My Wikipedia hobby gives me the enjoyment of spending time poking around in books and magazine archives. I enjoy researching the history of publishing and books. Publishing companies come and go--every book is its own product, and by studying publishing history, you can also learn about ideas and trends that have shaped our world.
As a child I liked to pour over my Dad's old National Geographic magazines. While studying for my college courses--I discovered a stack of bound Life Magazines in the University Library. I could spend hours combing through the old magazines with their pictures and ads. One of my first jobs was managing a bookstore, which allowed me to be surrounded by books and magazines and discover the ebb and flow of publishing trends. I was fascinated to see which books sold and which stayed on the shelves, and then I was also fascinated to watch particular areas of the store expand and contract as buying trends changed.
After managing retail bookstores for a few years--I completed my B.A. in Organizational Communications. I exited college at the start of the dotcom era, and my first post-college job was as an editorial assistant for a small publishing company called Prima Publishing. Because I wouldn't stop giving my opinions on what I thought we should publish, I was promoted to acquisitions editor--the person at a publishing company who determines which books and authors to publish. At Prima, I acquired video game strategy guides, eventually moving to several technology publishers and acquired all kinds of how-to technology books.
I moved to the Pacific Northwest to work for Microsoft in their publishing division and later their training division, Microsoft Learning. From there, I grew interested in the growing online video training market and landed at Lynda.com, where I held several content strategy roles. Lynda was acquired by LinkedIn in 2016, and then LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft.
I currently serve on the boards for Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum and University of Washington Press. Ask me for a daypass to Folio or a tour of University of Washington Press.
I live in the Pacific Northwest overlooking the Salish Fjord (otherwise known as Hood Canal).
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