Technical Writing
Faculty

George Bukota
George has been writing about science and technology for more than 15 years. He has done reporting and freelance writing for daily newspapers, a radio station, an international wire service and many trade magazines. George has written articles and marketing copy for companies developing and selling complex technical products and services worldwide, including a national laboratory. He has coached young science writers on agency staffs and has been a guest lecturer at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference.

Nicole Bunselmeyer
Nicole has extensive experience in national and international sales and marketing with a background in startup and established software companies. She has helped build and implement training programs for corporate partners, sales teams, surgeons and hospital personnel. Utilizing her master’s degree in learning technologies, Nicole co-founded an e-learning software company and develops media-rich e-learning programs.

Saul Candib
Saul has over a decade of experience in technical writing and editing. He has worked on projects for companies and organizations that include Express Systems, Visio and Microsoft. Currently, Saul is a programmer-writer for Microsoft, in the Microsoft Office group. He holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University, a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania, and a certificate in technical communication from the University of Washington.

Lynn Gottlieb
Lynn has extensive professional experience in project management, process improvement, human-machine interaction, usability engineering, and system and software development. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in technical communication from the University of Washington. Lynn currently works as a senior technical writer for CONNX Solutions, Inc.

John Graham
John has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and forty years of experience in manufacturing and quality management. He has an extensive background in various engineering disciplines including research & development, design, test, manufacturing and quality engineering. John has directed several teams through implementation of Quality Management Systems in aerospace, medical and professional services industries. He is approved as an instructor for the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board and has taught aerospace and ISO related courses at since 1992. John is the author and developer of a comprehensive Business Management System (BMS 2000) currently in use at numerous companies. He uses his experience with manufacturing and service organizations to teach practical approaches for mapping an organization’s operating processes.

Angela Harris
Angela has over a decade of experience in technical writing, training design and development, and editing. She is an experienced technical trainer delivering training on a variety of technologies to audiences ranging from 20 to 250. She has worked on projects for companies such as Yum Brands!, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Federal Express, Riverside Publishing, and Microsoft. She is currently a Training Consultant at Microsoft in the Consumer Support organization.

Kristine Haugseth
Kristine has worked in the Technical Communications field for over 20 years. She has been an editing manager for five groups at Microsoft and has contributed as a technical editor to several more. She has held several other positions at Microsoft as well, including documentation manager, project manager, and release manager. Kristine has been involved heavily in the Puget Sound Chapter of the Society for Technical Communications (STC) since 1996, serving as committee chair for scholarships, education, and employment. She has also contributed as a judge for STC Technical Publications and Online Competitions both at the local and international levels. Kristine has a Ph.D. in Germanic Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. She received the STC Fellow Award in May 2010.

Stephanie Johnson
Stephanie is a writer, editor, and content specialist with more than 20 years of experience in technical and nontechnical publishing. She has been a staff or consulting writer/editor for organizations in education, business and finance, gaming and entertainment, software development, and product manufacturing. Her skills include project management, content analysis and development, document design, curriculum development and instructional design, ISO documentation and certification, web design and production, and usability. Stephanie has written or edited award-winning user manuals, online and web help, knowledgebase articles, newsletters, manga, books, standard operating procedures (SOPs), software specifications, children’s primers, and many other types of documents both for print and online audiences. She previously developed and taught “Editorial Workshop” for University of California Extension. Stephanie has a B.A. from the University of Washington and an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Nathan Kositsky
Nathan is a nationally recognized leader in communications and branding. He was trained as a psychologist, although much of his career has been in the marketing and advertising fields. Nathan received a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from Sir George Williams University, a Master of Science in Psychology from the University of Calgary, and a Certified Industrial Psychologist certificate from the Province of Alberta. He is the past chairman of the board of an international advertising agency, and he has also worked as a screenwriter and director. His career as a corporate strategist, creative director and researcher spans over thirty years. Nathan is the recipient of an Emmy, a Telly, and peer awards for excellence in marketing. He has spearheaded over five hundred research projects. A member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), his clients have included 3M, Hobie Cat, Rondole Cheese, Kyocera International, and the Inamori Foundation for the Kyoto Prizes, Japan’s Nobel Prize for lifetime achievement.

Helen R. Letts
Helen has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing technical and nontechnical documentation for businesses in marine transportation, commercial fishing, law enforcement, oil and gas production, software development and manufacturing, and video game design and development, and for local, state, and federal governments. She directed an educational technology program on St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, and provided onsite instruction about topics related to web development to high-school students and adults. For the last five-and-a-half years, she was a contract programmer editor for the Interactive Entertainment Business (Xbox) content publishing team at Microsoft. In her most recent position, Helen edited highly technical software development kits, white papers, technical articles, and marketing-related content; produced a monthly newsletter to which she contributed content for internal and external customers; mentored writers; and served as a site manager for a customer-facing portal.

Cathy McDonald
Cathy has been a writer and editor in many different fields for over 20 years. Her editing experience includes ten years at Microsoft as a technical editor and content writer, and five years in the book publishing industry editing science books and travel guidebooks. She is currently an editor and researcher at Rick Steves’ European travel company. Cathy’s writing credits include a book on nature walks for Mountaineers Press, science and travel articles for the Seattle Times, a long-running weekly column on travel for the Seattle Times, and articles on science and travel for various websites. Her experience also includes creating scripts and storyboards for corporate training films and writing marketing copy and press releases.

Mike Pope
Mike has worked in the computer industry since 1982, and has been involved in programming, technical support, training and documentation. He has worked in user education at Microsoft since 1997. Mike is currently a technical editor in the division that produces programming tools. He is the author of “Web Matrix”, a book aimed at novice programmers who want to learn Web programming.

Marilyn Rygg-Nordell
Marilyn has extensive experience as a freelance illustrator, and has served as an art director in the software game industry and at The Art Institute of Seattle. She has won numerous honors and awards as both artist and instructor.

Stacy Smith
Stacy Smith worked as the Managing Editor for a monthly online magazine, various company newsletters, and email blasts. Some of her favorite parts of being an editor were generating story ideas, creating press releases and media kits, partnering with freelance artists, and working hands-on with HTML and web software. Stacy has a Master's in English with an Emphasis in Literacy, Technology, and Professional Writing. She is currently a JD candidate at Seattle University School of Law focusing on intellectual property and copyright law.

Joyce Staples
Joyce has been teaching business courses for over 20 years. Her 18 years in the healthcare industry, operation a small graphic arts business, and four years of teaching on-site business seminars has helped her develop expertise in business English, business writing, Web writing, proofreading and editing. Joyce has a bachelor’s degree in business education from Brigham Young University.

Britton Steel
Britton is a technical editor specializing in training materials and curricula for adult learners. He has worked on a wide variety of print and online publications for technology companies as well as for several nonprofit organizations. In addition to teaching technical communications courses at Bellevue College, Britton has taught business communication and high school mathematics. Currently working for the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington, Britton is also an aspiring novelist whose historical novel was a recent finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's annual competition.

Gretchen Strauch
Gretchen has been editing professionally for 15 years, not counting a three-year hiatus spent teaching English in Germany. Currently, she edits and researches Rick Steves' bestselling European guidebook series, and gives frequent seminars on European travel. In the past, she's been employed as a proofreader, an editor at a weekly newspaper, and has worked many years as a freelance editor (clients include the British Medical Journal and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center). Gretchen holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Whitman College, and attended Denver University's Publishing Institute.

Vivian Todhunter
Vivian has more than 30 years’ experience designing and developing instructional and informational materials for a broad range of audiences. She has worked as a technical writer, technical editor, instructional designer and documentation department manager. She has worked in several business areas, including computer technology and healthcare Information technology. Vivian is a past president of the Puget Sound Chapter of Society for Technical Communication.

Roberta Trahan
Roberta is a copywriter, editor, marketing consultant and educator. Her more than 25 years of experience in marketing communications includes positions in newspaper journalism, advertising, media relations, corporate and retail sales, event promotion and publicity. She is an active member of several professional associations, including the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and The Rainbow Bookfest Foundation. Her company, Idyllwynd Communications, specializes in services that support authors and publishers.

Mike Wasson
Mike is a senior writer at Microsoft. He has worked on SDK documentation for the past 10 years, primarily on digital media technologies. Mike has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Hawaii.

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