FEATURE: Life & Times of
Karen Mardahl, STC SIG Advocate

by Karen Mardahl, STC SIG Advocate

The role of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Special Interest Group (SIG) Advocate is a job that is invisible to most STC members. The job is what the name says—an advocate for the STC SIGs. This means:

• Helping new SIG managers with practical guidelines



• Liaising between the STC Office and SIG managers with general communication, planning, or specific questions



• Supporting the SIG managers when they need someone to listen to a concern or idea

Besides providing SIG managers with supper when needed, I also help coordinate the scheduling of SIG conference events or the collection of the SIG budgets, quarterly Community Status Report (CSR) reports, and other reporting obligations that are a part of the mechanics of a Society. Butler, secretary, partner, confidante, mother, and friend—all these words could describe an aspect of the job, too. So do evangelist and champion.

Why was the SIG Advocate role needed?

Historically, the STC Board of Directors created the SIG Advocate position because SIGs were not well supported by the Society and were struggling with communication and ordinary administration of SIG requirements (reimbursements, contact updates, and so on).

Dana Chisnell, STC Fellow, the first SIG Advocate, did much to garner recognition for SIG activities and the role of SIGs in STC. She succeeded in getting STC to listen to the needs of the SIGs and to realize the potential value of SIGs for the Society as a whole and for the individual members.

Judith Herr, STC Fellow, succeeded Dana. Judith continued nurturing the SIGs and streamlining the various processes necessary for managing SIGs for an association like STC. She created the SIG Advisory Council to assist her as a sounding board for issues that she felt required more than one mind to ponder.

During Judith's two years as SIG Advocate, the STC Office went through big changes. Susan Burton became STC’s executive director and began the huge task of what I would call modernizing STC by examining processes in every STC corner to clean up procedures or policies that had developed during the Society’s first 50 years. Susan quickly realized the need for someone to be responsible for the communities—SIGs and chapters alike. It wasn't until Diana Buttram arrived in April 2008 that the position of Chief Operating Officer and Director of Community Relations fell into place.

What type of support do you provide versus that of the STC Office?

Throughout the STC Office’s transition period, the SIG Advocate continued helping the SIGs develop and find an administrative forum. The SIG Advocate kept tabs on the contacts, activities, and deadlines.

One issue that became apparent during this time was the diversity of the SIGs for better or worse. The larger SIGs have many members who can contribute to the success of SIG activities and SIG leadership. Smaller SIGs were often driven by a special passion for their area of interest. What worked for one type of SIG did not always spell success for another SIG. SIG leaders began holding monthly conference calls to share experiences and ideas. From these meetings, a wiki was developed as a repository for documents and knowledge sharing. SIGs managed their own discussions and activities, of course, but behind the scenes, they could share practical tips about running the discussion list, hosting a webinar, and many other topics related to SIG operations.

As the SIG communities gained a greater understanding of what was expected of them by their members and STC, the SIG leaders and STC became aware of the need for new procedures. For example, a procedure for interim SIG management was developed; when a SIG manager had to withdraw from that position at short notice, the SIG manager could step in to help recruit new leadership for the SIG.

The SIG Advocate can also be a contact for members who have issues with a SIG or its management team. This aspect has not been very visible. Instead, members have complained to friends who happened to know the SIG Advocate, to the STC Office who refers them to the SIG Advocate, or on the STC Forum where the SIG Advocate picked up the news directly or indirectly.

What's the future for the SIG Advocate role?

Times are changing, and that is good. SIGs have reached a point where their importance and value to the Society as a whole is respected.

I predict changes to the SIG Advocate role. Diana Buttram now has an assistant, Omar Terrie, who will be helping with the day-to-day Community Relations matters. The STC Office is stabilizing after a period of turbulence with changing staff and major changes to its internal systems. With new systems in place and more to come, SIG managers will be able to better manage their data directly (and be responsible for it).

I strongly believe in each SIG’s uniqueness and diversity, yet in some matters, a more business-like approach is required for long-term survival of a SIG or any STC community. As such, the need for a volunteer position like the SIG Advocate may fade as the STC Office and its new internal systems begin handling more administrative duties.

As members learn more about SIGs and seek to join them, the SIGs must be more aware of how they market themselves to the general membership. With more autonomy comes more responsibility and accountability! SIG leaders have grown into a community of their own. Perhaps the STC Office can handle all administrative tasks so the SIG Advocate can focus solely on nurture and support, a humble team leader, if you will.

Karen Mardahl works as a technical writer for Omada A/S in Denmark. Besides serving as the STC SIG Advocate, she is also the co-manager of the AccessAbility SIG.