Senior Writer/Project Manager

Julie has been writing since the age of 5, when her first poetry efforts were recognized on the Frigidaire platform. After earning a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts some years later, she managed to make very little use of her writing skills for several years while exploring the world of COBOL programming and systems analysis with Digital Equipment Corporation. Julie migrated into methods and procedures and business systems analysis work for DEC, ending up managing a group of product expediters for DEC's foray into personal computers in the early 1980's.

Julie left DEC in 1985 to join her future ex-husband in starting Suitable Solutions, Inc. They developed and sold by mail order a variety of DEC Rainbow add-on hardware and software products. Julie wrote all of the user manuals and marketing collateral for the company's products, and designed and managed their FoxPro marketing database.

When the Rainbow add-on market faded away, Julie moved on to work as a configuration analyst, technical writer, and eventually project manager for System Industries, Inc. Her writing responsibilities included development of user manuals for large scale storage products, and overseeing all aspects of engineering document control.

The British manufacturer of one of System Industries' leading OEM products created a new company, Baydel North America, Inc., after System Industries' demise. Julie worked there as a project manager and head of information systems, selecting and managing the implementation of their accounting and production control software, and providing user support throughout the company. Julie set up and managed a document control system for the company, and edited all written materials created by the North American company.

Julie has been with Expert Support since July 2000, writing or editing many different types of documents, from marketing handouts to hardware and software manuals. She has also developed on-line help pages and training materials. She is most familiar with FrameMaker and Microsoft software tools (Word, Excel, Powerpoint). Julie enjoys bridging the gap between technical information providers and non-technical information consumers, and helping product and project managers to be more effective in communications with their teams. Her combination of writing and editing skills, organizational experience, and an easygoing communication and management style, allows Julie to excel in projects that are dynamic and fluid.

When she's not writing, organizing, or managing something, Julie can probably be found making music. She sings bass in a women's barbershop quartet and is the director of the Bay Area Showcase Chorus (http://www.singharmony.org). Julie also teaches voice, coaches quartets and choruses, and arranges music in the barbershop style.