Every month we are profiling one of the Web Services Department’s team members. This month we hear about Charlotte Bradley. Charlotte is our Web Coordinator which means she helps out our clients with training and support so they can build websites using all the great features of our web templates.
How did you enter this career?
I was living in BC and when I moved back to Ottawa I couldn’t find full-time work in my (then current) field of teaching. I decided to take a multimedia program. I have gone through a few different career incarnations – they all had some techie or teaching aspect. My job at Carleton involves both so it works for me!
Where else have you worked?
I have worked in several photo labs (developing actual film!) I taught ESL in Ottawa and Victoria. During that time I also worked as a caregiver – for people with special needs and with Alzheimer’s patients. My first web-related job was at a training company. I did web and print design, some programming, and instructional design. I took several years off when my kids were little. I freelanced during that time and learned all about blogging and WordPress. That led me to Carleton and Web Services.
What are some of the technologies you have used along the way?
I have used a lot of different software applications such as, Photoshop, Premiere, QuarkXPress, Dreamweaver and Director. When I started in web design, it was straight html. Then we moved to ASP with FoxPro on the backend plus a dash of javascript on the client side. These days my job is far less about the technology and more about web content and training.
What are the best things about your job?
I work with wonderful people. This is what makes my job awesome. We have a great team in Web Services (just nutty enough …). I also get to work with all kinds of cool and interesting people around campus. I train them on all things cms and help them make great sites.
Do you have some exciting projects you are working on right now?
I am putting together training for our new web theme and look forward to sharing that with the community!
What music are you listening at the moment?
I am the worst at remembering the names of bands and singers. Luckily my teens love music and they put together awesome and eclectic playlists for me. They always include old faves (Prince), new-to-me music (Fall Out Boy), and mellow stuff they know I will love for yoga (Mazzy Star, ommmmm …)
What are you reading at the moment?
I have a couple of non-fiction books on the go – Yoga for Everyone and Grit. I also just downloaded The Gift to my Kindle. It’s a supernatural thriller that I am especially excited to read as it is written by a friend.
What do you do outside of school to amuse yourself?
I love hanging out with my twins who are now 20 … ah!! We like cooking together. Recent gourmet creations include, giant chocolate chip cookies, focaccia bread and cheesecake. Our lovely rescue dog, Evie keeps a close watch on it all. She basically runs the house. I am also obsessed with karate and yoga and do these as often as possible.
What exciting plans do you have coming up in the next year?
I hope to test for my black belt in karate!