About us
The Company
Write It Well (formerly Advanced Communication Designs, Inc.) was founded in 1980 to help people in the workplace communicate clearly and work together effectively. We provide practical, relevant information, techniques, and strategies that people can use immediately to improve their business communication skills.
Our business writing books, facilitator kits, and computer-based training programs were developed to make the step-by-step techniques we teach in our on-site workshops available to a geographically dispersed audience.
Our blended learning solutions incorporate the best aspects of instructor-led training with the convenience and cost-effectiveness of computer-based learning.
Contact Information
Write It Well is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. To contact us via e-mail, please use this easy online form or call us at 510-655-6477.
Our Clients
Most of our clients are located in San Francisco, the East Bay, or Silicon Valley but we do travel outside California. Our clients and customers include IKEA, Hewlett Packard, the City of Palo Alto, Chevron Corporation, Hitachi Data Systems, Granite Construction, National Semiconductor, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Bank of the West, Lumetra Healthcare Consulting, FedEx Corporation, CheckPoint Financial Services, Equity Risk Partners, Huron Consulting Group, Farm Bureau Financial Services, the Port of Oakland, the University of California, and many other corporations, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions.
Read case studies about the blended learning programs that Write It Well has recently developed for Berkeley, CA-based Satellite Housing and a Fortune 15 computer manufacturer and distributor.
The People
Natasha Terk, President
Author of Professional Writing Skills: A Write It Well Guide, Writing Performance Reviews: A Write It Well Guide, co-author of The Due Diligence Tool, and contributing editor of E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide, Natasha Terk, president of Write It Well, leads the firm’s business operations and strategy.
Natasha served as program officer at the Packard Foundation, as a management consultant with La Piana Consulting, and taught Business Writing at the University of California at Berkeley. She leads on-site and online workshops for clients including Hitachi Data Systems, Hewlett Packard, Granite Construction, National Semiconductor, and the Port of Oakland. Her focus is on developing job-relevant, engaging training solutions that help people work more effectively and efficiently.
Natasha holds masters degrees from the University of San Francisco and the University of Manchester, UK. She serves on the board of the Ronald McDonald House of San Francisco.
Program Development and Delivery
Melanie Wise, Director of Services
Melanie Wise directs Write It Well’s training, writing & editing services, and academic book sales. In her role as lead instructional designer, she develops curricula for Write It Well’s texts, e-learning solutions, training and consulting programs.
Before joining Write It Well, Melanie worked for over a decade as a business writing coach, workshop leader, copywriter and editor for organizations including Hewlett-Packard, Equinix, LeapFrog, the Stewardship Council and Kirkland & Ellis, LLP.
Melanie draws on years of classroom experience when she designs learning programs and leads training sessions. She holds an MA in English with a Certificate for Teaching Composition from San Francisco State University. In addition to her consulting work, Melanie has been a senior lecturer and master teacher in the Department of English and College of Business at San Francisco State University since 1994.
Janis Fisher Chan, Instructional Designer, Trainer, and Author
Janis Fisher Chan has been developing training programs, writing training materials, and conducting classroom training in business writing and other subjects for more than 25 years. She wrote many of the books in the Write It Well series.
She is also the author of several books and self-study guides on business writing, technical writing, meeting planning, supervising and planning, interpersonal communication, and other topics.
Her American Management Association’s Self-Study Division titles include: Managing Your Priorities, Making Successful Presentations, Communication Skills for Managers, 5th ed., and Successful Delegating for Managers. For Jossey Bass-Pfeiffer, she wrote An Academic Manager’s Guide to Meetings, served as developmental editor for The Global Executive Leadership Inventory, and is currently a developmental editor for the highly acclaimed Leadership Challenge series and other publications.
