Writing & Editing
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Co-Product Owner of Trademark Center, including UX research and content editing
Managed strategic communications plans for major changes for trademark customers, including the shift from allowing paper applications to requiring only digital applications and adoption of identity verification for all trademark customers to prevent certain forms of fraud and scams.
Grants.gov Blog
I led the launch, content strategy, and wrote or edited every blog post from launch through September 2018.
What Is a Grant? | An introduction for those new to federal grants and the index case for the "What Is a Grant?" blog series.
What Is the Plan? Grants.gov in 2018 | The program's public plan for next (well, this) year.
2017 Year In Review: Federal Grant Highlights | Recap of a big year and acknowledging the contributions of the grants community.
Grant Writing Basics: Ensure Mission Alignment before Applying | Encouraging applicants to think about the big-picture instead of only chasing dollars.
118 total blog posts
Grants.gov Online User Guide
Wrote and integrated context-sensitive help links throughout Grants.gov's functionality to connect users to both explanatory and instructional information.
My Role: Lead content developer and editor. Coordinate with one other writer, business analysts, and software developers to write, test, and maintain the guide.
Tool: Adobe RoboHelp
Style Guides: Internal Grants.gov Style Guide, Government Publishing Office (GPO) Style Manual
Link: Grants.gov Online User Guide (design and information architecture unchanged since I left 2018)
Grants Learning Center
An introduction to the federal grant lifecycle. Our team reviewed and synthesized federal grants management policies and training resources to provide an introductory resource for people new to the world of grants.
My Role: Research, content development, and editorial review
Tool: Liferay Content Management System
Link: Grants Learning Center (site design has been updated since I left in 2018, but much of the information architecture and content remains)
OAAM Style Guide
To maintain written consistency and reduce editorial review times, our team developed an internal style guide for the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management (OAAM). The OAAM Style Guide resolved internal debates and took precedent over the GPO Style Guide and Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS).
My Role: Assisted lead instructional designer with writing, editing, and style designs
Tool: Microsoft Word
Grants Management Center
A performance support center for federal grant managers within OJP. The Grants Management Center integrates federal regulations, training resources, policy memos, and OJP's Grant Manager's Manual to inform and support the full grant lifecycle. This is an internal resource that cannot be publicly shared.
My Role: Coordinated five staff members to develop diverse content and led technical development
Tool: Microsoft SharePoint
Style Guides: OAAM Style Guide, GPO Style Manual, and CMOS
Grant Manager's Manual
The definitive standard operating procedure for federal grant managers within OJP.
My Role: Technical writing and editing
Tool: Microsoft SharePoint
Style Guides: OAAM Style Guide, GPO Style Manual, and CMOS
Grants Management System User Guides
Thorough, step-by-step instructions for using all of the modules in OJP's internal Grants Management System (GMS).
My Role: Technical writing and editing
Tool: Microsoft Word
Style Guides: OAAM Style Guide, GPO Style Manual, and CMOS
Quick Reference Guides and Info Sheets
Designed for on-the-job support, quick reference guides (i.e., 3-5 page documents) and info sheets (i.e., "1-pagers") help grant and program managers complete specific tasks and get back to the rest of their job. Topics covered a range of steps along the grants management lifecycle and updates to agency policies.
My Role: Design, writing, and editing
Tool: Microsoft Word
Style Guides: OAAM Style Guide, GPO Style Manual, and CMOS