Kathryn Catania
Co-Chair, Plain Language and Action Information Network, USA
Kathryn Catania leads a plain language program at a US government agency. She is also Co-Chair of the Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN). PLAIN is a volunteer working group made up of US federal employees who promote the use of plain language throughout the government and manage www.plainlanguage.gov. PLAIN has existed since the mid-1990s and provides free, plain language instruction to federal agencies. The US Office of Management and Budget named PLAIN the official inter-agency working group for the US Plain Writing Act of 2010.
Kathryn has taught numerous US government agencies the importance of communicating in plain language instead of gobbledygook and legalese. She was a guest speaker at the Clarity 2012 conference in Washington DC and at the 2011 Plain Language Association InterNational conference in Stockholm, Sweden. She was also a judge for the 2012 US ClearMark Awards, sponsored by the Center for Plain Language.