Instructional Design Manager. Production Editor. Ebook Developer. Adjunct Professor. Managing Director.
“I’ve had a few different titles in my career. But I tackle every project with the same innovative, deadline-focused, human-centered approach.”
Melissa deJesus is a production editor and people and project manager
Whether leading a team to produce educational materials for global schools, or editing and coding ebooks for adult trade fiction and non-fiction; from teaching a room full of undergraduates at 8 AM, to managing directors and designers for a small live theater company; in everything I do, I demonstrate my mastery of and passion for editing, project management, and people management.
I am always looking forward to the next endeavor that requires my skills!
Work Experience
Instructional Design Manager at NewGlobe Education
(2020 – present)
Managing a team of seven to write and produce lessons, textbooks, exams, and materials for a globally distributed portfolio of low infrastructure schools.
Produced three educational programs aired live each weekday on Nigerian radio stations for 10 weeks during COVID-19 school closures. Coordinated all aspects of project design and implementation, including script writing, hiring and coaching of voice actors, post-production, audio engineer management, and file delivery. Produced 450 more episodes provided on MP3 players to 500K Nigerian public school pupils.
Production Editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(2014 – 2020)
Ebook developer overseeing General Interest Trade titles from manuscript to publication in reflowable epub and fixed layout formats.
Released ~100 front list and > 1,000 back list ebooks annually. Created and delivered to schedules; oversaw QA to evolving technical standards using XML, InDesign, and PDF inputs to create epub and mobi files using XHTML, HTML, CSS, and command line scripts.
Designed, tested, and implemented social media interactions adopted as standard in in all HMH ebooks.
Affiliated Faculty at Emerson College
(2019 – 2020)
Taught a required course for the undergraduate publishing concentration in the Writing, Literature and Publishing department. Used lab work, hands-on HTML and CSS projects, and lectures to explore digital publishing topics including web design, ebooks, audio and video publishing, as well as relevant workflows and concepts, like accessibility and agile practices.
Managing Director and Administrative Board Chair at the Independent Drama Society
(2007 – 2011)
Founder, Producer, and Managing Director of performing arts organization reaching 500+ audience members annually. Managed, coordinated, and staffed 60 total events including full productions, readings, and fundraisers. Designed and implemented administrative functions including policy development and enforcement, proposal and staff management, season planning, state and federal filings, membership and subscriber listings and benefits.
Skills
Proofreading, copyediting, digital typesetting
Adobe Suite (InDesign, Acrobat, Photoshop)
Experience with XHTML, HTML, CSS, Github, and command line scripts
Leadership
Led a 16-week course in Direct Instruction lesson design
Led a workshop session at Booknet Canada’s 2019 Ebookcraft conference
Served as a judge for the 2020 Boston Bookbuilder’s New England Book Show
Co-chaired the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade Division Diversity Council
Education
Master’s Degree in Publishing, Emerson College, 2015
Bachelor’s Degree in English Language and Literature, Boston University, 2007
Melissa DeJesus 