Who We Are

Gwaltney has worked for over 25 years in technical communication as writer, trainer, interface designer, manager, and consultant. She and her husband own Mountford Group Inc., a software development consulting company specializing in developing custom business applications and data warehouse applications. Gwaltney's experience covers a range of industries and technical communication projects, from end-user documentation to product development support to project management.

An STC Associate Fellow, she is active at all levels of the Society. She was chapter president, former manager of Touchstone and the Region 8 Conference, and served on the Society Nominating Committee. She is a frequent presenter at local chapters and at regional and international conferences.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Helen graduated from California State University, Hayward with a B.A. in Psychology. She fell into technical writing by accident. Before she became a Technical Writer, she was a Programmer Analyst for a few years. During her career as a Programmer Analyst, she found that she enjoyed writing more than working with data and code. She decided to take a leap into the technical communication profession and made a career change. She completed a Certificate in Technical Communication through U.C. Berkeley Extension. She joined STC in 2005 and immediately became active in the East Bay STC Chapter.

She is currently a Technical Writer/Senior Consultant for a global strategy and technology consulting firm. Her current client is the Department of Defense, specifically the Navy.

Richard's STC activities include chapter president and competition director. He is currently president of the Berkeley Chapter, treasurer of the Gordon Scholarship, and treasurer of the Management SIG. He serves on a society-level task force to determine the appropriate funding model for STC communities.

Alliene Turner has a BA degree in English and an MLIS in Library Science. She is a long-time resident of the East Bay, but until recently commuted to her job in Silicon Valley and participated in the Silicon Valley STC. She is a new member of the East Bay STC and is the Managing Editor of the Devil Mountain News.

After working as a technical writer for 28 years, mostly about data communications technologies, Alliene is currently semi-retired and enjoys giving back by volunteering as Managing Editor and writing grants for a local nonprofit.

She also runs an online bookstore, http://turnerbookstore.com.

Ann has been an active volunteer with the chapter from the first meeting she attended last June, where she volunteered to become Hospitality Manager.

Before coming to the Bay Area, Ann was active in the Los Angeles chapter, serving as Membership Manager. Ann plans to include more technical topics at our meetings, along with the tried-and-true soft skills and trends topics. The technical programs she attends in the Silicon Valley have given her fresh ideas for future programs for our chapter.

Ann is a Senior Technical Communication Specialist with Kyocera Technology Development in Concord. The group supplies software for Kyocera's global printer business. She is working on improving translation processes and implementing topic-based authoring within a content management system. Ann found her current position through a posting at the Career Center on stc.org. Her employer is very supportive of her STC activities and underwrites her annual dues.