Up Close and Personal With Amy Kennedy

1.  How long have you been working with TRM?

In September, it will be five years! 

2.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a nurse educator and a proud mother of 2 girls, Megan (23) and Sandy (18)

3.  What experience and expertise do you bring to the TRM team?

I bring 18 years of newborn, pediatric, and home health nursing experience to TRM. I also bring curriculum development and extensive knowledge regarding the NCLEX blueprint. 

4.  What are some of your most notable accomplishments?

Besides my lovely daughters, I am a co-author of a nursing research study published in 1999. I have also contributed to the development of numerous print textbooks and online digital materials in the field of nursing since 2009. 

5.  What is the best thing you like about working with TRM?

I love that TRM is an online family. Although I have never met Amy Bethea in person, I feel as if she is a kindred spirit! She is the heart and soul of TRM. 

6.  Talk about a funny moment you had working on a project for TRM.

Any K-Cow email that we got from Kushan! LOL

7.  Talk about a challenging moment you had working on a project for TRM.

When I was working on an allied health project with very tight deadlines and little guidance from the publisher – I faced many challenges. It was tough as I was the initially the project manager which required daily phone calls (mostly during my summer vacation) and hours and hours of work! We could not have finished that project without the concerted effort and cooperation of the entire team! 

8.  Talk about the most memorable moment that you had working with TRM.

I got sick with pneumonia and Amy B. and Myrna B. told me not to worry; as they would take care of finishing a deliverable due to the client. They both stepped in without hesitation! I will never forget that and I have been trying to pay it forward ever since. 

9.  Would you recommend working for TRM to your colleagues?  If so, why?

Yes - I have referred several of my colleagues to TRM. This company cares about you not only as a professional but as a person. It is the personal aspect that keeps me engaged with TRM. I am more than just a warm body - I am valued for my knowledge and expertise! 

10.  What are you looking forward to in future aspirations with TRM?

I am looking forward to continuing my role of clinical editor with current projects and being involved with Project Nightingale!!!

Up Close and Personal With Lisa King

1.  How long have you been working with TRM?

I have worked with TRM since 2011.

2.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am 47 years old. I have been married for 24 years. I have two magnificent children Lacy 24, and Jaden 13.  I received my teaching certificate in 1998 and taught in the public school system until 2009 when we relocated from Centerville, IA to Branson, MO.

3.  What experience and expertise do you bring to the TRM team?

I am very detailed oriented and I really take the time to listen to the client.  I strive to demonstrate keen insight into what each client wants which enables me to deliver high quality products that meet client satisfaction. In the educational market, my center of strength is developing educational materials for the K-6 student.

4.  What are some of your most notable accomplishments?

I graduated from Buena Vista University in the top 10% of my class with an ending GPA of 3.8.

5.  What is the best thing you like about working with TRM?

The individuals I work with are more like family than bosses and colleagues. Amy Bethea is a rare jewel who sees the potential in others and inspires and empowers her team members to succeed.

6.  Talk about a funny moment you had working on a project for TRM.

 Opening up an email from a writer asking a simple question that was five paragraphs long!  LOL.  As well as working with writers who think themselves into a tizzy by taking simple tasks and somehow making them impossible to execute. However, every day there is joy and humor in our work environment. Laughing and joking with one another relieves the tension during a stressful project.

7.  Talk about a challenging moment you had working on a project for TRM.

The majority of challenging moments with TRM is meeting strict deadlines imposed by some clients. For example, when working with one client in particular, I remember that we received a very tight deadline, conflicting and confusing instructions and very little answers to our questions.  Shortly thereafter we were told that we did not follow directions. During a call, I gently reminded them of previous directions given to our group, and the lack thereof. To make a long story short, we finished the project with flying colors. Our group produced hundreds of pages with the least rounds of revision!

8.  Talk about the most memorable moment that you had working with TRM.

The most memorable moment was meeting and interacting with Amy and my coworkers for the very first time in North Carolina.

9.  How has working with TRM benefitted you personally?

Working for TRM enables me to make a decent living while allowing me to stay at home and care for my special needs son.

10.  What are you looking forward to in future aspirations with TRM?

I’m looking forward to many more wonderful years with TRM where myself and other team members can work together to educate and empower others, and most importantly, to make the world a better place!

Up Close and Personal With Athena Lakri

1.  How long have you been working with TRM?

I have been working with The Research Master since March 2015.

2.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I studied publishing at Emerson College and gained most of my publishing experience while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts and raising my two daughters, who are now in high school and college. I grew up in central Maine and still have a cabin there—it is where I escape to when I need to reduce distractions and get an intense amount of work done.

3.  What experience and expertise do you bring to the TRM team?

I have over 11 years of print and digital publishing experience. Publishing was not my first career, but now it is by far my strongest skill set. I spent six years in a small publishing house where I was able to wear many hats and take on a third of the responsibility of the whole operation—my team brought the success level to new heights. I have also worked in various capacities on Elementary and Secondary programs for The Research Masters and other publishers. I bring to the table project management (including scheduling, budgeting, and team management), product development, production (design, typesetting, writing, copyediting, proofreading, image editing), operation, and other expertise.

4.  What are some of your most notable accomplishments?

Every publishing project that I have completed, page-by-page, with numerous run-throughs, feels like a notable accomplishment upon completion, but those number in the hundreds. Beyond the individual projects, I have a solid overall record of producing high quality products on schedule and within budget; as a project manager, I consider this record as my most notable accomplishment. On the higher level of notable initiatives, at Appalachian Mountain Club, I developed a digital and print publishing process that led to years of smooth operation and increased production and revenue. I brought the process fully into the digital age and even developed and managed all aspects of a new ebook program and the development of a few app concepts and proposals. I have also owned two independent contractor businesses, goldsmithing and publishing, both built on my personal mastery of technical skills.

5.  What is the best thing you like about working with TRM?

Amy is amazing and inspirational as a boss and, most uniquely valuable to us all, as a front person. She has superb soft skills and business sensibilities. She clearly aims to utilize each team member’s strongest assets and has assembled a powerhouse of a team that she brings to new heights. We all seem to agree that she is always a pleasure to work with, and therefore we can wholeheartedly stand behind her.

6.  Talk about a funny moment you had working on a project for TRM.

One of our assets is team members with experience and expertise with children with special needs. A couple members of the team have children with special needs. When you work with them, it can be rather noisy in the background and sometimes the kids just make you laugh with their delightful silliness. These parents as team members seem especially focused and determined, and they have a great sense of humor.

7.  Talk about a challenging moment you had working on a project for TRM.

My top priority is to make the client happy, but the deadlines clients give us are sometimes unrealistic. I survived two weeks on end with four hours of sleep per night. We often have numerous people working on a single book in order to meet the deadlines, and yet this still happens. I take deadlines seriously even when they are unrealistic, but I also take quality and craftsmanship seriously. The end users for TRM products are always students, and I believe that no matter what, their learning experience should not be compromised. They are what keeps me going when we are up against this kind of challenge.

8.  Talk about the most memorable moment that you had working with TRM.

We are all freelancers, so Amy invited us to get together in person to launch an exceptionally big project. We flew in from various states to North Carolina, and it was really great to meet everyone. I’m sure it made us a more cohesive group and that those unforgettable interactions will help us work together even better.

9.  Would you recommend working for TRM to your colleagues?

Yes, definitely. In fact, I have!

10.  What are you looking forward to in future aspirations with TRM?

TRM has some really nice long-term relationships with large publishers—this is our bread-and-butter. TRM also has a history of creating original products, and these are great opportunities to take on more responsibility and to apply higher- level skills. 

Up Close and Personal With Shante Tucker

1.  How long have you been working with TRM?

I’ve been working with TRM since July of 2015. It has been a great year and it has literally flown by!

2.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a very PROUD mother of three, a 13-year-old daughter, a 10-year-old and 10-month-old sons. I am currently in the role and title of Registered Nurse, though inches away from obtaining my Family Nurse Practitioner degree and license. I enjoy spending time with my family and make it a point that we leave our house and travel at least 4 times a year. I also write poems and play board games in my spare time.

3.  What experience and expertise do you bring to the TRM team?

As an RN I’ve had the opportunity to work in the field with many different people of all ages and backgrounds. My experience ranges from the 4-pound pound preemie receiving alternate feedings to a centenarian receiving an alternate feeding! I’ve been a staff nurse, a charge nurse, a building supervisor and a nurse educator. I love and enjoy every aspect of what I do every day, 100 percent of the time!

4.  What are some of your most notable accomplishments?

I believe that in every place I have ever worked (with the exception of my first occupation as an RN) I have either changed or enhanced a policy.

For example, I currently work in staffing resources at the RRMC trauma center, where I served on two committees, the "pathway to excellence" and  "nauti cauti". The first was an effort to gain national acknowledgement for reaching certain standards (somewhat similar to magnet) which required a ton of documentation and changes per unit. There were two representatives assigned to each unit. Upon our review, we qualified and our hospital received national recognition that we have maintained ever since.

As per Healthy People 2020, the “nauti cauti” committee instituted procedures for each nurse to follow involving foley catheters, to decrease the amount of catheter associated infections.  I was responsible for >15% improvement of orders missed due to the meticulous overnight chart check procedures that I instituted. I also created over 15 nursing care plans used upon admission in relation to common diagnosis. As an instructor, I develop schedules, itineraries, and curriculums.

5.  What is the best thing you like about working with TRM?

I absolutely love the teamwork I have experienced with TRM. The fact that I am able to be around my family and still earn an income is beyond awesome to me. I love that my direct supervisor and boss is so understanding and easy to talk to when "life happens". I could go on and on about the best things with TRM!

6.  Talk about a funny moment you had working on a project for TRM.

One funny moment was when I was on a conference call and I truly could not understand what someone was saying. I mentioned that I didn't understand once, but no one heard me. So I struggled to hear this very important phone call. Then, all of a sudden, two more people spoke up and stated they couldn’t hear either!  Finally, the problem was addressed! I just let out his huge sigh, because I would have missed the entire call!

7.  Talk about a challenging moment you had working on a project for TRM.

Communicating via email can be very challenging at times. Fortunately, everyone I work with is aware of this and that makes it a bit less challenging.

8.  Talk about the most memorable moment that you had working with TRM.

I think the most memorable moment was working the night I gave birth to my son.  I did not even tell anyone that I had my son until a couple of days after the fact. But I was feeling so good and I knew my work was due –so I connected to the hospital’s Wi-Fi with my newborn lying in my lap and began to research!

9.  Would you recommend working for TRM to your colleagues?  If so, why?

I would and I have already recommended TRM to my colleagues because it allows flexibility, fellowship and growth!

10.  What are you looking forward to in future aspirations with TRM?

 I am looking forward to a lifelong relationship with TRM, lifelong.media and any other opportunities that may present itself.

Up Close and Personal With Lucy Boyd

1.  How long have you been working with TRM?

I’ve been on board since 2011, as a writer, editor, and subject matter expert.

2.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’ve always been a bundle of contradictions. On my mother’s side, I am the first to go to college. On my father’s side, I am thus far the underachiever as my half-brother and cousins have doctorates. I love challenges; if life becomes stagnant, I’m sure to mix things up. I’ve moved two dozen times throughout the southeast, yet live right where I was born. Now in my 40s, I am proud to be the “dependable” one, the person called upon in a crisis. I’ve been a grandmother for more than a decade, yet have a loving grandmother myself. These are sacred times for me.    

3.  What experience and expertise do you bring to the TRM team?

True to my nature, I spent the first half of my nursing career in agency and private duty nursing. That landed me at hospitals and nursing homes that couldn’t seem to retain staff. Rather than let that scare me, I prioritized the needs of the patients and nursing assistants for stability and tried to provide that. I found myself in rural Appalachian communities one month and working in a major university hospital’s CCU the next. I’ve worked in drug treatment centers, as house supervisor at a children’s psychiatric hospital, as private duty nurse to ventilator patients, as a newborn and maternity nurse in rural hospitals, as coordinator of clinical trials for a large cardiology practice, and more additional titles than I can recall. Given a preference, I worked with heart patients the first half of my career, and psychiatric patients since then.

4.  What are some of your most notable accomplishments?

I graduated from a top-notch LPN school with the highest grade point average in the history of the school, and graduated summa cum laude with my BSN. The accomplishments that mean the most haven’t been loud, they’ve been the patients who pulled through their crises or the teen who recognized me in the grocery store years after I cared for him post-suicide attempt and told me how kind I’d been. Nursing is a fairly unique blend of knowledge and compassion and translating that to my work with TRM has been a pleasure.

5.  What is the best thing you like about working with TRM?

I like knowing that I’m helping the future of nursing. As a huge book nerd, it means a lot to me to be working with major clients like Pearson and Lippincott (yes, I still call them Lippincott). 

6.  Talk about a funny moment you had working on a project for TRM.

I’m scratching my head on this one. My moments have been more sentimental, exciting, challenging and humbling. I probably cause more humor than I experience with my literal interpretations of things.

7.  Talk about a challenging moment you had working on a project for TRM.

I’ve experienced a few of those. They usually involve a new project, in which the client isn’t entirely sure what they need yet. We may have a set of rules and follow them to the letter, only to hear, “No, no, no, do it the opposite way.”   

8.  Talk about the most memorable moment that you had working with TRM.

The most memorable moment had to be meeting Amy. I’ve long felt a kinship with her that defies common language. Finally meeting someone in person can feel awkward but this wasn’t at all, we just picked up like we had been hanging out together for decades. I credit her strong vision of Project Nightingale, which has transcended boundaries to become a living entity we are each moved to nurture.

9.  How has working with TRM benefitted you personally?

Ha! I will read that one literally, and discuss personal benefits rather than career ones, which have been bountiful. I’ve learned principles of teamwork, dedication and mutual respect. I’ve learned that even the toughest projects reach a conclusion and that easy ones can actually be fun. Watching Amy, I’ve learned how to build a stellar team of creative and diverse individuals. Of course, I’ve benefitted financially and been allowed to work remotely from my own office.   

10.  What are you looking forward to in future aspirations with TRM?

I’m looking forward to Project Nightingale! It makes so many things in life make sense, dating back decades. I’m honored to be the magazine editor as well as one of the content developers. Now I know why I studied magazines from age 13 on, analyzing their feature-article-to-recurring-department-ratios, comparing page counts among magazines, and “rating” each article for interesting content according to the demographic. My childhood obsession with magazines and my 25-30 ongoing subscriptions tell me, yes, I was born for this.       

Up Close and Personal With Kyra Sheahan

1.  How long have you been working with TRM?

I can’t recall exactly, but I want to say 4-5 years!

2.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am nearly an Arizona native! I’ve lived in Tucson for several years, where I currently reside with my fiancé and dogs. Although it’s hot most of the year, I love to busy myself with outdoor trail runs and yoga practices. When I’m not working, running, doing yoga, or playing with the dogs, you can find me in the kitchen, where I love to cook and bake. My dream is to one day have an outdoor garden, where I can go outside and pick my own produce. I believe that wellness starts with a healthy planet, and that nature provides us with the very things we need to nourish our bodies and minds.

3.  What experience and expertise do you bring to the TRM team?

I’ve worked in the academic and technical publishing field for the past 10+ years, writing, editing, and managing the development of educational products for a variety of audiences. I’ve participated in both in-house and contract work, focusing the majority of my projects on healthcare-related materials, government products, higher education, and K-12 core disciplines. With a domestic and international client base, I’ve seen and experienced a multitude of interactive teaching technologies, have successfully led teams through the product development cycle, and have had the pleasure of working with people of varying skills and backgrounds in a collaborative atmosphere to create innovate materials for learners of all ages.

4.  What are some of your most notable accomplishments?

Having the opportunity to develop content for amazing publishers like Wolters Kluwer, Pearson, and Jones and Bartlett is always a notable accomplishment in my book! Another notable accomplishment was my recent work with Discovery Education to develop a new product line of interactive teaching materials using the Discovery Channel media assets.

5.  What is the best thing you like about working with TRM?

The TRM culture and community is paramount and unlike anything I’ve ever found at other organizations. The people are what make TRM the incredible company it is today. Never have I had the pleasure of working with so many talented individuals who have positive attitudes, are willing to jump in and help out, and who genuinely care about each other and the quality of the product. From the notable teamwork on individual projects to the relationships and rapport that is developed with clients in the industry, people know they can count on having a pleasant and professional experience with they collaborate with TRM. 

6.  Talk about a funny moment you had working on a project for TRM.

There was one project in which the publisher was pretty clearly unsure of what they wanted for the final product, and we had to “fly the plane while building it.” It made for a lot of behind the scenes laughs when we were all scrambling to figure out the best way to design the materials, and also lent itself to a lot of creative freedom!

7.  Talk about a challenging moment you had working on a project for TRM.

One of the projects I was managing involved the transmission of hundreds of files to the publisher using their system server. One day, the server crashed and our files vanished! Luckily, I had backup copies of our files (Smartsheet to rescue!) and was able to help them recover the materials that went missing. 

8.  Talk about the most memorable moment that you had working with TRM.

The most memorable moment I have was a few years ago, when Amy and I were on the phone and it must have been past midnight where Amy lived, because it was pretty late where I am in Arizona. We were working on a social studies and ELA project, and trying to write an engaging passing about elephants and dolphins. I remember that moment because it so perfectly exemplified who Amy is. She is so passionate and committed to the projects, the publishers, and the people. I remember being inspired by her willingness to do whatever it takes to not only get the job done, but to get it done well.

9.  How has working with TRM benefitted you personally?

TRM has given me so many opportunities and experiences to grow and take on new and exciting projects and roles. It’s shaped my ability to communicate and lead teams of writers and editors, and has opened up the doors to new relationships with publishers and other freelancers.

10.  What are you looking forward to in future aspirations with TRM?

I look forward to continuing to grow with TRM. Growth and progress is so important in this industry, particularly in attempt to keep up with the modern demands of students and the innovative technologies that are at our fingertips. I believe TRM will pioneer the way to a more advanced academic system, and I can’t wait to be a part of that success.