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MMS Education
Newtown, Pennsylvania
August 1994 - January 2001
Production Editor
My “big break,” so to speak, came in August 1994, when I was hired by MMS Education, a small consulting firm with a stellar client list. The company bills itself as “The Education Market Specialists,” and indeed it is. Corporations like Disney and Verizon hire MMS Education to assist them with their educational outreach initiatives, whether through research, product development, marketing, program implementation or a host of other services. I paid my dues in the sales and data management departments at MMS Education until I joined the creative team in 1996 as Production Editor. From that point on, my career really took off.
My most consuming long-term project was Scientific American Frontiers. From 1990-2000, MMS Education managed the teacher outreach program for this PBS science series on behalf of Verizon (formerly GTE). For the last four years of the contract, I served as teacher relations coordinator. As such, I managed all e-mail communications with educators and students; oversaw fulfillment of all program mailings; organized surveys, contests and quizzes; developed and managed production of all premiums and Scientific American Frontiers videos; and researched and compiled a year-end activity report for the client. My creative duties on this project included developing and disseminating an opt-in e-mail newsletter, writing press releases at the start of each new season, and providing content for the print educator’s guide and program website. My most significant creative contribution to this program was the website content for the electronic field trip Destination: Galapagos Islands, which I researched and wrote in 1998.
Scientific American Frontiers wasn’t the only project I worked on for Verizon. I was very involved with the Growth Initiatives For Teachers (GIFT) grant program and the Life’s Playbook for Success program, two other Verizon accounts. For GIFT, I managed all e-mail communications with educators, wrote press releases and handled online promotion of the program, copyedited the program application and guidelines booklet, and wrote the year-end Award-Winning Project Summaries booklet (1996-2001). I managed the website component of the Life’s Playbook for Success program from 1998-2001. I helped design the site architecture, as well as content and features, and I wrote the educational content for the related cyberseries Click.
My true “production editor” role came into play on several projects, for each of which I served as editor and production manager. These included the Discover Magazine School Science Program Educator’s Guide (1997-1999), the U.S.News and World Report Educator’s Guide (1997-1998), and the Fortune Education Program Preview (1998-2001). I also handled the layout for the Fortune Preview, using Quark Xpress.
Shorter-term projects I was involved with during my employment at MMS Education include:
- MarcoGram e-mail communications (MarcoPolo Foundation, 2000-2001): Writing and content development
- Nutrition Explorations website (Dairy Management, Inc., 2000-2001): Copyediting, proofreading and substantive editing; website management and promotion
- National PTA parent-training CD-ROM (National PTA, 2000): Writing and content development
- Fortune Education Program direct mail (Fortune magazine, 2000): Writing and content development, production management
- Fortune Education Program website (Fortune magazine, 2000): Writing and content development
- Market Data Retrieval PowerPoint presentation and book for annual education seminar (Market Data Retrieval, 1997-2000): Research and analysis, writing and content development
- JumpStart 2000: Your Chance to Build a Better Century print materials and website (Parade magazine, 1999): Writing and content development; copyediting, proofreading and substantive editing
- The Hating Pot teaching kit (PBS, 1997): Writing and content development, production management
I provided editorial support for a variety of other projects as well, including:
- Verizon Reads website
- World Almanac educator’s guides
- Young and Rubicam/U.S.Army “Our Heritage” series educator’s guides
- The College Board Pacesetter Program educator’s guides
- Business Week magazine educator’s guide
For the company itself, I edited the in-house newsletter (2000) as well as two pro bono publications—the Salvation Army (Lower Bucks County, Pa., branch) anniversary booklet (1998) and Bucks Means Business, a quarterly newsletter sponsored by the Bucks County Small Business Action Council (1996-1997). MMS Education recognized my service to the company in 1997 with an Employee Award of Excellence. Though I resigned my position in January 2001, I am privileged to maintain an ongoing professional relationship with my former colleagues.
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