TOM INTERVAL 4724 32nd St., Apt. 1 San Diego, CA 92116 Home: 619-800-3780 Email: tom@tominterval.com Online Portfolio: www.tominterval.com ======================= WORK EXPERIENCE ======================= ANSOFT CORPORATION Pittsburgh, PA Senior Marketing Coordinator, Copywriter, Editor October 2001-March 2009 * Wrote and edited corporate and product press releases and media alerts * Distributed press releases to national wire service, editors and other contacts * Coordinated, researched and wrote case studies * Wrote and edited corporate and product brochures, backgrounders, reviews, promotional pieces, ads and online content for Ansoft's website and intranet * Wrote shareholder letters and other copy for annual reports and created promotional letters for Ansoft executives * Designed graphics and prepared PowerPoint slides for executive presentations and website * Created monthly email newsletters, manually formatted them in HTML and distributed them to customers and prospects * Wrote promotional emails, manually formatted them in HTML and distributed them to targeted lists * Called editors to coordinate print and online placement of product news * Edited trade articles, application notes, installation guides and opinion pieces * Worked closely with group leader, CTO, VP of marketing and product-marketing managers to verify targeted messages and technical accuracy of articles, product reviews, application notes and press releases * Conceptualized ideas for worldwide ad campaigns, direct-mail pieces, Ansoft's website, events, promotions and marketing-communications strategy for all product lines * Prepared and distributed marketing and press kits * Managed and updated trademark file FISHER SCIENTIFIC Pittsburgh, PA Communications Writer/Editor April 1998-September 2001 * Promoted to two levels within this position: Writer/Editor I and II * Extracted key product specifications from complex vendor brochures and catalogs and used them to write well-organized, concise product descriptions for print and online catalogs * Wrote half- and full-page vendor advertisements for Fisher direct-mail publications * Consulted with Marketing department to design and write product brochures and data sheets * Designed and coauthored the Fisher Scientific Style Manual * Wrote a cover story and sidebar for LabReporter, a Fisher direct-mail publication * Coauthored a 15-minute comedy video script for the Fisher Scientific National Sales Meeting under the intense scrutiny of editors, managers and executives * Trained new writers and proofreaders for various projects; answered stylistic, grammatical, technical and computer questions; prepared instruction sheets and writing guidelines for writing and editing staff * Presented innovative work-flow ideas to managers and regularly contributed to brainstorming sessions * Researched product specifications and catalog numbers and verified their accuracy before publication * Prepared rough and detailed layouts of catalog pages in QuarkXPress and in SmartSeries, an authoring database * Ordered and approved photographs for publication * Edited catalog and publication pages at every proof stage * Edited the Inside Scoop, a monthly, two- to eight-page, full-color, internal publication * Entered product descriptions and ordering tables into authoring database * Member of SmartSeries Software Users Group: Documented hundreds of software bugs, suggested enhancements and tested new builds Proofreader II April 1997-March 1998 * Proofread complex product descriptions for catalogs, direct-mail publications, brochures and advertisements at every proof stage, often using a two-person team approach * Edited the work of 17 staff and freelance writers to make their varying writing styles conform to Fisher style * Trained new employees on proofreading practices and Fisher style * Researched and verified the accuracy of vendor trademarks * Verified the accuracy of product specifications, catalog numbers and metric conversions * Suggested and implemented innovative ideas to streamline the proofreading process LA ROCHE COLLEGE Pittsburgh, PA Public Relations Assistant (Work-Study) August 1993-May 1995 * Wrote press releases * Pitched events to print and broadcast media * Edited copy for internal and external distribution * Interviewed faculty and staff for La Roche Magazine feature stories * Researched topics relevant to public relations * Staff Writer/Copy Editor for The La Roche Courier ======================= ADDITIONAL PROJECTS ======================= BAZUBA MAGAZINE Orlando, FL (Worked from Pittsburgh) Editor/Copywriter December 2003-June 2004 * Wrote feature articles and supporting content * Edited all copy for publication * Managed staff writers, interns and contributors * Conceived story ideas and brainstormed with colleagues * Coordinated projects between contributing writers * Created advertising and intern websites WEB DESIGN Conceived, wrote, designed and maintain the following websites: * My Online Portfolio: www.tominterval.com * Houdini in The New York Times: www.houdinimuseum.org * Interval Magic: www.intervalmagic.com * Jerry Interval: www.jerryinterval.com * NA Class of 1985: www.na85.org * Chosen Reality: www.intervalmagic.com/chosenreality WRITING * Writing a magic book for the general public * Occasionally write magic-related articles for national trade publications * Contribute freelance articles to local publications ENTERTAINMENT * Perform sleight-of-hand magic for corporate and private functions and act in independent films ======================= EDUCATION ======================= LA ROCHE COLLEGE Pittsburgh, PA BA in Professional Writing December 1996 Minor 1: Communications Minor 2: Administration and Management Honors * Dean's List, all semesters; GPA: 4.0; graduated summa cum laude * Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 1996, 1997 * All-American Collegiate Award (U.S. Achievement Academy), 1996 * Ranked fifth in the Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh's 1996 journalism writing contest ======================= COMPUTER SKILLS ======================= * Word, WordPerfect, Works * Excel * PowerPoint * Windows 2000, 98, 95, NT * FileMaker Pro * QuarkXPress * PageMaker * Photoshop * HTML/CSS * Flash * Internet/Social Networks * SmartSeries