About Me

I’ve enjoyed a wonderfully varied career as a business writing consultant, a textbook author, a workshop facilitator, and a college instructor. The common denominator in all my business writing endeavours is that I love helping people be better communicators.

I’m the author of numerous textbooks on computer applications, business communications, and Internet-related subjects for college-level courses. You can check out my list of textbooks. In addition, I’ve facilitated dozens of seminars on business communications for corporate and government clients for Clear Communications Consultants  (I was Vice President for awhile!), and frequently share my teaching strategies with colleagues at educational conferences and forums throughout North America. In fact, I’m off to Nashville in March 2014 for the Course Technology annual conference. I’ll be presenting two sessions: “Diving Deep into Word 2013” and “Diving Deep into PowerPoint 2013”. The goal of both sessions is to help instructors develop great techniques for teaching their students how to develop expert-level Word and PowerPoint skills.

Capilano University in North Vancouver, BC

For over 22 years, I was also on faculty at Capilano College (now Capilano University) in North Vancouver, British Columbia. I taught courses in business writing, business studies, computer applications, training skills, job search skills–the list goes on! I also developed and managed the Executive and Project Administration program in the Applied Business Technology Department, managed business and computer programs in Continuing Studies, and served as Chair of the Faculty Professional Development Committee. During my years at Capilano University, I gained considerable experience writing marketing materials for the various programs and special events I managed, and developed numerous packages of course materials. One of my favourite duties as an instructor was lesson preparation–I loved putting together comprehensive sets of learning materials. I still do!

As both a writer and an educator, I specialize in developing materials and strategies that help people make sense of complex tasks and concepts. In particular, my Illustrated Projects series for Course Technology has provided thousands of students with the tools they need to create documents and perform tasks that are immediately relevant in today’s business world.

I hold an M.B.A. with Distinction in Marketing from Heriot Watt University  in Edinburgh (2009), an M.A. in Drama from the University of Toronto (1984), a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Durham in England (1979)  and a B.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Reading in England (1977). For a time, I also wrote television documentaries related to the arts. My TV documentary for BRAVO, Landscape Revealed: The Art of Toni Onley, was awarded gold plaque from the 2005 Chicago International Film Festival.

Bowen Island

I was born in Victoria, British Columbia, more than a few decades ago, and continue to be a west coast girl. I now live with my husband, west coast artist Gregg Simpson, on beautiful Bowen Island, a 20-minute ferry ride from West Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. On Bowen  Island, I’m active in the arts community, and as president of the Bowen Island Arts Council, I frequently write and edit proposals, reports, and marketing materials to support the Arts Council’s numerous activities.

And finally, I am also pursuing a career as a novelist and a publisher. Check out my personal Web site for more information about my fiction writing and my publisher web page for information about New Arcadia Publishing.