2017 Plain English Awards judges
Zuula Consulting, US
Deanna is co-founder of Zuula, a communications strategy firm that helps organisations create clear, compelling content. As a strategist, writer, and trainer, her goal is to enable clients to use language as a brand asset with empathy, creativity, and precision.
Deanna has served clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging businesses across industries such as financial services and scientific R&D. In addition, Deanna co-chaired the ClearMark Awards from 2015 to 2017, an annual event celebrating the best plain language in North America.
She is a member of PLAIN, Clarity International, and the Center for Plain Language.
Simon Hertnon is the author of three non-fiction books, including Clear, Concise, Compelling: How to write less and achieve more (Nakedize, 2006); and From Afterwit to Zemblanity: 100 endangered words brought to life (New Holland, 2008). In November, Simon is publishing his first novel, The Julian Calendar, under the pseudonym William Henry.
Simon teaches knowledge workers to work more systematically and effectively towards explicit outcomes, which typically involves thinking more and writing less. Simon helps organisations to bring about the culture and conditions needed for optimal writing performance.
Simon has also written a human needs theory and has co-authored a book on strong sustainability.
Simon teaches writing skills in New Zealand (primarily through his Writing Essentials course for Victoria University Professional and Executive Development), and internationally.
Louisa manages a team of technical writers at Streamliners, providing online manuals to a range of clients. The team creates content for various users, including retail and sales staff, technicians, health professionals, hospital planners, general practice managers, council employees, and technical writers.
Louisa has officially been a technical writer since starting at Streamliners in 2013. For 20 years before that, she worked for legal publishers Wolters Kluwer (in the UK) and Thomson Reuters (in New Zealand). Her role was to translate legislation and case law into easy-to-understand information for managers. Titled ‘editor’ and ‘writer’, she was technically a technical writer. She has specialist knowledge of occupational health and safety, and employment law, but tries not to ruin parties by waxing lyrical about asbestos exposure, or asking ‘What does good faith really mean?’
Louisa was the proud, and slightly surprised, winner of the Plain English Technical Communicator award in 2017. In her spare time, she likes writing short stories and is saving Governors Bay Jetty.
Kylie is a technical communicator who is passionate about plain language. She transforms complex information into simple, clear, and concise content that is genuinely helpful for its audience. Her passion for plain language has won her a WriteMark plain English award and four Awards of Distinction.
Kylie has a Diploma in Web Content and is trained in Information Mapping®. She has spent most of her career writing online help and user interface content, developing user guides and forms, and analysing information and processes. She has worked on large-scale web content management projects, and tested software.
Kylie spends her downtime studying towards a Diploma in Interior Design. She hopes to one day move into a role that combines both her writing and interior design skills. Her home has featured in Your Home and Garden magazine and the book Rooms to Love.
Jan Bowen has been described by the Australian Financial Review as the ‘high priestess of the move to demystify the law’. Jan is Managing Director of Plain English Communications, a Sydney-based company she founded 20 years ago. She is a passionate advocate of the need to communicate in language that readers will understand, want to read, and can relate to. She works with the legal profession, major financial institutions, insurance companies, technology companies, transport consultants, and a car park operator, as well as federal and state government instrumentalities.
Jan is also a best-selling author. Of her 30 books, some 15 communicate legal topics to the general community in plain language. Other publications encompass medicine, travel, and personality interviews. Jan was the ‘You and the Law’ presenter on the Channel 10 lifestyle programme ‘Til Ten’ for its 3-year lifetime, and was a weekly commentator on Radio 2GB. She has also recorded segments about business and the law for in-flight audio tapes.
In a parallel life, Jan Bowen is closely connected to the music world and for the last 6 years has been Chair of Sydney Youth Orchestras.
At Consumer, Sue is responsible for the organisation’s research, publishing, campaigning, and commercial activities. In addition she is Consumer’s public spokesman on consumer issues, and its representative on a number of industry and government organisations.
The principal aim of Consumer is to collect and disseminate information, to advance the interests of its subscribing members and those of consumers generally.
This is achieved through research, publishing Consumer magazine, consumer.org.nz, and powerswitch.org.nz.
Sue joined Consumer 10 years ago, after more than 25 years in news journalism. She has edited all three of the country’s Sunday newspapers.
Sue is currently studying Law part-time at Victoria University of Wellington.
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