DCWW has been a fantastic incubator!

I never dreamed I'd be president of DC Web Women, but given my volunteer work with the organization, on second look I'm not so surprised.

I joined DC Web Women in 1997 when we were still Webgrrls, and from the beginning our famous mailing list helped pave my way to a new career. I was bored after five years in editorial, and the list offered an opportunity for this free-fall Internet gizmo.

I lurked for ages, but I had a history of learning software and database systems, so when a web job opened up where I worked, I was ready to change. I moved from a publications job to the first Websites Manager for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

I made editorial the bridge to the web position. I was editorial assistant--a title that covers a multitude of sins--and I unilaterally decided that fixing the typos on the website fell under my purview. I also decided that making changes (revising content, adding clickable emails and jumplinks, and revising the structure) came under my umbrella. After six months, my boss asked if I really wanted the job.

The answer was yes.

The list really made it possible. I learned my new job with a lot of help from the supportive wrrls that make up DCWW.

In 2003, my felicitous combination of print and web experience landed me a fabulous job: Website Content Manager for Steptoe & Johnson, an international law firm of high repute. Here I act as Commander-in-Chief of the website, writing content, publishing a newsletter, and increasing internal communications.

I'm in Dupont Circle, home of a thousand restaurants, and many of my list friends are willing to meet me for lunch even though they know full well they'll only end up with a to-do list. (It's true! Ask anyone on the Steering Committee!)

So how'd I become president, anyway?

To give back to the group that's made my work life easier and given me such great friends, I joined the Program Committee, eventually becoming Program Committee Co-Chair from 2001-2002. We put on about 30 programs, averaging 3 a month, covering a variety of professional development and technical issues. At the same time, I was Content Editor for the DC Web Women website, www.dcwebwomen.org, working with our fabulous columnists to provide information beyond our mailing list: LegalEase, Hotshot OneShots, Jobseekers, etc.

I became President in 2002.

What I'm focusing on now is getting DC Web Women the credit it deserves in the DC metro media area, and cheering on our volunteers to do all the work for the group: programs, workshops, content, accounts, and everything else that the Steering Committee does, as well as reinvigorating certain programs that have fallen into hiatus: GROW (aka Take our Daughters to the Web) and the Outreach Ambassadors program.

• Steptoe & Johnson LLP
  http://www.steptoe.com
• International Association of Chiefs of Police
  http://www.theiacp.org
• Volunteers in Police Service
  http://www.policevolunteers.org
• Chiefs Challenge
  http://www.chiefschallenge.org
• My own (the one with the hats):
  http://www.katherinespivey.net