About

Profile

I’ve been active in various facets of publishing—from writing, editing, and indexing to design and production—since 2001.

I’m a certified professional editor and active member of Editors Canada (formerly the Editors’ Association of Canada). For several years I worked in house for D&M Publishers, at the time Canada’s largest independent book publisher, as both editor and editorial coordinator, developing editorial systems to improve communication with authors and freelance editors, streamline workflow, and minimize errors. I’ve also been a freelancer for a variety of clients, editing, indexing, and designing a spectrum of publication genres that includes educational books, scholarly journals, market research reports, and online guides. In 2012 I received Editors Canada’s Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence, and in 2019 I won the Karen Virag Award for raising the profile of the editing profession.

I have an eye for detail and have worked extensively with standard style guides such as the Chicago Manual of Style and the Canadian Press Style Book. I was involved in updating the Professional Editorial Standards, published by Editors Canada, and am on the technical committee to develop plain language standards for Accessibility Standards Canada.

I look forward to each project as an opportunity to learn something new.

Education

  • PhD in Health Sciences (Knowledge Exchange in Mental Health), Simon Fraser University
  • Technical Communication Certificate, Vancouver Island University
  • Master of Publishing, Simon Fraser University
  • Master of Science (Physics), University of British Columbia
  • Bachelor of Science (Honours in Physics), University of Alberta

Teaching

  • Plain Language in Health Literacy, SFU Plain Language Certificate
  • Writing Well: Plain Language, UBC Extended Learning
  • Indexing: An Essential Art and Science, SFU Writing and Communications Program
  • Beyond Track Changes: Editing with Microsoft Word, Editors’ Association of Canada seminar
  • On-Screen Editing: Getting the Most out of Microsoft Word, SFU Writing and Communications Program

Speaking

  • Trauma-informed Editing—Editors Canada conference, FOLD Academy Webinars
  • Decolonizing Editing (panellist)—The Festival of Literary Diversity
  • Fact checking in the age of disinformation (panellist)—BC Book Publishing Conference
  • Is Editing a Profession Yet? (with Jeanne McKane)—Editors Canada conference
  • Plain-language summaries—Knowledge Translation for Grant Writing workshop, Women’s Health Research Institute
  • The Basics of User Testing—Editors Canada conference
  • Editing for Accessibility—Editors Canada conference and Editors BC meeting
  • Beyond the Reader: How Academic Editors Can Help Knowledge Users—Editors Canada conference
  • How Accessible is Your Knowledge Product? A Four-Level Framework for Accessibility—Waypoint Research Institute Conference, KT Canada, Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum
  • Editor as Advocate: Plain Language and Social Justice—Editors Go Global Conference and Editors BC meeting
  • Editing Books in Translation—Editors BC meeting

Interests

Although I am happy to work on a wide variety of nonfiction publications, I have a particular interest in cookbooks, as well as books about science and natural history, health, history, cultural studies, public policy, and language.