Recent Updates

20 May 2010 I now live in Bloomington, IN. Expect more updates in a couple of weeks as I settle in.
28 Mar 2010 I've accepted an offer from the PhD program in Gender Studies at the University of Indiana Bloomington. Yay!!
20 Dec 2009 Check it out, I have a CV now.
23 Nov 2009 Read my thoughts on my experience at Transcending Boundaries.

Upcoming Events

24 Jun 2010 I will be at Anthrocon, not presenting anything at all.
6 -- 15 Aug 2010 I will be in the Boston area.

Contact Information

E-Mail This is my preferred contact method.
AIM My AIM screenname is RaxVulpine, if that link doesn't work for you.
LiveJournal My social networking software of choice.
Twitter It's actually sort of neat, I have to admit.
Facebook I finally gave in. No promises I'm actually going to use it.
Analog Analog contact information.

Hi! I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dillon, and this is my personal website. Here you can find my contact information, links to the various places I do things online, conferences I'll be attending and presenting at, and the like. Here's a micro-resume:


Experience

MetaCarta Inc. Technical Lead
Cambridge, MA. February 2005 - present

Migrated all product documentation from a combination of MS Word, LyX, and FrameMaker to a custom-designed LaTeX template. Wrote documentation for both end-users and integrators of geographic text search product. Gained familiarity with SOAP, JSON, and MetaCarta's custom APIs. Streamlined electronic documentaton production process. Designed and presented training to field personnel. Brought on and trained a new hire in the Documentation department. Took over Customer Support department after personnel reduction and improved case triage and request handling procedures. Provided support to both customers and field personnel via phone and email. Currently managing transition of customer support activities after acquisition by Nokia.

MIT Instructor
Cambridge, MA. February 2009 - May 2009

Taught a literature seminar called "Passing: Flexibility in Race and Gender," using American literature as a lens through which to examine different passing tropes. Provided an introduction to queer, gender, and critical race theories to engineering students. Some lecture notes and other materials are available via MIT Open CourseWare.

More resume available, or get a printable copy in PDF format.


Education Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
Bachelor of Science in Writing and Humanistic Studies, June 2004

University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA.
Master of Arts in English, June 2010


You can also take a look at my curriculum vitae if you're more interested in my academic work than my tech industry work.

Alternately, here's a non-resume bio: I'm a forever-27 vegan biker dyke trying to thrive simultaneously in industry and academia while maintaining active creative and social lives. If that sounds busy, it's because it is. Here are the projects I'm working on at the moment: