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Doug Kim

Senior Content Manager, Microsoft


We're very excited to welcome Doug Kim back after enjoying his presentations at our Collaborate conference in 2017 and ITx in 2018. Doug spent his formative years in journalism, where he eventually became Arts and Entertainment editor of The Seattle Times. He’s been at Microsoft for eight years, where, amongst other things, he’s led efforts to revamp the voice and tone of content and UI text in the Microsoft Office suite and improve video and multimedia content.

More recently, he drove the content strategy for the Bing-based content form known as Instant Answers for Windows 10. While continuing to nurture Instant Answers, he leads a team focused on accessibility, Inclusive Design and Microsoft’s experimental new Virtual Support Agent.  So yes, he went from editing Britney Spears reviews and restaurant coverage to technical content, but in his mind it all makes sense.

Little known fact: Doug once got into a shouting match with Sean Connery. No winner was declared, but it makes for a good story.


Emily Cotlier

Consultant, Write Ltd, New Zealand


Emily Cotlier is a senior technical communicator dedicated to best practice for documentation, training, and online information. Born and educated in the U.S.A., she moved to New Zealand after earning her Master’s Degree in Scientific/Technical Communication at Drexel University.

As a technical writer, she has documented software, machines, and engineering processes. Her more memorable projects included editing content about meat-cutting robots, documenting moa bone curation, and judging the New Zealand Plain English Awards.

Emily is now a consultant at Write Limited in Wellington, focusing on technical communication and plain English. With Write, she travels around New Zealand, providing training and solving challenges for complex documentation projects.


Grant Mackenzie

Technical Communicator, RAMM Software Group, New Zealand


Things change. When Grant Mackenzie was a technical writer at Peace Software in 2001, he worked in a team of ten creating a single Help manual that no user ever read. He wrote his last user guide, Traffic Count Estimation in 2009.

Since then, his user assistance for all new RAMM Software applications has used videos. He’s been RAMM Software’s technical communicator since 2007. He has never met a client of RAMM Software who did not immediately recognise him by his voice alone.

A true believer in the benefits of both sound and light, Grant is TechCommNZ’s video evangelist. His conference presentations have used laughter, practical shortcuts, and real-world examples to encourage technical communicators to use videos. Grant has presented at Australian Society for Technical Communication conferences and has run video creation workshops both in NZ and in Australia.


Nat Janke-Gilman

Technical Writer, Meridian Energy, New Zealand


Nat Janke-Gilman is a technical writer for Meridian Energy’s Wind Engineering Team. He has created over 200 worksite safety plans and safety checklists, dozens of work instructions, and helped create a set of training courses. He aims to “create safety” by continuously improving documentation.

Nat began his career as a physicist (Canterbury University, then PhD in thin film magnetism at Penn State University), working at the Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik in Germany, the ‘BESSY’ synchrotron in Berlin, and at La Trobe University in Melbourne. Later, he returned to New Zealand to reinvent himself as an engineer and then as a technical writer (completing a Certificate in Technical Communication from Simon Fraser University).

In his spare time, Nat enjoys hiking and playing board games with his kids. He campaigns for disability rights and accessible public toilets, and he created the website ChangingPlaces.org.nz.

Nat occasionally blogs at DrNatJG.com.


Shelly Davies

Rockstar Trainer and Writer, Shelly Davies Training & Writing, New Zealand


Shelly Davies has been writing and teaching for 25 years now (gulp). She's known internationally for her high energy presentations and no-holds-barred approach to writing clearly, concisely, and with authenticity. She always asks for the graveyard shift at conferences (after lunch - no nana naps here!), and once she gets her plain language hooks into you, you'll never look back! Shelly delivers plain language trainings at Ministry for the Environment; WorkSafeNZ; and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. She’s recently been awarded a contract with the Australian Government.


Steve Moss

Education Content Creator, WorkflowMax, New Zealand



Steve worked as a self-employed technical communicator from 1988 to 2015. In early 2015, he took up a full-time position as Education Content Creator with WorkflowMax, a Xero-owned job management software company, based in Auckland.

Steve originally trained as a mechanical engineer in the UK and has extensive experience in the computer industry in software support, development, and training. In 2013, Steve completed an MA in technical communication at Sheffield Hallam University.

He is an Information Mapping certified instructor and is particularly interested in editing and developing online learning material. Steve is a senior member of STC and a full member of ISTC. He was vice president of TechCommNZ (TCANZ) from 2001 to 2011, and president from 2011 to 2014.

In 2018, Steve received the inaugural ITx award for excellence in technical communication.


Swapnil Ogale

Write The Docs Australia Initiator & MadCap Expert, Australia



Swapnil Ogale is a technical writer with over 13 years’ experience across a range of industries in Australia. He also freelances on remote writing projects (using MadCap Flare as his tool of choice) providing expertise on technical documentation for start-ups and niche companies.

He started an Australia-wide Flare User Group in 2014. He then initiated Write the Docs community meetups and conferences in Australia in 2016, which he still manages as time permits.

Swapnil loves travelling, reading, writing (yes, he writes outside his day job too), learning new technology and is a foodie. In his remaining time, he shares his technical writer experience at technical meetups and conferences.


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