Resume

Heidi Decker-Maurer

heidi.writeimage@gmail.com

                                                                                                                                               

WORK AND FREELANCE EXPERIENCE

 

WORK:

National Business Institute, Inc. – 4 years                             Altoona, WI

Copywriter/Designer

·         Compelled thousands of legal professionals to register for and attend continuing education seminars by researching, establishing customer motivation, crafting, drafting and rewriting copy for all outgoing media, including website copy.

·         Furthered the company’s strategic goals by designing flyers, pamphlets, letters, handouts,
catalogs, brochures, offers, coupons, certificates, posters, magazine ads and any other requested
visual communication.

·         Developed new copy formats, messaging strategies and outside writer guidelines to show customers how NBI’s seminars would make their careers more successful and rewarding.

·         Scheduled seminars for the company’s product development team by analyzing data, assessing past profitability and forecasting expected attendance and net revenue.

·         Prepared, edited and uploaded copy to WestLegalEdcenter.com.

University of Wisconsin-Stout – Current: School of Art and Design - Current                                      Menomonie, WI

Academic Department Associate (30% Communications)

·         Publicize the wide variety of activities and exhibitions taking place in the School of Art and Design.

·         In charge of social media publicity through the initiation and maintenance of the school’s Facebook page as well as launching and updating Art and Design’s Twitter feed.

·         Instrumental in assisting with composition and editing of the proposal materials for the MFA in design and the elevation from department to school status.

·         Facilitate events within the unit, including faculty training and various meetings.

·         Hire and manage student workers and graduate assistant, and act as office manager in the department.

·         Manage all data records within the department, including personnel, procedural and departmental
governance documents.

University of Wisconsin-Stout: School of Education – 1 year                                                                Menomonie, WI

Account Administrator 

·         Was responsible for managing a several-million dollar budget.

·         Balanced account expenditures including payroll, supplies and services.

·         Organized, wrote and tracked faculty contracts for work done outside of the regular academic year.

Fountain of Youth Games – 4 years                                                                                                       Eau Claire, WI

Co-Owner/Events Coordinator

·         Updated and maintained store website to publicize monthly events and promote participation while building name recognition and increasing sales.

·         Planned, coordinated, promoted and executed a minimum of twelve special events per month, in addition to grand opening and customer appreciation events. Hosted and planned national qualifying tournament.

·         Leveraged sponsorship opportunities with vendors and suppliers to make events successful. Cultivated continuing sponsor relationships, worked with volunteers to bring events to fruition and established an active customer community.

·         Coordinated work schedules and managed the activities of employee/owners.

·         Filled out, filed and maintained mandatory business and LLC paperwork. Conducted required annual meetings, as well as periodic operational meetings.

Holiday Vacations – 5 years                                                                                                                   Eau Claire, WI

Travel Writer

·         Persuaded more than 10,000 guests a year to travel on guided tours by creating copy for a comprehensive catalog, satellite destination catalogs, several newsletters and hundreds of direct mail pieces.

·         Engaged in creative brainstorming and conceptualization, production planning, and attended print runs to help proof and assure a quality final product.

·         Developed and implemented the company’s first editorial guidelines and three-tiered proofing accountability structure.

·         Organized efforts of the five-department proofing team for timely completion of print materials.

·         Managed multiple projects with varying deadlines. Oversaw adherence to in-house grammar and graphic design guidelines.

·         Collaborated with product development team members to create copy from their first-hand descriptions of destinations.

FREELANCE:

The Write Image – Current                                                                                                                    Eau Claire, WI

Owner/Writer/Editor

Copy Editor/Freelance - October 2012 to February 2013

Document Revision

Client: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

n  Revised a document from 40+ pages down to 12.

n  Edited for grammar and style.

Editorial and Research Assistant/Freelance – January 2012 to June 2012                                         

Revision to 10^th Edition of Technical Report Writing Today

Author/Client: Dr. Daniel G. Riordan, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Stout

n  Assisted with revising the edition, which was last updated in 2004.

n  Edited for outdated references.

n  Researched new references and wrote replacement copy.

n  Outlined, researched, and wrote a section on social media.

n  Contributed writing samples from previous coursework.

Freelance Writer and Copy Editor/Freelance – November 2010 to June 2011                                   

Marketing Copy Rewrite for Academic Program Pages for the UW-Stout Website Redesign

Client: Maureen Carlson, Director of Integrated Marketing – University of Wisconsin-Stout

n  Edited and rewrote marketing copy for 40+ undergraduate program web pages.

n  Worked with University Editor Don Steffen to ensure copy was accurate and appealing.

ORGANIZATIONS AND EDUCATION

 

2013                        M.S. Technical and Professional Communication, UW-Stout               Menomonie, WI

1994                        B.A. Communication, UWEC                                                  Eau Claire, WI        

2007 – 2009            Chippewa Valley Free Clinic Marketing Volunteer                                Eau Claire, WI

October 2007          Graduate Assistant – Dale Carnegie Course                                          Menomonie, WI

MASTER’S COURSEWORK: GPA 4.0

 

COMPLETED:

Technical Writing

Rhetorical Theory

Project Management

Visual Rhetoric for Technical Communication

User-Centered Research

Communication Strategies for New Media

Teaching Professional Communication: Theory and Practice

Technical Writing Practicum: Freelance

Research Theory and Methods

Thesis: Rhetoric and  the Internet