Biography: New Chapter Members

by Tina Chonko, Membership Manager

As a new year rolls in, so do new chapter members. And as a technical communicator, I always want to find out just a little bit more about the people behind the names...

Marc LaPierre
Joined: November 2003

Marc is a lone writer at a company in Cambridge that designs portals. Right now, he spends the majority of his time writing RFPs (Requests for Proposals), but he hopes to dabble in the creative side in the future, perhaps writing marketing materials and white papers. He enjoys doing something with a creative bent that won't take him too far away from the technology and tools used in traditional technical writing. 

Marc joined the STC so he could be in touch with current issues that confront technical communicators. He hopes the contacts, information, and other resources available through the STC will provide him with a support network that will help him meet the expectations of his clients and peers. 

Marc reads extensively and enjoys writing plays. He also hopes to travel again soon, with his ideal destination being either Italy or Finland. 

Lori Shantz
Joined: November 2003

As a technical writer for CheckFree i-Solutions, Lori is an enigma of sorts; even though she wasn't a registered member, she has been involved in the STC for three years. She has attended general meetings and volunteered on the council (she was the Volunteer Coordinator for two years and is now our Competitions Manager). 

Lori highly recommends that people get involved in the STC even if they can't join as a full member. "Given that so many STC resources are available for free, or at a minor cost to non-members, there's no reason not to be involved. I've found the general meetings and telephone seminars very useful." Well Lori, now that you're a member, those telephone seminars will be absolutely free!

Sarah-Beth Doner
Joined: December 2003

While Sarah-Beth is a proud resident of Guelph, she is also a co-op student at the University of Waterloo, who is currently undertaking her first work term as a technical writer at Sybase. She plans to use co-op as a way to explore all facets of the technical communications field before settling on a specific career path; however, she does hope to incorporate her graphic design experience somewhere down the road. 

In the spring, she will become one of the first participants in the new Digital Arts Communications program, which we previewed during our November general meeting. It was during that meeting that luck smiled Sarah-Beth's way and she became one of the lucky winners of our fall membership drive, although she is adamant that she was joining the STC this year anyway!

As an avid traveller, Sarah-Beth hopes to do at least one of her co-op work terms abroad, preferably somewhere where she can polish up her Spanish.

Judy Newell
Joined: December 2003

Judy, a resident of Kitchener, is an independent technical writing contractor with varied experience. Typically, she designs and writes online documentation sets; however, she's currently working on a website development project for an international antiques dealer. Judy believes the STC is a great way to learn what other writers are doing and how they're doing it. She belongs to multiple SIGs so that she can stay focused on her areas of interest.

In her spare time, Judy likes to fold... either paper (origami) or herself (pilates). She also reads and keeps her home network running smoothly.