News and Notes for Technical Communicators in Michigan
Refer to the Upcoming Events list on the right side of this home page, which is regularly added to as the registration links become available.
You’ll see virtual lunches, book club, webinars, and even in real life (IRL) meetups. All events are free for STC-MGL chapter members. Non-members will pay a fee for webinars, but other event types are free for everyone.
Our chapter is incredibly lucky to have leaders willing to support council activities in the extended council positions highlighted below. These members have been appointed to their important positions.
We were so relieved to hear Peggy was interested in serving the chapter as a web manager for another year! Apart from all the work managing the website, she also keeps the EventBrite page running smoothly. Read more about Peggy below!
Name: Peggy Frizzo
Position: Programs and Co-webmaster
Years in STC: 25
Years in Technical Communication: 34
Current Position and Employer: Senior Manager, Software Documentation & Training at Dematic Corp.
STC and related work experience: I participated with the West Michigan Shores chapter for many years leadership and support roles and then assisted with the merger with the Southeastern Michigan chapter to create the Michigan Great Lakes chapter. I enjoy being part of STC and the Michigan Great Lakes chapter because of the many learning, collaborating, and networking opportunities that are interesting and valuable.
Why are you interested in this office position? I enjoy working behind the scenes with the chapter programs and website. I’m happy to help in whatever ways support the chapter’s success.
Education:
Our chapter is incredibly lucky to have leaders willing to support council activities in the extended council positions highlighted below. These members have been appointed to their important positions.
Though publicity and marketing are not new skills for Christine, we are thrilled to welcome a new face to the extended council! Meet Christine:
Name: Christine Mendiola
Position: Publicity
Years in STC: 3 years
Years in Technical Communication: 7 years (volunteer)
Current Position and Employer: Volunteer Technical Writer for American Red Cross (still looking for my first paid technical writing position, currently work in healthcare)
STC and related work experience: none
Why are you interested in this office position? Interested in learning more about the chapter
What else would you like members to know about you? Hobbies include fiction writing, juggling, and sword fighting!
Education:
Our chapter is incredibly lucky to have leaders willing to support council activities in the extended council positions highlighted below. These members have been appointed to their important positions.
Kelly Smith has served in the roles of social media manager and membership chair for a while now, so we have her to thank for the growth of our socials, especially the LinkedIn page! Get to know more about Kelly below:
Name: Kelly Smith
Positions: Membership Manager and Social Media Manager
Years in STC: 9
Years in Technical Communication: 27
Current Position and Employer: Senior Technical Writer, Dart Container Corporation
STC and related work experience:
Why are you interested in this office position? I have held this position for a number of years and am happy to continue.
What else would you like members to know about you? I’m a published author and former quilt magazine editor. I love to quilt, read, listen to podcasts, and travel.
Education:
STC-MGL is pleased to introduce you to the newest chapter leaders.
The first to volunteer to run a book club meeting or share a new Zoom background, Mark stepped up to take on the role of Nominating Committee member. Look for an email from him next election season!
Name: Mark Lockwood
Position: Nominating Committee
Years in STC: 25
Years in Technical Communication:25
Current Position and Employer: Senior Revenue Management Analyst, Trinity Health
STC and related work experience: My career highlights include working on several large-scale online help and technical documentation sets for several software companies, as well as contributing to the development of a variety of corporate communication deliverables along the way. The projects I like to work on the most involve innovating to create new solutions for business challenges. My current role as an analyst/writer features many opportunities to work on such projects and explore new technologies.
My start in tech comm included participation in STC, as I attended chapter events while in college. I last served our chapter when it was still the STC/SM chapter. I held positions in the administrative council over four terms, including serving as the webmaster. I was the STC/SM chapter president from 2009-2010.
Why are you interested in this office position? I have always found that the greatest benefits of staying involved with STC come from meeting new people and engaging with members and chapter activities. I hope we can continue encouraging chapter members to stay involved and make contributing to the chapter a valued piece of their professional development.
What else would you like members to know about you? I live with my wife and two school-aged boys, along with a cat and a hamster. The cat likes me a lot more than the hamster. When I am not involved with family activities, I enjoy playing racquetball. If anyone is looking for a game, let me know.
Education:
● Bachelor of Science, Technical Communications, Eastern Michigan University
STC-MGL is pleased to introduce you to the newest chapter leaders.
The most recent IPP, Kylie was keen to try her hand at a different leadership role in the community. Learn more about Kylie below!
Name: Kylie Jacobsen
Position: Treasurer
Years in STC: 12 years
Years in Technical Communication: 13 years
Current Position and Employer: Assistant Professor of Writing at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI
STC and related work experience: I became involved with STC as a student member in the Iowa State University Student Chapter and then later as a student leader in the Texas Tech University Student Chapter. Upon graduation in 2019, I joined the STC-MGL Chapter when I moved to Michigan for work. Since then, I have chaired the STC Scholarship Committee and served as a member of the STC Education Committee, STC Ken Rainey Committee, STC Summit Planning Committee, STC Community Affairs Committee, STC DSCA Committee, and I edit the NextGen TechComm student column in Intercom.
Why are you interested in this office position? I wanted to round out my STC service experience and since I was a student member, I have never sat in the treasurer position. I look forward to continuing the excellent work of Alison, the treasurer before me, and believe my experience with STC and involvement with MGL will be an asset to the chapter’s future financial planning.
What else would you like members to know about you? I’m an avid housepantswoman! I love collecting new plants (I have over 100 house plant varieties) and have taken up gardening and landscaping with native plants. I’d love to swap tips and tricks or even cuttings.
Education:
STC-MGL is pleased to introduce you to the newest chapter leaders.
Deb has been an active STC MGL member and participant in the mentoring program for a couple years and we are so excited to welcome her to the council. Learn more about Deb below!
Name: Debanina (Deb) Seaton
Position: Secretary
Years in STC: About two years
Years in Technical Communication: About two years
Current Position and Employer: Currently I am a Technical Writer at Aston Carter (on assignment at General Motors Company)
STC and related work experience: I became a member of STC in 2022. I’ve participated in multiple STC-MGL events, including in-person meet-ups. Currently I am working on content management for General Motors Company and assist in some technical writing. I also am working on improving my skills in Microsoft Excel, Power BI, and other software programs that would assist me in reaching my goal of becoming a financial technical writer.
Why are you interested in this office position? I really would like to contribute to the chapter more. I think there are a lot of great opportunities and contributions I could make as a chapter office member. One of those contributions is introducing technical communication to younger people to see if it is a career they would consider, and other ways to encourage more members to the group.
What else would you like members to know about you? I really love animals! I like them so much I started short-term fostering cats and dogs. I also like to travel. I would like to visit every continent, and I really like to try new foods – especially bizarre ones. I really want to try a fried scorpion and maybe a Balut. I have an eclectic taste in music, and one of my favorite genres is metal. I currently work out 4 days a week and I’m not sure I’d try bodybuilding competitions in the future, but I will eventually learn power lifting.
Education: I graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a minor in Political Science. I also completed a technical communication boot camp course in 2022 and received a certificate of completion.
STC-MGL is pleased to introduce you to the newest chapter leaders.
We are excited to welcome a new face to the council, though if you’ve attended any of our networking events or book club meetings, you’ll recognize Rob Sulewski. Learn more about Rob below!
Name: Rob Sulewski
Position: Vice President
Years in STC: 16
Years in Technical Communication: 26
Current Position and Employer: Teaching Professor, Program in Technical Communication, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
STC and related work experience: I have taught technical communication at the U of M College of Engineering since 1998, primarily to civil and environmental engineering students at all levels. In addition, for the last 9 years I have also had my own consulting business through which I teach technical communication and edit technical documents for civil and environmental engineering firms in the State.
Why are you interested in this office position? I have been interested in getting more involved with and contributing more to STC for a number of years, and when the opportunity recently arose I couldn’t have been more delighted. I also see this as an opportunity to familiarize myself more with the policies and procedures of the chapter.
What else would you like members to know about you? As you see below, my educational background is checkered, but I find that my knowledge of basic (and in some cases, higher-level) sciences helps me enormously in my work. It’s similar with my literature background; when I was in that program, we read a lot of rhetorical texts (and indeed, a number of novels, too). I was also on the Executive Committee of my Program at the College for several years. Apart from technical communication, I am also an actor and director (most recently since 2006 in Shakespeare in the Arb productions in Ann Arbor during the summer).
Education:
STC-MGL is pleased to introduce you to the newest chapter leaders.
After serving a year as STC MGL’s Vice President, Heather Barthell assumed the role of President. Get to know our next chapter leader more below:
Name: Heather Barthell
Position: President
Years in STC: 3 total
Years in Technical Communication: 6
Current Position and Employer: Recent graduate, looking for work
STC and related work experience: Vice President 2023-2024
Why are you interested in this office position? This is a talented group of tech comm professionals that have opened my mind to alternative possibilities in the field. Recognizing the current upheavals in the marketplace and technology, I want to help the chapter members with implementing their ideas to keep the tech comm field relevant for Michigan’s future needs.
What else would you like members to know about you? I’m curious about the world and finding practical solutions to everyday problems. My hobbies are reading and working with textiles.
Education:
The Society for Technical Communication Michigan Great Lakes Chapter, the Nominating Committee, and the Council members are pleased to announce the final results of the 2024 STC election. We are also excited to announce the new appointed Extended Council.
Of 29 eligible voters, 15 (52%) cast a ballot.
Immediate Past President: Wes Schoenherr
President: Heather Barthall
Vice President: Rob Sulewski
Secretary: Debanina (Deb) Seaton
Treasurer: Kylie Jacobsen
Nominating Committee: Mark Lockwood
Social media: Kelly Smith
Publicity: Christine Mendiola
Membership chair: Kelly Smith
Web manager: Peggy Frizzo
Thank you to everyone who nominated these candidates, and thank you to the candidates for running for these positions.
Note that the 2024 election slate was prepared in accordance with the current Chapter bylaws. The election was open from Monday, May 27, 2024 at 9:00am to Wednesday, June 5, 2024 at 11:59pm EDT. To be eligible to vote, members must have paid their dues by 31 January of the election year. All eligible members received a ballot and invitation to vote via email.
Votes were cast through a secure, third-party software, provided by ElectionBuddy, with certification by the Nominating Committee that the election results were accurate and confidential. All STC election rules were strictly adhered to, and all necessary internal controls were in place to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the voting.
The final election results have been certified and were announced at the annual end-of-year meeting of the Chapter on 20 June 2024.
