User:Mensa1960

I am a writer and marketing consultant with interests in and extensive knowledge of English literature, medieval history, historical fiction, natural history, gems and gemology, jewelry design, alternative music, art history, digital marketing, communications theory, advertising copywriting, market research, social media and many other subjects.

Between 1990 and 1997, I was a writer, tournament director and judge for several high school quiz bowl competitions, including Academic Varsity Bowl, National Academic Competition and programs sponsored by Texaco in New York, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. During that time, I researched and wrote nearly 20,000 questions based on the high school curriculum, current events and popular culture. I was also married to Charles Beall, who founded Questions Unlimited and NAC.

Because of this previous affiliation, I have been accused of WP:COI when editing pages related to academic competition and quiz bowl. For the record, my association with NAC and QU ended in 2000. I have no ownership interest in QU or NAC and no current ties to game shows or quiz bowl.

I retain an interest in academic competition because I believe that, at its best, it empowers students and shines a spotlight on academic excellence. And it can be a lot of fun.

Any contributions I make to Wikipedia are to expand its body of knowledge or to edit content that attempts to revise history, lacks neutral point of view or violates Wikipedia standards in some other way.