Employed part-time/volunteer time except for salaried period between August 2000 and January 2012. Rewarding work at one of the first religious organizations to use the Internet as more than a placeholder for its membership. Involved in online and offline community management, religious instruction, fundraising, property management, and pastoral counseling for this 501(c)(3) religious organization and its worldwide congregation. Administrated in various modes, including clergy management, database setup/management, website design and CMS, mailing list maintenance, website copy and editing, public relations, social media and legal consultation, as well as writing and publishing educational materials in print, e-book, and website formats.
Grand Egyptian Museum/Supreme Council of Antiquities, Cairo/Giza, Egypt Serving as one of several consulting Egyptologists for the GEMâs English-language artifact registry database project and related Internet websites, prior to the opening of the new museum in 2013. Writing and editing object descriptions, labels, and website narratives under the direction of Dr. Janice Kamrin and Dr. Zahi Hawass. (*note: this position has been on hold since the Egyptian revolution and the firing of Dr. Hawass in early 2011.)
Assisted Dr. Scott Demel with two archaeological salvage projects. Involved in excavation, processing, salvage, conservation and research on artifacts recovered from the two sites. Technical skills required including basic consolidation, registration and identification of artifacts; exhibit preparation; and research and writing for print and Internet publications related to the excavations.
Prepared and moved museum artifacts to a new storage center. Performed light conservation work including packing, vacuuming, assessing damage, stabilization, removal of tags and registration numbers, etc. Included work with oversized and culturally sensitive artifacts. Some technology in working with the registration database for all objects, and making sure all records matched before and after the move was completed.
Created and presented a tour of the museumâs Egypt exhibit four times monthly, and assisted at special events including membersâ nights and private tours. Lectured to and trained volunteers and docents in Egypt-related areas and consulted for special exhibits, as both a scholar/educator and a trainer.
Assisted Dr. Ray Tindel with unpacking, checking, tagging, shelving, moving, and storing museum artifacts following a construction project. Hands-on work included registering unknown or newly accessed objects and pulling or reshelving objects for researchers and students. Extensive work with registry database and card cataloging, including a project to digitize that database (which had been on hand-printed or typed cards for a century) both for in-house use and the use of visiting scholars via a website.
Assisted Dr. Chuck Jones in the non-circulating museum Archives, including shelving, cataloging, and working with books and periodicals as well as the private papers of former and current scholars. Served as one of four contributors to a special project to create an online card catalogue, which required accounting for and then digitizing the entire collections registry, including all books and periodicals.
Completed cross-platform (Windows/Macintosh) desktop publishing and design projects from conception to completion for KPMGâs worldwide client portfolio, including editing and proofreading, typing, and preparation of graphic presentations (PowerPoint and print media) as well as sensitive legal and audit reports. Promoted from Text Processor/Proofreader to senior editor of the National Design, Proposal, and Production Service Team (NDPPS). Managed editing and proofing teams, and served as liaison with auditors as they prepared presentations for their clients.
Acted as assistant to the Forum Director of one of AOLâs top 10 forums (keyword SPIRITUALITY). Responsible for hiring, training, and management of more than 200 volunteer chat hosts, board hosts, and file librarians. Assisted in short- and long-term Forum content planning, coordination, and marketing. Wrote training manuals, conducted training courses, and assisted in general management and database upkeep of the Spirituality forum. This was a remote position and compensation was in AOL time (volunteer unpaid).
Managed entire writing/editing and production process for a major monthly magazine (150K circulation). Supervised and managed in-house and freelance writing staff. Responsible for monthly issue concepts and story assignment; writing a monthly column, feature stories (including interviews) and other advertising, filler and body copy; graphic layout and production including illustration, photography and stat shooting, manual and digital paste-up, ad design, and working as a liaison with printers and graphic personnel.
Served as office manager and Macintosh/IT specialist for a partnership of two management-consulting firms to create and publish materials complementing their training programs. Involved from start to finish in these projects, including writing, editing, computer and manual layout, brokering print for media and other materials, light accounting and marketing efforts. Extensive experience with color printing and digital layout. Light accounting, office management, and phone work.
Edited and managed the writers, photographers, advertising, and editorial staff for a college newspaper. Trained staff in the use of computers for digital layout beginning in 1989; previously involved in manual paste-up and print brokerage, along with writing and editing responsibilities. News Editor 1988-1990, Executive Editor 1990-1991.
Edited the Mundelein College annual literary review, Illustrated and designed the final issue before the school was acquired by Loyola University in 1991. Involved in story selection, writing, and editing process in all years.
My journalism/public relations internship in RRD's Corporate Communications department included research, interviewing, layout, writing, and editing for the in-house corporate magazine as well as press releases, marketing, and promotional copy. Created and published an award-winning print newsletter for the corporate United Way campaign.
Editing and writing for blog articles for a large dating-related website (name supplied on request). Specific focus on WordPress cleanup and SEO/NEO copywriting and keyword optimization over a long-term, 50,000-article project.
Working hard as the sole proprietor of a freelance print and Internet design firm (stargazerdesign.net). Copywriting and editing in academic, video game, and Internet fields; general copywriting, editing, and ghostwriting; corporate identity; graphic design; website and blog design and creation; editing and beta testing software; SEO writing and editing, and book publication. My clients have included (examples in parentheses): - Fortune 500 companies (Kraft Foods, AT&T) - educational firms (Scott, Foresman & Co.; Loyola University Press) - startups (Fierce Wombat Games, Shmoop, Infernal Machines Games) - nonprofits and political campaigns (Newspaper Association of America, Kennedy for Congress) - a comic book shop and a print-RPG publisher - management/organizational change consultants - academic students (editing several academic theses/dissertations) - a first-time novelist (editing and supplying research) Iâve worked extensively with Internet-based clients, including: - travel and e-commerce websites - a webcomic - a dating website - an educational guide/test prep website - various video game communities - several religious communities (forums/CMS/social media) - beta testing for an iPad game - a company that publishes MMO leveling guides (I ghostwrote, edited, and designed a series of e-books for World of Warcraft player classes in 2009).
After the death of my mentor in Egyptology, I was asked by his private students (all senior citizens) to begin teaching their Egyptian literature class. We read various ancient documents together over the course of consecutive 10-week classes in a private setting. Even though Iâve moved to California, we continue our class at a distance, using the Internet and a laptop in the Chicago classroom.
Community Manager and officer for two World of Warcraft guilds: senior officer (Alliance, 2005-2007) and guild leader (Horde, 2006-present) for two large role-playing (RP) guilds in the World of Warcraft MMORPG. Facilitating and connecting more than 300 player characters (150+ unique accounts and 10+ officers), planning and directing raids and RP/guild social events, and creating and maintaining the guildâs blog and forums. Combining creative talents and HR management to keep the guild lively and successful over many changes (and even into other games).
Currently writing Egyptian mythology content to be added to Shmoop's Mythology section, on a per-project freelance basis. Shmoop is a startup educational resource geared toward middle-school and high-school students. The Shmoop website includes study guides and test preparation materials in relation to its mission "to make learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age."
Ph.D.
MA
Concentration: Coptic Studies
MA
Concentration: Egyptology
BA
Concentration: English (Writing and Rhetoric, Mundelein College)
Writing, editing, storytelling, history, linguistics, technology, media, Egypt, Haiti, Native America, pop culture, video games, and so on....there are few things in this world that don't interest me.
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