Trained as a technical writer in the East Bay, I crossed over into the more engaging area of technical marketing communications in the late ’80s. I spent my whole workday in front of a computer, and it was only a matter of time until (around 1987) I became addicted to Usenet newsgroups, in particular rec.arts.movies, rec.arts.books, and alt.tv.twin-peaks.

After my move to the PNW in the early '90s, I spent a few years doing contract tech writing and then parlayed that early addiction into a short-term job helping Lee Enterprises launch the first online daily newspaper in Oregon, the Corvallis Gazette-Times, under the name GTConnect. Part of my job was to introduce the community to the world of online advertising, and one evening while I was making a presentation to the local chapter of the Software Association of Oregon, I was invited to apply at Rogue Wave Software. I started working there in 1996 as a marketing writer, and was eventually promoted into the position of director of corporate communications, overseeing the company's public relations (working closely with the fabulous Pan Communications) and marketing communications, including the redesign of RW's world-class e-commerce website and online tech support system.

In 1999 I founded my consulting business, Quicksilver Communications, Inc. Working with former RW art director and master typographer Stephen Chovanec, I helped redesign the BirkenstockExpress website, now known as Footwise.com. I also managed online promotions and email marketing, and steered the ship clear of the RBL.

I started working with Edge Design of Corvallis and Portland, Oregon, as a contractor in 2001, and joined the staff in 2003. For nearly five years, I managed large print and website design projects, made some lifelong friends, and got to know many interesting people from across the community and across the nation.

Now I am once again contracting under my own business, Quicksilver Communications. I work from home most of the time, but also maintain shared office space through my membership in the Madison Avenue Collective.

Married with two grown children, my husband Paul Turner and I are the proprietors of a four-screen art house movie theater here in Corvallis, Oregon: the Darkside Cinema.

We love this town. The people here are so into technology and the arts that each July we hold a three-day, community-wide celebration called the da Vinci Days Festival. I've served on the board of directors for the past three years and will be president this year. One of our proud accomplishments is the splitting off of the da Vinci Film Festival into a separate event, with the next one scheduled for March 6 - 9, 2009.

Yes, Corvallis is gray and rainy 8 months of the year. But it's GREEN. And you should see this town when spring comes around. Summer brings the blackberries and blueberries, and our fall colors rival those of the NE states.

Want to talk to me about producing your website project or managing your marketing communications projects?
Contact me here.