Meet the Candidates: Kelly Schrank

This entry is being posted on behalf of Kelly Schrank, candidate for Nominating Committee in the 2019 STC election. More information about Kelly can be found on her STC election page. You can ask questions of the candidates on the STC Election Forum. The election begins 25 February and runs through 11 March.


For those who don’t know what’s involved with being a member of the Nominating Committee (Nom Com), it is a behind-the-scenes position where you must recruit for those who will run for the more visible positions on the STC National Board: Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors. A seat on the Nom Com requires knowing the movers and shakers in the industry, STC members who are active in their local and national community, and people who others trust and want to lead the association. In order to know and/or find those candidates, you pretty much have to fit that bill, too. There are four of us running for the two positions on the Nom Com this year, and we all meet all of those criteria.

But, as STC members, you need to vote and decide who gets to be on the Nom Com this year. So, I’ll do my part by providing a little information on myself, just as the other nominees will, and then you can vote according to your personal criteria.

Over the years, I have been active in the Suncoast, Mid-South, and Rochester chapters, and I am the current President of the STC Rochester Chapter, an award-winning chapter and one of the more active chapters, especially nationally. I was co-chair for Spectrum, the STC Rochester Chapter’s regional conference, for two years. I have been a member of most of the special interest groups (SIGs) at one time or another, and I am currently Co-Manager of the Technical Editing SIG. I attend as many conferences and programs as I can, network widely, and mentor many students and new professionals. I have spoken at Interchange, Conduit, Spectrum, and Summit on side gigs, checklists and other editor tools, editing, and networking for introverts.

I have been in technical and medical communication for over 20 years, and I have a Master’s degree in Technical Communication from Minnesota State University, Mankato. After stints as a medical editor, communications manager, and technical writer in pharmaceutical, cybersecurity, and many other industries, I have just started my own business, Bookworm Editing Services, with a focus on formatting and editing formulary dossiers for pharmaceutical clients. But I also edit proposals, marketing materials, slide decks, websites, training materials, and many other types of technical documents.

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