» About

My personal journey in faith communications began when our son was about 2-years-old. Our congregation needed some extra help in the office creating the monthly newsletter. At the time the church was using a Macintosh II computer and MS Word for all of their publishing needs. Living in the Seattle area, with Microsoft and Aldus in our backyard, I began researching to see if there was other software that would work better for publication purposes. I quickly learned about PageMaker, but the cost and learning curve was too much for this novice and our budget. Microsoft, on the other-hand offered a product called Publisher. I used my small office budget to purchase a copy of Publisher, and taught myself how to use it. Thus, the door was opened to clip-art, type fonts, borders, and layout.

A few years later, another congregation in the area was looking for a Communication Specialist. This position encompassed the oversight of all communication needs of the congregation – all print, web, presentation, advertising, and branding needs. About the same time I took this position, Aldus had merged with Adobe and a new product called InDesign was created. It was then that I took the plunge into the Adobe world. I purchased my first copy of what is now the Creative Suite along with several tutorial books and began teaching myself how to use these powerful programs. It wasn’t long before I moved completely away from Publisher and fully embraced the Adobe products.

Shortly after plunging myself into the world of print, graphic design, Open Type, layers, bleeds, and Photoshop, it was decided that the church needed a website. That one decision completely changed my career path. Just as I felt confident in my mastery of print work, it was time to learn a whole new media. Through the process of interviewing and hiring a web designer, the church purchased a copy of Macromedia’s Dreamweaver and Flash software. At the time, the idea of Content Management meant learning basic HTML and using these two pieces of powerful software to keep a site up-to-date. Once again, I purchased several manuals, and with the help of our developer, I learned how to maintain our new website.

After the church site had been up for a couple of years, the web was becoming more dynamic and I felt it was important that the church kept up with the most current trends. It was that desire which led me to enrolling in a certificate program at the University of Washington focused on Multimedia Design and Production. Within a year after completing that program, another new job presented itself and I moved on to become the Communications Director for the local governing body of the Presbyterian Church.

My latest position as Communications Director was a natural transition for my career path. I was able to use everything I had learned over the years about design and communication and expand on it to teach, empower and encourage the people in our 66 churches how to use the latest technology to share what their congregations were doing to impact the community and world around them. In the two years I was in this position, my skills expanded to include Open Source Content Management, affordable web design, overseeing video production, planning a variety of training events and conferences, and delving into Social Media marketing.

So, here I am with a passion for Faith Communications and almost 20 years of experience to support it. Now I feel called to share what I know with the masses, and learn from those who choose to interact to expand my own experience even farther.

As you read my postings, please feel free to reply, sharing your own thoughts and ideas. I am a strong proponent for collaboration and sharing of ideas and knowledge.

Bookmark It