Michael Major Email & Phone Number

Halls Head, Western Australia, Australia

Offering scientific writing, editing and photographic services to agricultural and environmental organisations worldwide.

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Bonn, Germany

Developed ideas, sourced information, wrote feature stories in support of the Crop Trust’s mission, in particular on the impact of the organisation’s projects; photographed projects in Lebanon, India, Kenya, Morocco, Belgium, United Kingdom and Peru; liaised on a regular basis with partners to identify communication opportunities; managed and updated websites as to content, design and user experience; wrote and assisted in production of various annual reports.

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Director and owner of a company offering print and electronic publishing and scientific editing services to more than 80 Australian companies, organisations and institutes. I created the company in 2004.DUTIES AND SKILLSBusiness management. As the owner and director of the company, I was responsible for marketing the business, preparing proposals for new jobs, ensuring a steady stream of contracts are incoming and conducting all business accounting tasks.Project and client… Show more Director and owner of a company offering print and electronic publishing and scientific editing services to more than 80 Australian companies, organisations and institutes. I created the company in 2004.DUTIES AND SKILLSBusiness management. As the owner and director of the company, I was responsible for marketing the business, preparing proposals for new jobs, ensuring a steady stream of contracts are incoming and conducting all business accounting tasks.Project and client management. Managed more than 80 clients, 120+ websites and several ongoing editorial jobs. Outsourced a team of designers and web developers. At any given time we had a dozen active jobs so my task involved coordinating our activities so we met the clients’ deadlines.Print publishing and editorial services. Editor of The Australian Wine Research Institute’s bi-monthly Technical Review since 2006. This contract involved editing papers written by Institute scientists, collating abstracts of current literature from scientific publications, and publishing it in both electronic and print form. Editor of The Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory from 1995 to 2016. Produced proceedings of scientific and technical conferences for a number of clients and developed CD-ROM versions of the Wine Industry Directory and the Proceedings of the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference.Website development services. Worked with clients to develop their online marketing plans and then oversaw the design, development and maintenance of their website. Provided ongoing advice to clients on strategies to maximise their online and social media presence. Show less

Adelaide, South Australia

Senior editor of a publishing house specialising in technical and scientific publications for the Australian and New Zealand wine industries and manager of website development division. At the time of my appointment I was the sole editor with the company. During the nine years of my tenure the company grew four fold and I gradually relinquished some of my editorial and production duties in order to focus more on managerial duties.DUTIESEditor of The Australian and New Zealand Wine… Show more Senior editor of a publishing house specialising in technical and scientific publications for the Australian and New Zealand wine industries and manager of website development division. At the time of my appointment I was the sole editor with the company. During the nine years of my tenure the company grew four fold and I gradually relinquished some of my editorial and production duties in order to focus more on managerial duties.DUTIESEditor of The Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal, a bimonthly trade journal for the wine industry, from 1995 to 2000. Duties included sourcing content for journal, writing feature and news stories, planning layout and design, placing advertisements, liaising with printer during production.Editor of The Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory. The Directory is a high profile publication, widely regarded as the ‘bible’ of the wine industry and renowned for its completeness and accuracy. Duties included assisting in the sales and marketing of the Directory, supervising maintenance of the databases, developing strategies to maintain viability of the publication, compiling statistics and writing introductory overview and analysis of the wine industry, directing the development of online updating tools, planning layout and placement of over 300 advertisements, negotiating printing contracts and liaising with printer during production.Manager of Winebiz, the website development division of Winetitles. Manage staff including designers, developer and project officer. Responsible for sales and marketing, customer relationship management, creating business models, developing online strategies, proposals and quotes for clients, ensuring jobs are completed within budget and on time and establishing work priorities. Special publications editor. Responsible for the production of annual reports, scientific proceedings, books and brochures. Show less

Cali, Colombia And Adelaide, Australia

Developed a publishing business offering a number of services including photography, digital imaging, editing and writing, desktop publishing and website development. While based in Cali, Colombia principal client was the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Duties performed for CIAT include editing technical and scientific documents, translating materials from Spanish to English, designing an image-based computerised photo library. Principal client while in Australia was Clark… Show more Developed a publishing business offering a number of services including photography, digital imaging, editing and writing, desktop publishing and website development. While based in Cali, Colombia principal client was the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Duties performed for CIAT include editing technical and scientific documents, translating materials from Spanish to English, designing an image-based computerised photo library. Principal client while in Australia was Clark Consulting International of Chicago, an agricultural public relations and marketing firm. Show less

Aleppo, Syria

Planned, wrote, edited, designed and published a variety of training and information publications (brochures, audiovisuals, skills manuals, lecture notes). Took photographs for audiovisuals and publications. Managed a three-person photo unit and four-person graphic arts unit. Assisted in developing medium-term training plans. Worked closely with scientists who provided content material. Member of computer advisory committee.Audiovisuals ProducedICARDA: Sustainable Agriculture in the… Show more Planned, wrote, edited, designed and published a variety of training and information publications (brochures, audiovisuals, skills manuals, lecture notes). Took photographs for audiovisuals and publications. Managed a three-person photo unit and four-person graphic arts unit. Assisted in developing medium-term training plans. Worked closely with scientists who provided content material. Member of computer advisory committee.Audiovisuals ProducedICARDA: Sustainable Agriculture in the Dry AreasHybridization Techniques in Faba BeanHybridization Techniques in Lentil Hybridization Techniques in ChickpeaHybridization Techniques in Barley Introduction to Biological Nitrogen Fixation Testing Seed for Fungal PathogensFor a photographic retrospective of my travels and experience in Syria, please see my public album on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/ZW49Gc. Show less

Madison, Wisconsin, Usa

Planned and produced 16 mm films and slide sets. Wrote scripts, took still photographs, recorded and edited soundtracks, designed and produced graphic slides, instructed a junior-level course on colour photography and audiovisual production, wrote and distributed promotional materials.Audiovisuals producedExperience: The Added Advantage (1988)CALS Centennial (1989)Main Street Wisconsin and the Third World (1989)Marketing Quality Lean Pork for Consumers (1989) (16 mm… Show more Planned and produced 16 mm films and slide sets. Wrote scripts, took still photographs, recorded and edited soundtracks, designed and produced graphic slides, instructed a junior-level course on colour photography and audiovisual production, wrote and distributed promotional materials.Audiovisuals producedExperience: The Added Advantage (1988)CALS Centennial (1989)Main Street Wisconsin and the Third World (1989)Marketing Quality Lean Pork for Consumers (1989) (16 mm film)Wisconsin Forests (1990) (16 mm film) Show less

Costa Rica

Created the concept for a travelling, university course on tropical ecology in Costa Rica. Developed program, contracted lecturers, planned budget and coordinated all logistics for an annual 23-day field course. Organised four courses over a five-year period. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point subsequently added the course to their curriculum and 32 years after the first course still continues to offer it on an annual basis.

Hojancha, Costa Rica

Funded by the Inter-American Foundation, Ibero-American Studies Program of the University of Wisconsin and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Centre (CATIE), Costa Rica. Planned and conducted a Master of Science research project entitled 'Participatory communication in development: integrating women into forestry projects in Costa Rica'. Hired agronomists to conduct surveys and organised all logistics to conduct a widespread study.PublicationMajor, M.A. (1987)… Show more Funded by the Inter-American Foundation, Ibero-American Studies Program of the University of Wisconsin and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Centre (CATIE), Costa Rica. Planned and conducted a Master of Science research project entitled 'Participatory communication in development: integrating women into forestry projects in Costa Rica'. Hired agronomists to conduct surveys and organised all logistics to conduct a widespread study.PublicationMajor, M.A. (1987) Participatory communication in development: integrating women into forestry projects in Costa Rica. Unpublished Master’s thesis. Department of Agricultural Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Show less

Madison, Wisconsin

Instructed university students in science writing and agricultural journalism and critiqued student stories.

Central America

Produced slide-tape shows, took photographs, translated documents from Spanish to English, wrote and edited brochures and trained and advised host country personnel in various aspects of communications. Clients were the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture, Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Centre, German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Costa Rican Tourism Board, Nicaraguan National Park Service, Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism and the Honduran Association of… Show more Produced slide-tape shows, took photographs, translated documents from Spanish to English, wrote and edited brochures and trained and advised host country personnel in various aspects of communications. Clients were the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture, Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Centre, German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Costa Rican Tourism Board, Nicaraguan National Park Service, Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism and the Honduran Association of Ecology.Audiovisuals Produced¡En Hojancha, Trabajamos Juntos! (1985)Agroforestry Cooperation in Central America: CATIE/GTZ (1985)El Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya (1986)Hacia un Desarrollo Sostenido en America Central (1987) Show less

Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica

Developed program and coordinated logistics for an international agroforestry short course sponsored by USAID. Evaluated course and wrote a manual for teaching agroforestry short courses.PublicationsMajor, M., Budowski, G. and Borel, R (1984) Teaching methods for intensive agroforestry short courses. Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Center (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica.

San José, Costa Rica

Created audiovisual department. In charge of slide-tape show production and photographic services. Tasks involved writing scripts in Spanish, taking photographs, producing soundtracks, elaborating and printing teacher’s guides, developing slide-filing system, translating documents and training counterparts. Worked closely with the newly created Costa Rican National Park Service to develop environmental education programs at a time when few Costa Ricans understood the benefits of protecting… Show more Created audiovisual department. In charge of slide-tape show production and photographic services. Tasks involved writing scripts in Spanish, taking photographs, producing soundtracks, elaborating and printing teacher’s guides, developing slide-filing system, translating documents and training counterparts. Worked closely with the newly created Costa Rican National Park Service to develop environmental education programs at a time when few Costa Ricans understood the benefits of protecting wildlands. Wrote a number of successful proposals to secure major international funding for environmental education programs.Audiovisuals ProducedLos Beneficios de las Áreas Silvestres (1981)El Destino de las Tortugas Marinas (1982)The Peace Corps in Costa Rica (1982)Gotas de Vida; Gotas de Muerte (1983)El Manejo de las Cuencas Hidrográficas (1984)El Parque Nacional Volcán Poás es mucho más que un Cráter (1982)Los Parques Nacionales de Costa Rica (1983)Proyecto Plan de Manejo de la Cuenca del Rio Parrita (1984)Photographic ExhibitionsThe National Parks of Costa Rica. 28 colour prints. National Theater, San José, Costa Rica. 15 December 1983 to 15 January 1984. Show less

Marblemount, Washington, Usa

Developed and conducted guided walks and illustrated talks to interpret the park’s natural history, policies and purpose. Received one-week training in law enforcement and acted as park ranger. Received wildfire training and participated in several campaigns to extinguish active fires in the park.

Master Of Science (Msc), Agricultural Journalism (Development Communication Emphasis), Grade Point Average = 4.0/4.0. Graduated With Highest Honours

Bachelor Of Science In Biology, Minor Degrees In Environmental Education, Writing And Museum Methodologies, Graduated With High Honours

Education record

Coursework in Southeast Asian history, eastern religions, feature writing and tropical botany