Resume of Diane Blackman, Esq. Diane Blackman P.O. Box 20519 Castro Valley, California 94546 (650) 691-1200 x522 (work) (510) 534-4060 blackman@best.com Educational Background Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco 1986-1989 Class Rank - Top 11%; Dean's List 1987, 1988 Member Law Review, 1987-1988; AmJur in Evidence 1988 Juris Doctor, May 1989 Merritt College, Oakland 1978 Dean's List 3.88 G.P.A. , Winter 1978 Administration of Justice (16 units) California State University, Hayward 1973-1977 Bachelor of Arts, Special Major, Nature Interpretation Employment Background Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Research Attorney 1990-present Primarily responsible for researching rights and obligations relating to real property. Significant skills include reading maps of all kinds, using computer programs to plot metes and bounds descriptions and to approximate distance and monument descriptions as well as relationships between adjoining lands. Extensive experience in determining legality of parcels, history of ownership and significance of documents appearing in the chain of title, developed complex spreadsheet analysis for real property transactions. Basic knowledge of surveying principles related to property descriptions. Served as chair of the Employee Steering Committee for three years to facilitate communication between management and non-management employees. San Mateo County Superior Court, Legal Research Assistant 1989 (2 months) Researched legal issues raised for law and motion hearings. Prepared legal analysis and memoranda for the judge hearing the motions. Assisted research attorneys with computer aided research via Westlaw. Initially I started work as a volunteer. I was hired after two days work as a voulnteer. The job was part-time/temporary. I left for full time employment with my present employer. California Supreme Court, Legal Extern to Justice Eagleson 1989 (3 months) Responsible for researching and writing conference memos on petitions for review and writs of mandate. Analyzed the issues and relevant facts then recommended disposition of the case. Required ability to write clearly and concisely but accurately. This position was a volunteer position for academic credit for a single semester. Legislative Counsel Bureau, Sacramento, Graduate Student Assistant 1988 (summer) Drafted resolutions, amendments to bills, legislative digests and proposals for the Senior Legislature. Researched and wrote memoranda on effects of legislation. Required attention to detail, and ability to work under short deadlines. This was a temporary full-time position for law students. It terminated as planned when I returned to classes in the fall. Youth Science Institute, Saratoga Discovery Center Manager 1983-1986 Required ability to perform well without supervision. Responsible for managing environmental education center, supervising week-end prisoner program in public service work, writing grants, instructional guides and organizing fund-raising events such as the annual Fungus Fair. Special accomplishment: Instituted Insect Zoo and Invertebrate Education Program. Although fulfilling in many ways this position lacked intellectual stimulation. I left to enter law school on a full time basis. Office of Parks and Recreation, Oakland CA, Park Ranger 1977-1983 Responsible for self-initiated activity to prevent and deter crimes and other activity affecting the park user. Required thorough knowledge of State and Local laws and regulations, and ability to write detailed reports, make arrests and write citations. Special accomplishments: Graduated Oakland Police Academy, 92.04% overall rating. Wrote and presented legal update material to my own department and the Park Rangers Association of California (PRAC). President of PRAC one year, Vice President three years. I left this position in good standing to persue professional and personal growth and development opportunities. Skills, Interests and Influential Experiences Nature Interpretation Nature Interpretation is introducing people to nature and the natural sciences. I spent most of my childhood learning how to handle snakes, lizards, a variety of mammals, and more importantly how to present them to the general public to improve understanding and appreciation. When I entered college I was committed to trying to reach the public living in the core city. I designed my college major to enhance the skills and knowledge I already possessed. Although the title of my major does not make it obvious, the major focused on the natural sciences including much laboratory course work in biology, chemistry and geology. I added to that program courses that would enhance my abilities to teach the natural sciences, classes in recreation planning, photography, biological illustration, and teacher's education. I bring natural sciences education into every environment I inhabit. For example, when I was working with the California Supreme Court one case a co-worker was handling involved Mono Lake. The briefs discussed brine shrimp. So I brought a jar, some salt, and a little packet of what looked like bronze colored dust (brine shrimp eggs). I added water and introduced the office to brine shrimp. I love to help people think about how their decisions affect the environment we live in. Web Site Design I designed and maintain the Dog-Play web site http://www.dog-play.com. The site is designed for rapid loading targeted primarily for an audience interested in information on activities to do with their pet dog. It does not, at present, include cgi scripts, java scripts, animations, frames or audio clips although I am generally familiar with the principles involved for including them. Because the structure and formatting is simple I do most of my editing on line on a UNIX platform using PICO. The initial design for each page has been accomplished primarily off line either using a standard word processor or html editor and a variety of graphics programs. An important element in the web site design was maintaining accessibility to the widest variety of browsers with a uniform and attractive appearance in each. The service that I offer is one that is of value to a great variety of ages and income groups and thus there was much to be lost and little to be gained in creating a design that might exclude a portion of the web community. Dog-Play has been a very educational and successful endeavor. The site gets about 400 individual visitors a day, or about 3000 "hits". I have assisted several other web masters in adjusting their web sites to improve accessibility and presentation to a wider variety of browsers and users. I have also contributed significantly to the structure and design of the site of my current Employer Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, http://www.openspace.org. My computer training and experience has the natural variability of the interested self taught individual. I have had a basic introduction to computer programming through college level courses taken as an undergraduate. The basic skills acquired have served me well in dealing with a wide variety of situations with both hardware and software. I am an expert with WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS. I make extensive use of macros on a daily basis, and use a wide variety of advanced features. To assist secretarial support staff in efficient naming and filing of documents I created a complex interactive menuing system using the macro and keyboard remapping features. I am frequently called upon by co-workers to assist them in accomplishing various word processing and spreadsheet tasks for DOS and for Windows (3.1 and 95) in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Quattro Pro and Excel. I also frequently respond to calls for assistance involving lost or damaged files, corrupted systems and similar disasters. American Red Cross, Oakland, CA My experience with the American Red Cross has come, primarily, during times of crisis. In particular I acted as Office Manager for Disaster Health Services for the East Bay Chapter during the Loma Prieta Earthquake Disaster (1989), and the Oakland Hills Fire (1991). This position involved coordinating health care services staffing and supplies for the shelters. It was an unpaid, train-as-you-go, position. The position made good use of my ability to respond in a crisis, to be organized and skilled in the use of computers. I recruited, trained and supervised other volunteers necessary for the smooth operation of Disaster Health Services during the crisis period.