Resumé

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Broad-based writing professional with 20 years of experience in publishing, university, and business settings. Recognized for diverse writing skills including: Grant writing, business-to-business writing, fiction, blogging, and poetry. Possess excellent interviewing, research, and teaching skills. A warm, enthusiastic worker who excels independently and as part of a larger team.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Authored William E. Dimorier: Servant Leader Biography of a poet and longtime educator.
• Authored hundreds of insightful articles on technology and business topics for print and Web.
• Experienced in interviewing a wide variety of personalities.
• Recognized for always meeting deadlines.
• Enriched from extensive domestic and international travel, including Asia.
• Received PennWell Publishing’s “Best Web-Site Administration” award for InfoStor.com.
• Wrote $2 million in successful grant proposals for Gannon University.
• Directed a successful online MBA program for Penn State University and grew its reputation.

EXPERIENCE

WRITER/BLOGGER/RESEARCHER/BIOGRAPHER 2008-Present

• Maintains a blog at www.annsilverthorn.com, covering a variety of topics, such as consumer issues, everyday life, history, pets, etc.
• Researched the life and times of William E. Dimorier (1871-1951), the poet educator whose handwritten journal she discovered at a printing-house auction.
• The Dimorier research led to a biography that covers his life, his writing, the people he influenced, and the times in which he lived. William E. Dimorier: Servant Leader is available at Amazon.com.
• Wrote a 400-page women’s history novel for her graduate thesis, for which she earned the graduate excellence award in English from Gannon University.

FREELANCE WRITER 1995-Present

• Interviews a wide range of people and write articles for print and electronic media.
• Writes and ghost writes a blogs, feature stories, advertising copy, business publications, case studies, white papers, fiction—travel, B2B, technology, and human interest topics.
• Always meet deadlines.
• Provides clean copy free from errors in fact, grammar, and spelling.
• Maintains a blog at www.annsilverthorn.com.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY PARK, PA
Director, iMBA Program June 2009 – September 2013

• Oversee the all aspects of the administration of Penn State’s online MBA program, one of the top five online MBA programs in the world—including admissions, marketing, B2B, strategic planning, and quantitative report generation and analysis.
• Oversee and execute a new CRM system through development, testing, and implementation.
• Evaluate legacy processes, investigate more-efficient workflow methods, and oversee the introduction and execution of new processes.
• Cultivate relationships with candidates for the program. Advise candidates throughout the admissions process. Participate in the selection of well-qualified students to populate two cohorts each year.
• Plan and execute four student-residency experiences per year, working with hotel, banquet, and conference coordinators for smooth execution of all details of the events.
• Manage iMBA staff and interface with other offices of the university.

PENNWELL PUBLISHING, NASHUA, NH 2005-2008
Web Editor-InfoStor Magazine, (telecommute)

• Responsible for the content and traffic of www.infostor.com.
• Wrote hundreds of articles for print and Web. Wrote articles for, compiled, and oversaw the distribution of the two e-newsletters.
• Interviewed executives, researched topics, and wrote articles about technology topics for Web and print editions of InfoStor magazine. Always met deadlines.
• Traveled to domestic and international conferences cultivating relationships with companies and collecting ideas for articles.

GANNON UNIVERSITY, ERIE, PA 1997-2006
Adjunct Professor, (2002-2006)

• Taught undergraduate courses in college composition research writing.
• Educated graduate-level students in the art of grant writing.

University Grant Writer, (2002-2005)

• Won $2 million in grant money for technology and aid for needy students.
• Wrote 100-page proposal, which won the $1.825 million Title III grant for technology in the classroom.
• Researched funding opportunities and cultivated relationships with foundations, corporations, and government agencies.
• Assisted faculty members in their proposal-writing efforts (including the National Science Foundation).

Graduate Teaching Assistant, (1997-1999)

• Taught two sections of freshman writing per semester with complete autonomy.
• Assumed full faculty responsibility for planning, teaching, and grading.
• Tutored students in the university’s writing center.

CORRY PUBLISHING, ERIE, PA 1999-2002
Staff Editor

• Wrote feature articles, case studies, opinion pieces, and marketing collateral for Business Solutions magazine (www.BusinessSolutionsMag.com).
• Acted as ambassador between the company and advertisers by visiting their headquarters (including Japan) and by attending domestic and international conferences.
• Contracted photographers and designed all assigned articles using Photoshop and QuarkXpress layout software.

OTHER EXPERIENCE: Writing for the residential market, auditing for banking, and clerking for retail.

EDUCATION

GANNON UNIVERSITY, ERIE, PA
Master of Arts in English, 1999

• Academic Excellence Award for Graduate English

Bachelor of Arts in English, Minor in Business Administration, 1996

• Honors Scholar, Magna cum Laude

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

• Executive Certificate in Leadership and Management – September 2013

SERVICE AND ASSOCIATIONS

• Erie Public Schools Athletic Facilities Commission (appointee) through April 14, 2025
• Daughters of the American Revolution, Presque Isle Chapter (vice regent)
• Phi Alpha Theta history honors society (member)
• Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honors society (member)
• Erie Ambassador Program, Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership (graduate)
• Erie County World War I Centennial Committee (member). Through this:
  • Answering the Call: Erie County Pennsylvania in World War One (writer/editor)
• Jefferson Educational Society (speaker – Aug. 2018, Feb. 2019, Apr. 2019)