Behind the Docs

The conversations keep rolling at LavaCon! In this episode, we’re talking to four guests who each bring a totally different perspective on content, tech, and the future of our field.Sandie Markle, founder of Blueberri, shares how she’s bringing content strategy to the food tech world — and why she believes structured content is the key to helping creators treat their work like a true business asset.Fabrice Lacroix, CEO of Fluid Topics, joins us to talk about what it really takes to unify enterprise content (and get execs to care). From “Undercover Docs” to agentic AI, this one dives deep into where content delivery and AI are headed next.Sarah Feldman, representing both the Consortium for Service Innovation and the new Kinetic Council, explains why our industry needs a new professional home—and how she’s working to build it. Plus, she shares her hill to die on: less “us vs. them” between content disciplines, and more collaboration.And finally, Tali Utz, a 23-year-old technical writer from Jack Henry & Associates, talks about what it’s like entering the profession in the age of AI—and why curiosity (and maybe a mid-college crisis) led him to this career.From structured content to content delivery to community and career evolution, this episode captures the heart of LavaCon: inspiration, innovation, and a lot of nerding out over content.

We took Behind the Docs on the road to LavaCon 2025 in Atlanta!Host Ren Taylor chats with some of the brightest minds in tech comm and content strategy — including Hannah Kirk, Noz Urbina, Kat Rierson, Manny Silva, and Sofiya Minnath — about how AI, metrics, and automation are reshaping the way we create, manage, and measure documentation.From docs-as-code to knowledge graphs to real-world help site transformations, this episode captures the conversations defining the next era of content operations.Buckle up for insights, laughs, and a front-row seat to the pulse of LavaCon.

In this episode of Behind the Docs, Ren reconnects with Randee Knapp, Tech Pubs Manager at ECHO Inc.—one of the very first people she met in the TechComm community.Randee shares her journey from an unexpected start in technical writing to leading a team through large-scale change, including ECHO’s transition to DITA. Along the way, she offers candid insights into:What it takes to guide a team through major process and tooling shiftsWhy tech writers need to balance accuracy, clarity, and empathyLessons learned from implementing structured content in a high-stakes industryThe role community and mentorship play in career growthBlending personal stories with practical advice, Randee shows how technical communication is as much about people as it is about tools and standards.

In this episode of Behind the Docs, Ren reconnects with Kimberly Voltaire, Technical Editor at Simpli.fi, after first meeting through a Help Site Assessment. Kimberly shares her journey from aspiring English professor to technical communications, how she built Simpli.fi’s first-ever style guide from the ground up, and why editing is far more than “just fixing words.”You’ll hear:✨ How Kimberly balances editing, UX, content strategy, and style guide ownership in her day-to-day✨ Why technical editors wear more hats than most people realize—and why that’s a good thing✨ The surprising challenges (and joys) of creating and maintaining a living style guide✨ Her take on cross-team collaboration, from business development to marketing, and why tech comm needs a stronger seat at the table✨ A candid discussion on AI—what it can (and can’t) do for technical communication teamsKimberly’s passion for clarity, collaboration, and user experience shines through in this conversation. If you’ve ever wondered how to advocate for the true value of technical editing—or what makes a great style guide stick—this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

Kat Reierson, Senior Technical Writer at DocuSign, joins Behind the Docs to share how a single Google search set her on a path to a fulfilling career in technical documentation. Kat opens up about:Her unconventional start in the field and how structured content gave her a major leg upLessons she learned on the job that no degree program could prepare her forWhy documentation deserves a seat at the table in product developmentThe future of AI in tech writing—and why writers should embrace agents, not fear themHer passion for building community, mentoring the next generation, and yes… even lobbing rubber ducks at conferencesThis is an honest, funny, and inspiring conversation about finding your place in technical writing, advocating for docs, and shaping the future of the industry.

In this episode, Ren Taylor sits down with Kaitlyn Snook, Technical Communicator at ACS Technologies, to talk about her journey into technical writing—from studying computer science to discovering her passion for communication and user experience.Kaitlyn shares what it’s like to spend 13+ years at the same company, growing from technical writer to UX content designer, and how her team transformed from unstructured wikis to a modern structured content environment. She opens up about the unique challenges of writing for church management software, the importance of empathy in documentation, and why content should never be used to cover up a broken UI.From creative ways to keep docs feeling fresh to the power of direct user feedback, Kaitlyn's story highlights how technical communication can make a real difference in people’s daily work.

In this episode of Behind the Docs, Patrick sits down with Matt Knight, Publishing Systems Manager at the Chartered Insurance Institute, to explore how more than three decades in publishing, typesetting, and learning materials production shaped his journey into structured content and content operations.Matt shares how his team transitioned from traditional print workflows to DITA and Heretto, balancing the needs of structured content with the demands of large-scale learning materials. From troubleshooting XML quirks to training external subject matter experts to work directly in the system, Matt highlights the wins, challenges, and lessons learned along the way.If you’re curious about what content operations looks like in a global learning organization—and how to make structured content stick in the real world—this conversation is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

Patrick Bosek, CEO of Heretto, chats with content leader Barbara Green of ACSTechnologies about her unconventional path into documentation, from programming a typewriter to shaping enterprise content strategy. She shares lessons on scaling content, proving ROI, and the surprising ways documentation transforms customer experience.