Editor Highlights
David Binswanger
I took a circuitous path into editing. Originally, I chose the University of Michigan for its debate team, and because a cousin got a job at Microsoft after studying computer science there. Before I even tried out for the debate team, however, I realized it would consume all of my free time, and chose to pursue a social life instead. More distressingly, I quickly discovered that not only did I lack the aptitude for coding, I also didn’t have the passion for the subject to make up for it.
So I became an English major instead…but then I had no idea what to do after graduating. My family encouraged me to go to grad school, but I didn’t want to go to school simply to put off making adult decisions. I found myself facing a dilemma immortalized by the Broadway play Avenue Q: “What do you do with a B.A. in English?” Luckily, I stumbled across a weekend long workshop hosted by the University, where we learned about editing, marketing, and publishing, and I was hooked.
After graduating, I spent a month in Denver at the University of Denver Publishing Institute. There are many publishing institutes, but only DPI focuses on the publishing world outside of the New York City houses. DPI taught me about nontraditional publishing, which in turn brought me to Washington, D.C.
Editors are often known as jacks-of-all-trades because we read—and learn—about many different subjects over the course of our careers. I learned so much at my first job with the American Industrial Hygiene Association—I helped publish textbooks, ANSI standards, and white papers about ergonomics and worker health and safety. I was laid off at the end of 2008 amidst the economic recession, along with many other editors, so I joined Editorial Experts, Inc., a now defunct temp agency specializing in publishing. As a temporary employee, I worked directly or indirectly for every branch of the Federal Government, along with a number of private companies, and I learned even more about science, governance, and a wealth of other topics.
I joined PAI Consulting as an editor in 2010, and was promoted to Director of Editing and Production by the end of that year. I have grown a great deal both personally and professionally over the course of my 15 years at PAI—I have earned a master’s degree in library science, gotten married, and had a son. Additionally, I have worked on countless recommendations, safety studies, and regulations to improve aviation safety in the United States. I am truly proud of the work we have done here.
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