Victoria M. Steidel Email and Phone Number

I work in the Solutions team, reporting to the Chief Solutions Officer, to produce technical responses, whitepapers, and other material in support of Applied Insight's government business.

I worked in the capture, proposal, and technical writing team for Amazon Supply Chain (ASC). ASC was a newer line of business for Amazon that focused on supporting the public sector via Amazon’s supply chain innovation. I was the sole writer for the team, where I supported proposals, created and managed reusable collateral, and participated in business development.

I worked in the capture, proposal, and technical writing team of Amazon Web Services (AWS). I joined as one of two dedicated technical writers to build the AWS public sector business. I was promoted to senior in 2017. I started to manage and hire the other proposal writers on the team (up to 10 individuals) in 2018. I specialized in Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) operations, though I supported proposals and collateral across AWS’s global public sector. I created content for data calls, small proposals, and requests for information; large portions of multi-billion-dollar IC and DoD proposals; and internal documentation, protocols, and business documents. I served as a combined proposal manager and writer to support binding proposal responses as needed, and I always served as the project manager for non-binding whitepapers and unsolicited proposals.

I worked in the Proposal Development Group, with the primary task of generating accurate and compelling texts for proposals, marketing material, and other publications. I brought two major strengths to my group: 1) Creating compliant and persuasive proposal text for management, experience, past performance, and overview sections and 2) Critiquing, reworking, and refining text from other writers to ensure that final text had a single voice, incorporated win themes and discriminators, and could keep a reviewer’s attention.As the only dedicated proposal/technical writer for a mid-size corporate office, I assisted a wide variety of individuals and supported numerous projects. I created content for data calls, small commercial proposals, and RFIs; large portions of multi-million dollar Federal proposals; marketing collateral, business presentations, public-facing websites, and social media posts; and internal documentation and protocols. I coordinated with the copy editor to update and organize boilerplate documents and past performance resources for future use.My critical thinking and organizational skills gave me the ability to fit a variety of support roles. When the CEO wanted a more precise way to measure business development’s capture efforts, I created a customized system that calculated Percentage of Win (pWin) for different opportunities. When the company no longer had a dedicated marketing lead, I took the lead for press releases, internal newsletters, and graphics coordination. When HR wanted to update its onboarding procedures, I collaborated with the copy editor to revamp all of the associated documents with new formatting, graphics, and categories. I have also temporarily filled in for proposal managers and a project manager to ensure continuity and oversight in their absences.

I worked in the Proposal Development Group to copy edit and proof read proposal material, with the goal of ensuring the clarity, accuracy, and consistency of text and graphics. I assisted other departments and individuals as needed, especially on external materials (e.g., introductory emails, business collateral, presentations). I used my experience with fine arts to help fine-tune and improve the aesthetics of documents, presentations, and other visual material. I gradually became the go-to resources for troubleshooting issues in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. I maintained and updated the corporate style guide.On many occasions, I oversaw, organized, and wrote small commercial proposals and RFIs. My skill at creating new content, critically analyzing written and visual material, and synthesizing and simplifying information eventually led to my promotion to technical writer.

I reviewed, edited, and evaluated research papers submitted by graduate students from around the country. I served as the main source of incisive critique for the executive editor, helping him determine which papers would receive an award and be published on the university’s website.

I assisted various professors over the course of three individual semesters with class work, grading, and other assigned duties. I led weekly discussion groups, serving as the instructor and supervisor of 20-35 students at a time. Occasionally, I led lectures on classroom material in the professor’s absence. During my office hours, I assisted students with editing and revising of their academic papers before final submission. When necessary, I used document comparisons and research to uncover instances of plagiarism.

I quickly and accurately transcribed, interpreted, processed, and edited often difficult and badly recorded oral history interviews for the Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection (Finding Aid available at http://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/OralHistory/SdArchSNP.aspx). I used Audacity, Express Scribe, and Microsoft Word. I also created, updated, edited, and fact-checked Finding Aids relevant to the oral history collection using various online and offline sources, including personal interviews. In one instance, I used my knowledge of local history and research skills to correct a misinterpreted last name, which led to contacting the woman in question and gaining even more detail to add to the Finding Aid. I also edited and updated other Finding Aids throughout Special Collections as needed. I also performed small tasks throughout Special Collections. I organized, researched the content of, and cataloged a large collection of early twentieth century photographs. I cleaned, labeled, and organized miscellaneous materials from various collections, including delicate newspaper clippings. I conducted proactive research assignments to provide corroborating evidence and further information for collections and projects. I regularly assisted students, professors, and other researchers with collection holdings.

I edited 20 previously recorded student interviews on the topic of diversity to create audio clips for public access on the university’s website. I received general direction from the university professor in charge of the project. I used Word, Audacity, and iTunes to create the final files. Final clips are available at http://www.jmu.edu/cal/diversestudents.shtml.

I organized, labeled, and flat filed road and bridge petitions, deeds, and maps dating from 1880s to 1920s. I repaired torn and damaged documents using repair tape (Filmoplast) and a small tacking iron, restoring several severely damaged maps to fully readable condition. I used my history education and editing experience to interpret and transcribe handwritten information on the records.

I was part of the two-person Office of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness, the main record-keeping office for the entire college. I assisted the director in keeping records and documents organized, especially for scheduled audits. I regularly wrote correspondence and reports at direction of the director and also edited most of the director’s written material. I coordinated research projects to find more information on assigned topics. My largest project involved researching and creating a well-received Founders’ Day history exhibit that consisted of primary source research, collected memorabilia, and multimedia.

I opened, supervised, and closed the collection, overseeing irreplaceable art objects. I used my history and art history education to assist the curator in identifying and researching recently acquired objects, as well as assisting students with research and writing projects. I cataloged art objects and art journals, updated art object databases, and fielded calls from university patrons and outside agencies.