2008-09 Chapter Officers' Bios

Lori Buffum, MA
Membership Chair

Professional title & affiliation

Website Writer/Editor
Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital
Houston, TX

Professional background

Website work at Texas Heart Institute since April 2005. Corporate communications manager, marketing coordinator, and proposal coordinator (meaning I research it, write it, edit it, q/c it, illustrate it, copy it, bind it, deliver it, and present it) for 3 different engineering firms; instructor at 4 different colleges; public relations assistant for a community college; technical writer (both freelance and inhouse); sales associate at independent book store and at nature store; computer documentation specialist at a university.

Other professional affiliations/offices held

• AMWA member (2005-)
• Senior member, Society for Technical Communication (1970s-)

Education & certifications

• Certified Therapeutic Herbalist, Northern Prairie School, Sycamore, IL
• Able Toastmaster, Toastmasters International, San Antonio, TX
• MA, Written Communications/Interdisciplinary Studies, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX
• Teaching Credential, University of California, Berkeley, CA
• BA, English, University of California, Berkeley, CA

Other fun facts

• I’m a native Californian and naturalized Texan and in between have lived in Maryland, Colorado, and Illinois. My husband and I recently settled in Bellville, where we share our place with 2 cats. 
• Bird watching, reading, and keeping up with my herbal studies are favorite activities that I don’t have enough time for.
• Walking country roads is my preferred form of fitness.

Quote

“Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy; sunshine in my eyes can make me cry; sunshine on the water looks so lovely; sunshine almost always makes me high.” 
John Denver