Thom Haller Email & Phone Number

Washington, Dc, Us

Weston, West Virginia, United States

Purchased historic (1895) Weston home to preserve structure and provide a community resource*Worked with initial contracting team to change locks and remove years worth of professional debris from attic and throughout building* Discussed buildling viability with community residents/contractors* Opened up former dentist's cubicle office to see possibilities in structure* Discovered fake walls and opened up original historic hallway* Determined functionality of former apartment as a space for visiting artists and special guests; engaged contractor in restoring water-damaged areas and upgrading living space*Developed plan for multi-stage improvement of the building* Developed framework and branding for Central West Virginia HEART❤️HOUSE, a community resource * Interviewed various city stakeholders and engaged in "Leadership Lewis" program to connect with community needs*Began plan to move forward on organizational structure and legal standing of building.focused on Health, Engagement, Arts, Recollect'n, and Training

Engaging in Multi-year project to improve a historic 1901 structure built by Washington DC architect Waddy Wood (Woodrow Wilson house, etc.)*Completed extensive improvement to building and winnowing of “hoarded” contents*Conducted a structural assessment. Selected contracting support and completed a thorough review of the townhouse's structural condition. Identified areas of concern, such as roof leaks, damaged gutters, cracks in plaster walls, faulty dryer exhaust venting, deteriorating front steps, leaks, and plumbing issues. *Identified and engaged reputable contractors who specialized in historic buildings while providing flexibility to address many issues. Assisted contractor in decisions related to repairing damage to plaster walls, selecting paint colors and responding to surprises along the way. *Addressed deterioration and damage to the front steps developing a strategy for repairing the steps, applying a protective sealer, and preserve the appearance of the townhouse. Worked on specific plumbing and electrical tasks to solve building problems. Completed repairs in a timely and cost-effective manner. *Winnowed contents throughout two-year period. Worked with furniture movers, document shredders, hauling companies, and local laborers to remove or retire 25 years of collectables. *Continue work on cataloging extensive art collection.*Continue to reshape space to include "Ivycliff Gallery of Contemporary & Curious Art"*Continue to provide DC lodging for family and friends,

Washington Dc

Completed (somewhat emotional) move of furniture and belongings within short timeframe*Responded to an emerging need to shift former studio (living and working space) into a home for family member transferring to DC for advanced schooling. Moved 35-years of home furniture and decor, office records collected ephemera and assorted memorabilia within 40 days. *Devoted extra hours to tasks of winnowing, sorting, and boxing contents from work studio *Negotiated and received support from 19 different people (friends and contractors) to box, haul, and store boxes of items, some requiring continued winnowing.*Assembled staged furnishings for new resident *Lined up support help to enable easier transfer of new resident belongings despite stairs built in 1890 providing entry to studio’s second floor walk-up

Met goal to move into furnished home within one year*Envisioned new layout: Planned new space to meet goal of highlighting art collection while maintaining light-filled space. Assessed the open floorplan —determined the best use of available space, measured areas, considered furniture dimensions, collaborated with visual specialists, and created a layout plan to optimize functionality, aesthetics, and re-use of furnishings. *Winnowed belongings: Made choices about which belongings should be incorporated into the new space based on their size, style, and usability. Developed priorities and set requirements based on importance, visual presentation, usefulness/usability in new space, and sentimental value of items. Refined choices throughout the year. *Made purchasing decisions: Selected furniture (comparing prices, quality, and use), moved useful furniture from other locations; selected complementary accessories and enhanced the visual appeal of the space. Made choices relating to color scheme, lighting, and rugs. Worked with consultants to identify and install blinds, assemble furniture, and create built-in closets. *Coordinated Logistics: Planned the delivery of new items and removal of unwanted belongings, Interacted with vendors, scheduled delivery times, and ensured smooth logistics. Worked with assorted vendors to meet due dates.

Weston, West Virginia, United States

Nearby HelperFollowing a December 2007 purchase of a bungalow in my home town, I began shifting my responsibilities to support my parents, as called upon. Editor of Father's World War II Rememberances*Working from hand written notes and short explanations (due to my Father's COPD challenges with gathering enough oxygen for prolonged speech) shaped narrative of my a young soldier's call to service at age 18, until honorary discharge from the Army following World War II.Manager of Transcription*Worked with a transcriber to reshape great grandmother's autobiography from cursive to online text available for historians and family. Manager of Support Help*Coordinator: Different caregivers and supporters were needed to provide my mother with the level of support she required, following her move to assisted living. I helped her team work through interpersonal challenges to provide the best help they could.Supervisor of Downsizing* Lined up buyers for legal office furnishings, coordinated removal of law office contents following my father's retirement* Managed the months-long removal of parents' 60-years of saved items from parents' home. Distributed content to family and others; arranged with contractors to remove lumber trim and other disposable items; supervised visual improvement of space (deep cleaning,painting, etc.); met with realtors prior to efficient sale of 1913 home. Caregiver & Helper*Provided additional (edible) food to support institutional cooking *Engaged with staff, residents, and families to ensure good experiences*Provided compaionship for ailing mother; watching Hallmark movies, assisting with meals*Reworked swampy area within view of mother's window into a cottage garden - filled with grasses, field flowers, flowering perennials, and asorted annuals. Doubled garden size during pandemic lockdown.*Worked with convalescent home staff and others to enable opportumities for engagement within pandemic restrictions and challenges.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Independent Consultant, Teacher, and AdvisorFollowing 25 years of teaching, I shifted to supporting family in different care-giving capacities while providing individual and small group coaching. Maintained a communication studio for individual coaching and strategic consulting (https://studioqdc.business.site/) Worked specifically on solving problems related to information structure (organization), visual arrangement, and human usability. SUPPORTED ENTREPRENEURS, by:* Listening* Identifying audiences and finding ways to develop content to meet their specific needs.* Addressing the "disease of familiarity" (attending to what we may know that readers may not know)*Developing communication strategies * Bartering time/services, when feasibleSUPPORTED WRITERS, by* Exploring what happens in human heads when they use information. * Identifying strategies for helping humans: improving graphic choices, and shaping information to help people act. * Improving clarity in structure; learning lifelong lessons in creating documents people can understand and use.SUPPORTED TEAMS AND ORGANIZATIONS, by* Chatting about strategic goals and how document(s) support these goals* Working through a process starting with a crap draft (if it's not crap you aren't doing your job)* Reshaping content and structure to better meet user needs.Responded to changes brought on to the pandemic by shifiting focus toward caregiving.

Weston Wv; Washington Dc

*Communicated information (using handwritten messages and other means) regarding my mother’s passing to different groups of people; *Organized, events and receptions for November, January, and March; Managed reservation details and contracts with local resort; *Coordinated reception details with various parties *Crafted language and liturgy for assorted services.*Developed and presented multi visual presentation for family and friends*Winnowed significant belongings, classified content into groupings, systematized process for sharing, archiving, or storing personal/ and family documents

See Following Content

Washington Dc

Faculty Award Winner; 25 years instruction to adult students. Develop curriculum and coach learning community through objective-based lessons.Classes included the following:* Information Architecture* Technical Writing* Creative Nonfiction* Storytelling Strategies for OrganizationsMore than a decade teaching strategies for crafting content so others can understand it, use it, and appreciate the experience. Frequently facilitate organization-wide teams, reshaping online content and structure.Students leave classes passionate and engaged. They consistently transfer lessons from training into practice. Thom's students have effectively applied a user-focused framework in their thoughts and actions and have transformed organizations as a result.

Write information architecture column for ASIS&T Bulletin.Samples:"Want to improve your coordination? Attend to patterns" http://bit.ly/tYSgS4"Is Information Architecture dead?" http://bit.ly/p43rxv"Good news for U.S. Citizens" http://bit.ly/tUZ47S "An information architecture story: reshaping plain language site" http://bit.ly/rNF3Om"What is Information Architecture? Practical Definitions and Useful Principles for our Second Decade of Study and Work" http://bit.ly/sniTw2

Supported PLAIN as a volunteer -- helped shape and launch 2006 architecture. Responded to 2011 need for a new architecture by assembling a volunteer content strategy working group, and enlisting support from IA/UX students. Story here: http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Aug-11/AugSep11_Haller.html

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Founded Info.Design in 1998 to help organizations and individuals structure information so others could understand and use it. As a teacher and consultant, I helped people learn the fundamentals of information structure and techniques for improving user experience. ConsultingSpecifically, Info.Design staff provided these consulting services:• Worked with executives, managers, and users in developing and testing communication products.• Provided contract support in structuring information to help facilitate learning, improve efficiency, and to enhance customer satisfaction.• Worked with clients to help them build electronic and print structures that would reduce training cost and enhance user performance.• Focused on capacity building for individuals and organizationsContracts included work with the following organizations: • AES Corporation• American Chemical Society• AARP State and Local Initiatives• U.S. Department of Education• CQ Press• Federal Aviation Administration• USDA Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center• AARP Web Services• CHADD. (Children & Adults with ADHD)• USDA Economic Research Service• World Bank Human Development Network• World Bank Institute• CFED. (Center for Enterprise Development)• Nat'l Association of REALTORS• HHS• National Association of Civil Engineers• National Education Association• Arthur Andersen Consulting• Annenberg/CPB• House of Representatives• Smithsonian Institution • Joint Fund Library (IMF/World Bank)Developer of Educational MaterialsAs a think tank, developed courses, presentations, and publications including the following:Writing for the Web: Workbook for Structuring Information with the User in Mind, (Info.Design, 2001) ISBN # 0-9709973-1-0Information Architecture for the Web: Workbook for Structuring Information with the User in Mind, (Info.Design, 2001) ISBN # 0-9709973-0-2 Information Design: Structuring Information for Print and Web (Info.Design, 2001) ISBN # 0-9709973-0-3)

Worked as an instructor with the University of Maryland Professional Writing Program for more than ten years. Developed and ran fast-paced instructional seminars so as not to lose the attention of college juniors. As a teacher, I helped students overcome the shock that the academic writing structure they embraced as a freshman, would not support them in presenting their ideas in the workplace. Collectively we identified strategies for developed documents that supported the needs of document users. To support the students, I incorporated a performance-focused pedagogy-- helping students develop learning goals, monitoring their success, and creating an atmosphere for accomplishment.

Served as Volunteer Director for the Center for Plain Language (http://www.centerforplainlanguage.com). During this time, Thom developed an organizational framework for plain language advocacy, education, research, and community. He represented the organization in speaking to colleagues united in a belief to make government and business content understandable and usable.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Significant experience writing for government officials, computer users, trade publication readers, and proposal reviewers. Varied experience developing text for computer based instruction, structuring and organizing electronic media, teaching principles and fundamentals of electronic publishing.• Developed performance-structured tool (print) enabling users to follow cumbersome award application process for the State of Maryland, Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity.(1997)• Evaluated, redesigned, and produced sales training magazines for Xerox Corporation (subcontracted via Windwalker Corp.). (1996-97)• Designed manual layout, provided guidance, improved accessibility to technical publication distributed to 500,000 users. (The Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Studies) (1996)• Coached corporate writers in the organization and layout of a manual designed to help users set-up and maintain network (BTI, Inc.) (1996)• Researched and wrote series of success stories for National Head Start Association Publication, Promising Partnerships (1996)• Redesigned activities manual using a task-oriented framework. Incorporated action-oriented headings and table of contents (National Head Start Association Publication, Public Relations Idea Book) (1995)• Developed technical briefings for the Federal Aviation Administration. (1995)

Instructor, Instructor: Professional Writing, User Experience

Ma/Abt, Communications, Rhetoric

Ba,  Political Science (Minors: Speech Communication/Business Administration)

Activities and Societies: Graduated Magna Cum Laude

Education record