Meet the Candidates: David Caruso for Director

This entry is being posted on behalf of David Caruso, candidate for Director in the 2020 STC election.


David Caruso Hello STC. My name is David Caruso and I would like your vote for director.

I have enjoyed every moment as a volunteer with STC over the past 15 years. I have found so much in common with all those who identify themselves as technical communicators . . . or as I call us—“explainers of complex things.” I see so many opportunities for people entering this profession and I look forward to helping STC continue to remain a guiding force in the direction that our profession takes.

My focus, should I be elected to serve on the STC Board of Directors, will be on what I call the “human side of technical communication.” That is to say, the people who do this job regardless of their title or domain. The people of STC were what first drew me in as a new member and made me want to belong to this society. The people I met had so much to teach me. Then, somewhere along the line, I gathered enough experience that I had things I wanted to teach them. I would like to further explore how those key interactions can translate into membership growth for the society and improve professional networking and peer-to-peer education worldwide.

So just what do I mean by “the human side of technical communication”? Well, first I have a confession to make . . . I write almost exclusively in Word. I consider myself to be a technical communicator, yet I have never authored a help file (outside of my coursework). Put simply, I like to serve people. The people who foster relationships with subject matter experts who need to convey information to an audience. The people who work closely with their management teams to clarify and deliver information to their customers. And yes, the people who work with engineers and developers to deliver clear and practical documentation—these are the humans I am talking about—the people of the profession and the members of STC. I aspire to be elected to the board to bring their voice to the table as the board works to make sure that STC remains relevant and sustainable for the next generation.

The other key piece of my vision for the future is to promote opportunities for jobs within our great profession. I have always seen the need for “explainers of complex things” within an organization. Not just within a technology start-up or huge company like Amazon or Apple, but in the energy, finance and healthcare sectors as well. I assert that a focus on technical communication opportunities across all occupational sectors results in a winning strategy to grow membership and encourage the investment of employers to hire technical communicators with any number of job titles.

I look forward to many more years of supporting STC and the explainers of complex things. Thank you so much for your consideration as a candidate for the board.

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