Technical Writer
Resume:
RUSSELL L. CAPLAN
**** ***** **** ******, ***** *03
Arlington, VA 22209
********@*******.***
WORK EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
PC Expertise: MS Word (19 years), WordPerfect (5 years), Excel (14 years),
MS Office (19 years)
Experience in: Chicago, GPO style guides (8 years), PowerPoint (9 years),
Visio (6 years),
MS Word templates (4 years), Adobe Acrobat (5 years), RoboHelp (1 year)
Technical writer with 19 years of broad experience in all types of
technical writing and editing, for commercial and government clients:
policies, procedures, and white papers for technical as well as non-
technical audiences. Extensive interface experience with engineering
and management personnel.
Clearance Status: Active DHS Public Trust
National Industries for the Blind
August 2012-July 2014
Senior Technical Writer
Wrote/edited policies, procedures, directives, and publications for
NIB/AbilityOne Commission related to internal software deployment and
internal departmental personnel procedures. Helped develop NIB style guide.
Interviewed subject-matter experts, researched and wrote policies and
procedures, circulated them for review by stakeholders, reconciled
reviewers' corrections, and resubmitted for final approval, to produce
clear, precise, and readable end product. Maintained, edited, and
distributed artifacts via SharePoint archive.
SiloSmashers
July 2009-January 2012
Senior Technical Writer
Wrote/edited policies and procedures: directives, SOPs, and white-paper
memoranda for DHS related to management of personnel and internal
departmental procedures, including security issues; worked with Federal
Protective Service (FPS) staff and DHS legal counsel; briefings and
administrative documentation for the State Department related to planning
and procedures for reconstruction of medical and legal institutions
(police, judiciary) in Afghanistan. Assisted in drafting the FPS Document
Development Guidelines; specifically, drafted section on proper legal
citation regarding federal statutes and regulations (CFR/FAR). Interviewed
subject-matter experts, researched and wrote agency policies and procedures
to include their statutory and regulatory bases (USC, CFR), circulated them
for review by stakeholders.
Lockheed Martin
April 2008-December 2008
Senior Technical Writer/Editor
Prepared and edited technical and non-technical documents, including
project documentation, user manuals, government regulations, and budget
reports for client FAA. Managed projects involving production and
publication of documents, including developing cost estimates, work
schedules, and project management plans.
Export-Import Bank of the United States
July-August 2008
Technical Writer/Policy Consultant (part-time)
Edited and reviewed ExIm Bank's Continuity of Operations Plan for style and
content, specifically legal and policy issues, relating to disaster
preparedness and federal/state security measures.
TeleworX
July 2004-January 2008
Technical Writer/Consultant
Analysis, writing, and editing of corporate internal documents for
telecommunications/IT firm; drafted lease contracts on client site,
formulated and coordinated legal and administrative policy relating to
lease negotiations for statewide cell-tower modifications.
For telecommunications software application:
. Collected and edited technical and business requirements
. Defined and tested use cases
. Prepared/edited release notes
. Prepared client proposal documentation.
Memoranda: in-house legal and policy recommendations.
Legal Review and Drafting: Master Service Agreements, Nondisclosure
Agreements, Licensing Agreements.
Proposal Writer/Editor (short-term assignments)
January 2003-May 2004
Wrote/edited/formatted responses to federal and state RFPs (agency IT
administration, technical staffing for federal health center, agency
contingency planning, agency certification and accreditation).
Collins Consulting Group/Maximus
December 2001-November 2002
Senior Security Analyst/Technical Writer
Brought in 4-FTE staff augmentation contract (Nebraska State Government),
valued at $520,000/year.
Legal and policy analysis of information security guidelines for federal
client agencies, pursuant to federal contract. Assisted in revision of
Department of Veterans Affairs Information Security Officer (ISO) Program,
as set forth in CFR and agency regulations:
. Reviewed VA ISO policy descriptions
. Compiled list of VA, OPM, and FDIC ISO position descriptions
. Created position descriptions for new VA ISO program
Analysis of Federal Guidelines Relating to Critical Infrastructure
Protection
Analysis of VA Security Configuration Management Policy
. Memo on Federal Guidance on Security Configuration Management Policy
. Edited VA Configuration Management Handbook
. Edited VA Security Configuration Management Program Directive
VA Risk Management Policy
. Analysis of Federal and Agency Guidance
. Drafted Governing Policy Document for VA's Risk Management Program
VA Security Training and Awareness Policy
. Analysis of Federal and Agency Guidance
. Drafted Governing Policy Document for VA's Security Training and
Awareness Program
Mapped VA Cyber Security Policy to Government Information Security Reform
Act.
Intech, Inc. March 2001-July
2001
Business Development Specialist/Technical Writer
Assembled technical information and translated that information into a
coherent format, according to predetermined guidelines. Worked closely with
the business development manager and the technical team to create proposals
for government and corporate contracts, specifying and documenting proposed
solutions. Attended pre-bid conferences as representative of company,
handled proposal process cradle to grave: from decision to bid, through
assembling technical information from developers, to writing/editing, to
ensuring delivery to prospective clients.
Projects/Clients:
. MCI/WorldCom
. State of North Carolina
. Virginia State Bar
Pragmatics, Inc. September 2000-February
2001
Business Development Specialist/Technical Writer
. Communicated with various departments to coordinate proposals; maintained
database, tracked status, and queried information on Government RFPs
. Wrote, coordinated, and formatted responses to RFPs (Web and database
development and information security); edited proposal material for
standardization, presentation, layout, and accuracy; selected and
imported graphics into RFP responses; documented proposed products
. Prepared and presented PowerPoint slide demonstrations to potential
agency clients; experience with SEI-CMM
. Researched Government business opportunities
. Prepared dossiers on potential competitor companies for Government
contracts; experience with CFR/FAR
Projects/Clients:
. Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems Agency (I-
ASSURE): Education, training; certification and accreditation (C&A);
IA support
. Department of Justice, Information Technology Support Services
(ITSS): Enhancing IT security of data residing in computer files and
during transmission; conduct of risk analyses and development of
recommendations and implementations; plans for new procedures and
changes to existing systems
. U.S. Army, Umbrella Information Technology Total Solutions (U-ITTS):
Security of information and computing resources at all
organizational levels; advice, studies, analysis, products, and
implementation resources
. IRS
. Customs
. FBI
. U.S. Navy
. Executive Office of the President/Office of Management and Budget
RS Information Systems Inc. March
1998-February 1999
Technical Writer/Analyst
Drafted style guide for Office of Naval Research (ONR); wrote and edited
training manuals for ONR database software, as well as definitions,
troubleshooting guides, release notes for online help system; revised and
updated entries as required, pursuant to SDLC. Worked with Chicago, GPO
style guides.
Awarded: Chief of Naval Research Award of Merit for Group Achievement.
EDS September 1995-March 1998
Technical Writer/Editor
Edited proposals and deliverables involving biometrics, hardware/software
components, and
information technology for EDS contract with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, pursuant to federal specifications and SDLC.
Verified facts, helped write, and performed final edits on proposal
responses. Experience with MS Word templates. Worked with Chicago, GPO
style guides.
EDUCATION
J.D., with Honors (International Law) Yale Law School, New Haven, CT
M.A., Honours, Fulbright Scholar (Classical Literature and Philosophy)
Oxford University
A.B., summa cum laude (Classical Literature) Dartmouth College, Hanover,
NH
PUBLICATIONS
Books
Constitutional Brinksmanship: Amending the Constitution by National
Convention
(Oxford University Press)
Articles
The New Republic, Georgetown Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Virginia Law
Review
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Drafted style guide for RS Information Systems Inc.; wrote and edited
training manuals as well as definitions and essays for online help system.
Awarded: Chief of Naval Research Award of Merit for Group Achievement.
Edited proposals and deliverables involving biometrics, hardware/software
components, and
information technology for EDS's contract with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. Verified facts, helped write, and performed final
edit on proposal responses ranging from 20 pages to over 1,000 pages, from
basic documents to highly complex responses with sophisticated technical
requirements. Result: Performance level of 34 pages edited per day, nearly
40% greater than the company standard of 25 pages edited per day, on
contracts representing over 20 million dollars.
Earned Honours degree in Humane Letters from Oxford University for essays
on Classical Literature and Philosophy. Researched, wrote, and defended a
two-year series of essays for University tutors. Result: In addition to the
degree, was awarded the MacGregor Travel Grant for Archaeology (the first
given to an American).
Produced Gershwin Performs Gershwin, a compact disc with original
recordings by the composer performing his own work. Initiated project;
coordinated legal ownership rights with the Gershwin family, NBC (where
Gershwin's shows originally aired), and the Library of Congress; negotiated
release with the MusicMasters label; designed the CD cover. Result:
MusicMasters released the CD, which became a bestseller, garnering
favorable reviews in the New York Times and elsewhere.
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