2010 WriteMark |
Friday 3 September 2010 |
New Zealand Plain English Awards |
|
Dr Annetta Cheek
Chair, Center for Plain Language (Washington DC, USA)
A veteran leader in the plain language movement, Annetta Cheek, PhD, has spent many of her 25 years in federal government helping to make documents plain. Regulatory activities, especially writing and editing regulations, have occupied much of her career.
In 1994, Annetta became one of the first government employees to be involved in the federal plain language movement. In 1996 she moved to Vice President Gore’s National Performance Review, where she was charged with spreading the plain language initiative across the federal government. She helped found the Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN), a group of federal employees promoting plain language, and served as its chair until her retirement from the government in early 2007. She also developed PLAIN’s website at www.plainlanguage.gov.
In 2003, Annetta and several plain language colleagues founded the non-profit Center for Plain Language in Washington DC. Annetta currently serves as the Chair of the Center’s board. In 2005 she received the Center’s first award as an ‘Outstanding Plain-Language Leader in Government’.
Annetta has helped organise plain language programmes in several different agencies and has trained hundreds of federal and private sector employees in plain language and writing for the web.
In 2006 Annetta testified before the House Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs in support of the Regulation in Plain Language Act (H.R. 4809). Her testimony supported what plain language and usability experts have long known: clear, concise, easy-to-understand regulations will save governments (and taxpayers) time and money.
Sponsors
We would like to thank the following sponsors for their support in 2010.
