I’ve been an avid reader all of my life. From spending summers reading to working on school newspapers to editing student papers. After college I worked in a corporate environment for all of my professional career. There I was able to gain experience editing a wide variety of media, including departmental communications, proposals, performance reviews, and training documents.
Once my son was born, I left the corporate world to stay home with him. During this time I continually volunteered in the school library and eventually was hired as a substitute Library Media Assistant. More recently, as he prepares to graduate from high school, I’ve been volunteering at the local food bank which led to doing editing work for them outside of my volunteer time.
As I looked at returning to the work force, I realized I needed to do something I loved. I enrolled in the editing certificate course at the University of Washington. Once the course was complete, I began freelance editing. As an avid reader of mystery, romance, gardening and cookbooks, I will admit those are my favorites genres to edit. I also enjoy editing books and manuscripts in the corporate and nonprofit arenas as well.
When I’m not editing you might find me working on a new renovation project, or projects around my own home. I love my garden, playing with my two dogs, and cuddling with my cat. If I want to get away, I will always head towards water, be it a lake, ocean, river or creek – all are my happy place.
Skills
- Developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading and creating style sheets
- Project management and organization
- Proficient in using The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition
- Proficient in using AP Stylebook, online edition
- Proficient in using APA Publication Manual, 7th edition
- Experience in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel; Adobe Acrobat Pro, HTML, and WordPress
Work Experience
2019 – present Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank
- Edit content for online volunteer training program
2013 – 2014 Substitute Library Media Assistant, Twin Peaks Middle School, Poway California
- Prepared books for circulation and assisted library patrons.
1997 – 2002 Assistant Vice President, Chase Card Member Services Outbound Manager
- Managed staff of 4 supervisors and 35 to 40 representatives.
- Contributed to over $52 million dollars better than targeted loan losses.
- Wrote and edited training materials for a Transition Lab, providing additional training in a collection environment for trainees prior to their release to the floor.
- Wrote and edited successful proposal for Collections Management Series, which provided training to the floor on key, collection-specific topics.
- Edited workflows for a system redesign project.
Volunteer Experience
2018 – present Volunteer, Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank
2015 – 2017 Library Volunteer, Issaquah Middle School and Issaquah High School
2013 – 2014 Library Volunteer, Twin Peaks Middle School, Poway California
2010 – 2012 Library and Classroom Volunteer, Indian Valley Elementary, Walnut Creek California
Education
1995 Bachelor of Science, Criminal Justice, Arizona State University
2019 Certificate in Editing, University of Washington
MaryAnn Forester Editing 