Chari Smith, President
Chari has a business background and has worked as a freelance writer and editor for years. This included seven years instructing and writing curriculum for Wordsmith from 1999-2005. She left Wordsmith to become part of the management team at another Alberta-based business, Adaptive Engineering, where she was VP of Sales from 2005 until the sale of the company in 2007. Chari ran her own writing company, Ink, until returning to Wordsmith in 2009. She became the new president in March 2010.

Christine Mowat, Founder
Christine founded and was president of Wordsmith Associates for 30 years, from 1980 until she sold the company in 2010. She continues to be involved as an advisor and to work on high-level writing projects. Among many other publications, she has written A Plain Language Handbook for Legal Writers. Christine received a lifetime achievement award from the Plain Language Association INternational (PLAIN) at their 2009 conference in Australia.

David Lloyd, M.A. - Edmonton
David's Master of Arts degree in Comparative Literature helped him develop a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary awareness that greatly enhances his instructing (as does his sense of humour). He has published essays, stories, and poems; has lectured internationally; and has been writing a newspaper editorial column regularly since 1998.

Patti Hannigan, LL.B. - Edmonton
Patti Hannigan has worked with Wordsmith Associates over the past two years. She has instructed Wordsmith’s Written Communications and Improving Legal Writing workshops. In addition, she contributes to Wordsmith’s re-writing projects. Patti holds a law degree from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta.

Patti’s experience includes policy analysis and research for the Ontario government and investigations for the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Her education and experience make her invaluable in Wordsmith’s legal-context re-writing projects. Her knowledge of plain language and her friendly personality make her an excellent instructor.

Vicki Mowat, B.A. - Calgary
Starting out as a reporter/photographer in small-town Alberta, Vicki quickly rose to become an editor. Since then, she has accumulated eight years of experience as an editor, writer and designer at newspapers. Vicki has also edited academic works, and written numerous corporate and business materials in her career. She has worked on plain-language forms, Wordsmith materials and also enjoys creative writing.

Nadine Gammon, B.Ed. - Calgary
Nadine has five years of teaching experience, and five more years of freelance editing experience. She loves to read just about anything, from fiction and children’s books to cd liner notes and maps.

Kathryn MacDonell, B.Ed., M.A. - Calgary
Kathryn, a 20-year veteran of conducting Wordsmith’s Writing Workshops, is a perceptive and well-qualified instructor. Her commitment to the power of plain language is a driving force in her own writing work. She has published numerous human-interest articles and edited business reports, both in Canada and the U.S.  Since 2004 Kathryn has worked with non-profit organizations as a public relations specialist, advocating for inclusive communities.

Veronica Armstrong, LL.B. - Vancouver
Veronica Armstrong was Senior Legal Counsel, Policy Development, at egX Group Inc., a global securities marketplace. She helped develop policies for the securities marketplaces that egX is establishing internationally. She also spent eight years at the BC Securities Commission in the Capital Markets Regulation division.

Veronica has drafted plain-language documents for egX Group and for the then Peoples Bank, a division of Nedbank Limited, that provided banking services to illiterate and semi-literate clients.

She organizes motivational conferences under the banner “What’s Your Next Step?” and was a founding member of the Masifundeni Adult Literacy Association.

John Blois, LL.B. - Vancouver
John has a law degree from the University of Toronto and over 10 years experience writing for various private and public sector clients. He specializes in writing complex legal, financial, medical, and policy material in clear language. He also has experience in the securities industry, business immigration, and industrial relations. Since 2001, John and Christine have conducted Wordsmith legal writing seminars, demonstrating that plain language and humour can go hand-in-hand. When he’s not writing or instructing, John is working on the next great Canadian novel.

Robin Elliott, LL.B. - Vancouver
Robin works as a freelance legal writer and educator. Both his degree in European history and law degree are from the University of Western Ontario, and Robin has been called to the bars of Ontario, Alberta and the Northwest Territories. For eight years, Robin practiced as a litigator. He taught law and writing for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the Government of Canada. Robin shares Wordsmith's passion for plain-language education, particularly in the legal sphere.

Janet Pringle, B.A. (Hons.) - Moose Jaw
Janet Pringle, originally from Scotland but now settled in Canada, was trained as a nurse and more recently returned to university to study sociology. She has been involved in plain-language writing for 13 years in Victoria, Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and New York. Her focus has been mainly on low-literacy materials for marginalized people, believing strongly that everyone has the right to accessible information.

Main ►