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 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.