Kerry Surman, Coordinator and Professor

A 2003 graduate of the Technical Writer program, Kerry has worked in training, communications, and human resources in the high technology and resource sectors. Kerry is the co-author of the first Canadian edition of Technical Communication: A Reader-Centred Approach (2007). Prior to teaching full-time at Algonquin College, Kerry coordinated the MIR program and taught at Queen's University. She has an undergraduate degree in English (University of Waterloo), a master's degree in industrial relations (Queen's University), and doctoral coursework in information systems and human resources (Queen's University).

Kerry.Surman@algonquincollege.com

Jim Catton, Professor

Jim graduated from Carleton University in 1994 after completing his master’s degree in English literature. Shortly after completing his degree, he worked at Algonquin College as a part-time instructor teaching courses in applied communication to trades and technology students.  A year later he accepted a full-time job as a technical writer at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

While at the PMH, Jim worked closely with oncologists, nurses, and radiation technologists to write user guides, tutorials, patient care manuals, courseware for professional development, and journal articles in medical education. Two years later, Jim moved back to Ottawa to accept a position as a lead technical writer at Corel Corporation. At Corel, Jim developed training material, technical marketing documents, white papers, and user guides for all of Corel’s products. In 2001, Jim returned to Algonquin College to take a full-time position as the Coordinator of the Technical Writer program. He held this position until 2008. Jim continues to teach in the program, and enjoys helping new students with their career planning.

Jim.Catton@algonquincollege.com

Bruce Clark, Professor

Bruce Clark has twenty years of industry experience as a technician and as a technical writer in the telecommunications sector.  There he gained technical mastery of both voice and data networking products and created the customer documentation that accompanies the products.  Over many years of watching people use the products and the documentation to perform tasks, Bruce came to recognize what makes products, and their documents, easy to use.  With a master's degree in philosophy from Laval University and a telecommunications certificate from St. Lawrence College, Bruce enjoys helping students become highly effective technical writers.

Bruce.Clark@algonquincollege.com

Evelina Proeva

Evelina has extensive experience in training, translation, and publishing. She has also taught ESL for many years. After moving to Ottawa, Evelina worked as a documentation specialist at Corel Corporation, where she developed user guides and online tutorials for Corel's graphic applications. Evelina has instructed part-time in the Technical Writer program since 2004.

She has a master's degree in English language and literature with a specialization in comparative linguistics (Sofia University).

proevae@algonquincollege.com