Health Canada consumer safety portal
October 2009 – present

Project: Health Canada wanted to create a portal on their website that would provide easy-to-access and understand consumer safety information for average Canadians.

Role: Karen created content maps and project managed, wrote and edited plain language content for this massive website overhaul.

Health Canada writing and publishing guide
February 2009 – January 2010

Project: Health Canada wanted a tool to help teach employees and contractors about the principles of good writing, editing, design, and publishing.

Role: Karen attended meetings, researched best practices, wrote and edited all content for this comprehensive 80-page guide and online toolbox.

Industry Canada newsletter redesign
September 2004 – April 2005

Project: Industry Canada’s employee newsletter was outdated, infrequently read, and needed a redesign. Karen led the redesign team to create an international award-winning employee newsletter (This Week @ IC) that gained an increased and loyal readership throughout the department.

Role: Karen conducted studies, held consultations, oversaw all aspects of the redesign, and led an internal marketing campaign to launch the newsletter.

Industry Canada newsletter interview with Minister Emerson
January 2005

Project: Industry Canada needed an article about Minister David Emerson for its employee newsletter, Argus, to introduce him to employees and teach them about his vision for the department.

Role: Karen conducted the interview, researched and wrote the feature article, and edited the online layout.

Department of Justice Report on Plans and Priorities
2003 – 2004 (4 months)

Project: The Department of Justice needed help producing its annual Report on Plans and Priorities and making it easier for the general public to understand.

Role: Karen proofread several drafts of this important corporate publication using an “average Canadian lens,” rewrote several sections to make it easier to understand, and provided project management for translation, editing and design.

National Crime Prevention Strategy website redesign
2002 (2 months)

Project: The Department of Justice needed to redesign its National Crime Prevention Strategy website, including design, navigation, content and databases.

Role: Karen project managed the redesign, edited content to make it more user-friendly and conducted quality assurance.

Canada Student Loans website redesign
2001 – 2002 (6 weeks)

Project: Human Resources Development Canada needed to redesign the information architecture and navigation of its two student loans websites to make information easier to find and fill any gaps in content.

Role: Karen managed project activities, facilitated meetings, wrote analytical reports, developed new site architecture and navigation, rewrote existing content in plain language and wrote new content to fill the gaps.

Enrichment Mini-Courses online registration system
2001 – 2002 (4 months)

Project: Carleton University, the University of Ottawa and la Cité collégiale needed to create an online registration system for the 2,500 students who register for their 120 courses each summer.

Role: Karen managed the project, facilitated meetings, wrote a requirements document, managed the prototype creation and presentation, conducted quality assurance, and ensured the committee’s satisfaction.

Ottawa Dragon Boat Race website redesign
2001 (2 months)

Project: The Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival needed to redesign its website, including design, navigation, content, and templates.

Role: Karen project managed the redesign, developed the new information architecture and navigation, edited all content to make it more user-friendly, wrote new content and conducted quality assurance.

First Nations and Inuit Community Nursing website
2001 (3 weeks)

Project: Health Canada wanted to create a new website for nurses in First Nations and Inuit communities. The site had to comply with Government Common Look and Feel standards, be accessible to remote communities and be written in plain language.

Role: Karen project managed the site creation in only three weeks, edited all content to make it more user-friendly and conducted quality assurance.