"Bachelor of arts, photography & cinema, The Ohio State University, 1982

I've spent the past 17 years in the graphics business, first as a typesetter for a small print shop, moving into desktop publishing and graphic design as the technology matured. I've worked in print shops [and] prepress service bureaus and for graphic designers and ad agencies as well as serviced small business clients directly. I've worked with almost every graphics program imaginable, including all the major ones (Adobe® Photoshop®, Illustrator®, InDesign®, PageMaker®, QuarkXPress®, FreeHand®, CorelDRAW®) on an almost daily basis. Working in a print production environment requires that you learn those programs to support your client base.

In the mid-90s, I began to develop web sites, eventually working in Dreamweaver®, then Flash®. I've also produced multimedia projects in Macromedia® Director®.

I joined Toastmasters International about 10 years ago with the intention of improving my presentation skills. Toastmasters is a communications and leadership skill development program [that] allows you to improve your skills in a low-stress, positive feedback environment. I'm still active in the Columbus-Whitehall Toastmasters Club. I earned my Competent Toastmaster (CTM) and Competent Leader (CL) designations about five years ago and am … working on the next level.

I currently run a solo design/development studio, iNvision Studios, primarily for small business, developing web sites, and producing graphics projects for my clients, mostly for marketing or advertising their businesses."

"I've taught, and currently teach, Photoshop®, Illustrator®, InDesign®, and Flash® for the past four years. I've also taught Dreamweaver® and Microsoft ® Office products — Word, Excel, PowerPoint®, Access — all programs that I've used in my business over the years. I'm an Adobe® Certified Expert (ACE) in Photoshop® with intentions of obtaining certification in Illustrator®, InDesign®, and Acrobat®. I am also pursuing a Comp TIA™ Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+) designation, which will then qualify me as an Adobe® Certified Instructor (ACI). 

I'm torn between InDesign® and Illustrator® as my favorites. I enjoy creating art with Illustrator®, but I also enjoy all the details of setting professional looking type in InDesign®. I like InDesign® because Adobe® has finally overcome all the limitations in previous page layout programs and married all the best features of QuarkXPress® and PageMaker®."

"I remember my first day on the job as a typesetter in that print shop — sitting in front of a DOS computer, watching that flashing 'C' prompt, [and] thinking "What the heck do I do now?" I try to remember how I felt that day when I teach. I strive to relate the subjects I teach to something the students are already familiar with, whether it's a common word processor (like Microsoft® Word) or another graphics program they may have used. I also try to enhance the plain vanilla manuals that we use with real-world tips and tricks that my students can use as soon as they return to their jobs."

"Don't be afraid to take a class. A martial arts instructor of mine once said, "You're either moving forward or backward. There is no standing still." You can't move forward if you're not progressing and learning, and remember, there are no grades and no pressure in our classes so it's okay to SIT IN THE FRONT!" 

"[With] what little exposure to the office I've had (Kemba, Sarah, and Diane, and before that Gigi Kent and Nikki Modlich), I've been very impressed … very organized, very focused on the task of training our students."