Technical writing is a skill that develops over time and must be practiced. One primary consideration from the onset is the audience. Will the writing appear in a scholarly, discipline-specific journal? Are you crafting a compliance document or are you writing a project report for your funding agency? Understanding your audience focuses your writing in both style and content. The organization and written sections of your project will vary, based on the intended audience. This webinar addresses several types of professional writing, identifies important considerations, and offers writing tips to consider.
Dr. Kris Thoemke is marine biologist and a Certified Environmental Professional (CEP). He currently serves as the Chairman of Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals’ (ABCEP) Credentials Review Board and, as such, is responsible for the process that determines if applicants for the CEP credential are qualified to receive this prestigious designation. His 35 year working career has focused on the coastal ecosystems of Florida and the ecology of the Everglades. His current responsibilities at CEC include assessing, permitting, and monitoring of coastal projects including inlet management, beach nourishment and marina development. As a recognized expert in coastal processes and the ecology of the Everglades, he has been selected to participate on several Independent Peer Review Panels of large scale US Army Corps of Engineers projects in these areas.
Prior to pursuing a career in environmental consulting Dr. Thoemke was a full-time outdoor and environmental communicator. He is the author of over 500 articles on the outdoors, hosted several outdoor talk radio programs, and has film credits as the host and co-producer of the PBS series Exploring Florida, co-host (with actor Ed Begley Jr) of the Troubled Waters documentary on the Everglades on TBS and was the Survival Expert for Everglades episode of Man vs Wild hosted by Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel. He is an active member of the Outdoor Writers Association and has won numerous awards for his writing and broadcasting, including the Outdoor Communicator of the Year from the Florida Wildlife Federation. Kris is the author of Fishing Florida - the definitive guide to where to fish in the Sunshine State.
Dr. Thoemke has a BS degree in Zoology from the University of Maryland and received his Ph.D. from the University of South Florida.
Marie Campbell serves as the President for Sapphos Environmental Inc. She is also pleased to be returning for a second term as At-Large Board Member for the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP). She is an Environmental Compliance Specialist with 30 years of experience preparing environmental compliance documents pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act for complex capital improvement projects.
During her first three years serving on the NAEP Board she served as Chair of the Education Committee and worked with Executive Director, Tim Bower and Board Member, Ronald Lamb if the U.S. Marine Corps, in his capacity as Chair of Member Services to introduce a webinar series as a new member benefit. She is joined on the Education Committee by fellow Board members, Wendy Haydon of CH2M Hill, Erica Boulanger of TEC Cardno, Roger Turner California Association of Environmental Professional liaison, and Jim Yawn of The Walt Disney Company, and John Esson. She also represented the California Association of Environmental Professionals as Co-Chair for the 2013 Joint Annual NAEP/AEP Conference held April 1 through 4, 2013 in Los Angeles. She is currently working with the Education Committee to develop a NEPA Basics Training Course that can be made available to Chapters, members, and universities to advance the state of the practice.
Marie is a 30-year member of NAEP and California AEP. She received both her BA and MA from the University of California Los Angeles. She started her career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and spent five years with one of California’s largest environmental consulting firms before starting Sapphos Environmental, Inc. Marie is the mother of two wonderful daughters, Sarah Campbell and Katherine Campbell (NAEP Louisiana), and grandmother to 4 year old Kenneth Grant. Marie loves cooking, cycling, travelling, and gardening.
Dr. Kelly Chinners Reiss is a wetlands community ecologist with degrees in forest resources and conservation (B.S.) and environmental engineering sciences with a focus in systems ecology (M.S., Ph.D.).
Currently the Program Director for Environmental Science for the American Public University System, she has over 15 years of instructional experience in environmental science, soil science, wetlands ecology, natural resource management, environmental biology, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS), environmental ethics, restoration, and conservation. Dr. Reiss’s research has included projects on wetland biological assessment; primary succession of forested wetlands following phosphate mining; hydrology and nutrient concentrations in isolated wetlands; nutrient effects on springs; wetland mitigation; developing a training manual for the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; and developing bioindicators for forested strand and floodplain wetlands.
Dr. Reiss was a co-lead investigator on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) 2011 for Florida as a researcher affiliated with the HT Odum Center for Wetlands, University of Florida, and is gearing up for the 2016 effort. She has also been working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on monitoring coupled wetland and riverine systems. Dr. Reiss recently served as the Chair of the South Atlantic Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists and is a Lifetime member of the Ecological Society of America.
National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) and American Public University (APU) have shared efforts through an educational alliance with the goal to help prepare environmental professionals to advance in their field through career-relevant education. With this goal in mind, NAEP and American Public University leaders are collaborating on a fourth year of webcast series focused on career preparation and professional development for environmental professionals.
U.S. industry employs more than 1.6 million professionals in green careers today* which means professionals must stand out in order to compete for career advancement opportunities. It is critical for every environmental professional to stay abreast of best practices regarding career preparation and development of essential skills to help position you for advancement opportunities in the industry.
*EBI Report 2020B, The U.S. Environmental Industry Overview, An Executive Review, December 2010, Environmental Business International, Inc.