help Workshop 4.0, MS HTML Help Workshop, MS Help Image Editor Segmented Hypergraphics Hotspot Editor, FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Adobe Acrobat, Photo Explosion, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Visio, ScanSoft, BookMaster, HTML, XML, CHM, HLP, Corel Paint Shop Pro, FlowChart, PDF, Gantt, Explorer, Macromedia Dreamweaver, NetScape, Mozilla Firefox, PE2, SED, Flow, PM (Presentation Manager), Lotus 123, Lotus Notes, WordPerfect, Ventura Publishing … and several others.
Operating Systems and Databases: Windows (95 thru current) and several flavors of UNIX, Access, FoxBase, FoxPro, Visual Basic, dBASE, Paradox and DBMS
Programming Languages: C++, C, Visual Basic(VB), Java (light), Informix, FoxBase, FoxPro, dBASE, BASIC, Natural, Easytrieve, Shell Scripts, Assembler, COBOL
Applications Developed and Documented – Online Help, Hardcopy Documentation, B2B, Recruiting Database, Contact Management, Security Encryption, Stock & Bonds Financial Modeling, Portfolio Management, General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Billing, Job Costing, Inventory, Oil & Gas, Fitness, Personnel/Human Resources and Project Management