A Bi-Monthly Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 2, March 2003
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Table of Contents>Senior Member Spotlight: Patti Loverink
Senior Member Spotlight:
Patti Loverink
By Rachel Houghton
Meet Patti Loverink, Senior Member.
Patti became involved with technical communication during college, when she was the assistant review editor for MacGuide Magazine. She was responsible for assigning products to writers for review and editing their articles prior to publication.
Patti’s experience led to a position at CE Software, where she started quickly moving through the ranks. After working for several years in Media Relations and International Communications, a position was offered to her in the Technical Writing group. She worked in the group for several months before the company had a layoff, leaving her as the only technical communicator. “This was a very challenging time,” says Patti. “While I was mourning the layoffs of my co-workers, I was expected to do the work of four people. This was when I learned to work well under pressure, and work extremely efficiently while managing multiple projects simultaneously.”
In 1994, Patti relocated to Portland and founded Loverink Documentation Services, Inc., a technical communications agency. She manages teams of technical communicators, instructional designers, and graphic designers who produce technical documentation and marketing communications collateral for her clients. Her teams have won multiple STC Competition awards, both at the local and international levels.
Immediately after moving to Portland, Patti found a home in STC. She co-managed the Contractors Special Interest Group for two years, judged in the WVC publications competition for several years, and has served as second vice president, first vice president, and president of the WVC chapter.
One of the challenges Patti faced as a leader in STC was public speaking. Before she became chapter president, she joined Toastmasters and learned valuable public speaking skills. This experience not only gave her the confidence to overcome her dread of public speaking, but actually made it fun. Patti says she encourages people who are ready to stretch personally and professionally to get involved in STC leadership.
Rachel Houghton is a lone writer at Cypress Semiconductor in Beaverton, OR, with a focus in Framemaker, Acrobat and Windows online help. She can be reached at stc@rhoughton.com.
