MELISSA A.W. ZABEL 9509 ABERDARE DR., INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46250 317-658-2171 MELISSAZABEL@HOTMAIL.COM WWW.THE-ZABELS.COM/MELISSA WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/MELISSAZABEL OBJECTIVE My goal as a marketing, usability, and technology professional is to identify clients' needs and develop a targeted marketing solution that will effectively deliver their message to their target audience. Whether the purpose of the piece is to train, sell, or inform--I work to ensure that the end-goal is achieved through intuitive functionality and successful messaging. This is accomplished through careful project scoping and analysis of requirements, clearly understanding the client and audience, detailed planning and requirements documentation, and iterative testing. SKILLS SUMMARY - Client and project management - Leadership and Team Management - Marketing, sales and creative strategy - Usability assessment and testing - Information architecture - Writing, editing, proofreading REPRESENTATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 6/2010–Present xiik (Indianapolis, IN) Account Management Team Lead - Manage multiple client accounts through ongoing communication and meetings, progress reports, training sessions, and needs analysis for future growth of the account with clients including National Renewables Cooperative Organization, National Panhellenic Conference, Pathfinders, eDentist.com, and others. - Oversee development teams including full-time, part-time and contracted developers, and outside vendors. - Assist VP of Operations with business development by meeting with potential new clients, writing proposals and RFPs, gathering time estimates from developers, and assembling project budgets. - Provide creative direction and marketing strategy for Web site and application development, e-mail campaigns, traditional print marketing, video production, and more. - Create information architecture, wireframes and requirements documentation to guide development. - Lead account management team by implementing standards for client relationship management, project management, and development team management. Provide ongoing training to improve the team through standardized documentation and best management/sales practices. - Provide usability expertise through usability assessments, usability testing, focus groups, and surveys. - Manage traffic control of development team assignments, project deadlines, and budgets. 2/2007–6/2010 Webize/Creative Street Media Group (Indianapolis, IN) Lead Project Manager (December 2009–June 2010) Project Manager, Usability & Information Designer (June 2008–December 2009) Writer, User Experience Designer (February 2007–June 2008) - Managed dozens of Web and multimedia development projects with clients including Eli Lilly, NCAA, Roche, and more from initial scoping through deployment phases. - Attended and led client meetings (sales, training, strategy, and executive review meetings), oversaw various development teams, set and managed deadlines and budgets, and created system architecture documentation to guide project approval and development teams through careful requirements analysis. - Co-managed operations of Webize including: acting as Lead Project Manager to distribute projects and assign development teams; assisting with the quoting/estimating process; assisting with staffing employees; and overseeing general operations and human resources needs. - Created and led usability task analysis tests on sites for Indianapolis Private Industry Council and NCAA. - Conducted usability assessments and comparative analyses on Web sites for Indianapolis International Airport, University of Indianapolis, Roche Diagnostics, Methodist Health Foundation, American Teleservices Association (ATA), and NCAA. - Implemented and led new services: usability assessments, usability testing, competitive analyses, surveys and focus groups. - Web writer for sites attracting thousands of visits each month, including: www.bioworksu.com, www.diicommunity.org, and several training courses on www.nfhslearn.com. 7/2006–8/2010 Freelance (Indianapolis, IN) Writer, Editor, Web Designer, and Graphic Designer - Writer and designer of 44-page catalog for Good Works Book Company. - Writer and designer of multiple print brochures for GW Micro. - Writer of multiple brochures and e-campaigns for JIST Publishing. - Author of Dream Within a Dream, prose published in MT CUP Revue Fall Journal. 11/2004–7/2006 JIST Publishing (Indianapolis, IN) Marketing & Communications Writer - Wrote, designed and executed dozens of e-campaigns using Exact Target software. - Conducted usability tests on the largest catalog, resulting in a redesign effort and more than $200K in sales. - Assisted Web redesign project through user interviews, usability testing, and project documentation. - Wrote 21 brochures, 6 letters, and 11 flyers, resulting in more than $150K in sales. - Writer of cover copy for more than 20 videos and books, press releases and articles (featured on CNN.com) 8/2001–8/2004 Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, IL) Director of Marketing & Communications for the Graduate College (October 2002-August 2004) Graduate Admissions Coordinator (August 2001-October 2002) - Webmaster, content developer, and designer of IIT Graduate College Web site (200+ pages). - Designer, writer, and editor of IIT's Inventing the Future Together, a research magazine distributed to funding agencies and universities throughout the United States. - Editor of 2004–2006 IIT Graduate Bulletin distributed to graduate students and IIT employees. - Created IIT's International Student Handbook, distributed annually to more than 1000 students. EDUCATION 5/2009–8/2009 IUPUI (Indianapolis, IN) Information Technology Coursework • GPA: 4.0 • Focus on principles and techniques used to develop Web-based business applications. 1/2002–5/2004 Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, IL) Master of Science in Technical Communication & Information Design • Cumulative GPA: 4.0, Dean’s High Academic Honors • Intensive study of information design through usability testing and effective design principles. 9/1998–5/2001 Ball State University (Muncie, IN) Bachelor of Science & Humanities, English Preprofessional Major, Professional Writing Option • Major GPA: 3.565, Dean’s List • Focus on grammatical rules, literature analysis, and various types of communication. PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS & VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES 2008–Present Usability Professionals' Association (National & Indiana Chapter) • Director of Outreach (2010) • World Usability Day Presenter (2009) • Active Member (2008-Present) 2008-Present United Way Readup Program (Indianapolis, IN) Reading Tutor 2009 Habitat for Humanity (Indianapolis, IN) Volunteer SOFTWARE & WEB DEVELOPMENT PROFICIENCY Various Project Management Programs; Visio; Pencil; Adobe Creative Suite; Microsoft Office Suite; Quark; HTML (intermediate), CSS (beginner), Flash (beginner). References, letters of recommendation, and portfolio samples are available online or upon request.