This month’s employee profile features Heather Skyler, director of communications with the Office of Instruction. Read about Heather’s background as a writer and what led her across the United States to the University of Georgia!
Q – Can you tell us about your current role and responsibilities as the Director of Communications for the Office of Instruction?
A – Hello! I’m so happy to be here at the Office of Instruction. Along with my general duties of writing and editing the faculty newsletter and news releases, preparing remarks for leadership, and overseeing all content and marketing materials created by the OVPI, I’m also working on a bigger-picture communications plan for the year to help promote the office’s key initiatives.
I’m really excited about the Comprehensive Learner Record that we’re rolling out fully in the spring of 2025. I think it’s going to be a very useful tool for students, and I’m looking forward to helping promote it!
Q – What has your career path been like, and what led you to UGA?
A – I’ve had a fairly winding career path, but I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and I’ve been lucky to do that in most of my positions. After earning my M.F.A. in fiction from the University of Washington, I started teaching business writing, speech writing and other classes at a technical college in Seattle. I later moved to Madison, Wisconsin with my husband and worked as the editor of the Beloit Fiction Journal at Beloit College, where I also taught journalism and novel writing. After some unfortunate budget cuts at the college, I became a staff writer and eventually editorial director for a local business magazine. My family and I later moved to the Los Angeles area (where I have several family members, including my mom!). During our eight years in California, I worked as a freelance writer, then at The Orange County Register newspaper as a columnist. I was also editorial director for the Register’s business and family magazines. As most everyone knows, the print industry isn’t the best place to be for job security, so we moved to Athens seven years ago for my now ex-husband’s job. I was lucky enough to get hired at UGA’s Division of Marketing and Communications in a newly created Managing Editor role.
Q – What are some stories you have written during your time at UGA that you would like to share?
A – During my time at Marcomm, I had the opportunity to write a lot of really fun student-focused stories, including one about last year’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors,” another about CAES’s wine internship program, and another about FACS fashion and merchandising Maymester in NYC. I plan to have the communications team here write more student-centered stories this year that highlight OVPI’s unique programs.
Q – What do you like to do outside of the office – are you involved in any organizations, or do you have any favorite hobbies?
A – I’m a novelist so I spend a lot of time on the weekend working on my latest novel in progress. I’ve had two published so far, and I’m trying to finish up a third one now, but it is hard to find the time. My first two both take place in Las Vegas, which is where I grew up!
I also like swimming in most any body of water, but particularly the ocean, hiking, playing pickleball and spending time with friends, my boyfriend and/or my kids, who are ages 23 (Malcolm) and 21 (Lux).
Q – What is a fun fact about you that your coworkers might not know?
A – Well, one thing that always surprises people is I grew up in Las Vegas. Even more unusual is that I’m a third-generation Las Vegan. My grandparents moved there in the early 1950s to start one of the city’s first Episcopal churches. Both of my parents were teachers – my mom taught third grade and my dad was a Russian history professor at UNLV – but in retrospect, it was a very strange place to grow up.