October 30, 2003

Staff profile: Brian Voelker

Title and length of service: Web editor, Kellogg School of Management, five years.

photo by Mary Hanlon

What do you do? I work in the marketing and communications department at Kellogg. I’m responsible for managing the content and design of the school’s Web site. I work with the rest of my department and the Kellogg information systems staff to keep our site fresh and functional. This job is a great blend of creativity and problem solving. I like to think of managing a Web site as putting together a big puzzle. There are so many things to consider when making decisions — appearance, navigation and all the many parts of the site that need to work together.

Is Web editing something you learned in school? No. I learned all my Web skills at Northwestern while working in the Kellogg career office. I joined the Web department three years ago and was the assistant Web editor before being promoted to Web editor. My college degree has nothing to do with computers. I received a bachelor of fine arts in playwriting from the Theatre School at DePaul University.

Working in the theater is your first love? I guess you could say that. I am the managing director of TimeLine Theatre Company in East Lakeview in Chicago. It’s my night gig. I wear many hats — everything from managing our budgets to greeting audience members. I help select the artists and shows we produce. I’ve even learned how to weld to help build our sets. Welding is one skill I’m particularly proud of, although I don’t use it much here at Kellogg.

Are you exhausted? A bit. However, my job at Kellogg and my work in theater really complement each other well. I’ve learned so many skills at Northwestern that enhance my work at TimeLine, and vice versa. Of course, I also manage the theater’s Web site at www.timelinetheatre.com

—Marilyn Idelman Soglin