Executive Profiles

Evalyn Shea is the founder and president of Shea Writing and Training Solutions (SheaWS). She officially established the company in February 1997, but lightheartedly celebrates the company’s anniversary in April because that is when she was finally able to issue herself a paycheck.

One of her first projects was with Amoco Production Company (Amoco) writing procedures for a cryogenic gas plant (Hugoton) and now with more than 32 years serving the oil and gas industry, Evalyn has built SheaWS into the leading provider of technical writing support in Houston, Texas.

Overseeing the strategic direction of the company, which employs about 15 full-time writers, editors, project managers, and administrators, Evalyn might have started her company in the oil and gas industry, but has expand it into the food and beverage, software, manufacturing, chemical, renewable energy, agricultural, aerospace, education, construction, nuclear, government, and healthcare industries.

She has always been passionate about renewable energy and with her sights set on her grandchildren’s (Cullen, Riley, Rowen, and James) future environmental wellbeing, she has recently identified the company’s super niche to be in Offshore Wind Energy and the timing couldn’t be more perfect with the industry’s pivot toward renewables!

Evalyn holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of New Hampshire and has a sign in her office that reads, ‘Let peace begin with me’ that radiates through her life and, in turn, through her leadership, her company, her community, and her commitment to creating clarity out of chaos, one sentence at a time.

Certifications & Associations

Shea Writing and Training Solutions is a certified woman-owned business by the Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance (WBEA) and is one of the premier small businesses in the Houston area.

Her active participation and leadership roles across various boards and associations demonstrate her belief in community.

• Marine Technology Society (MTS) – Past Vice-Chairman and Chairman
• Society of Professional Women in Petroleum – Past President
• Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance (WBEA) – Committee work
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) – International Offshore Pipeline Forum Steering Committee
• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) – Past President
• Society for Technical Communication (STC) – Occasional panelist and speaker

Chief Financial Officer

Originally from West Yorkshire, England, Ian Robinson has more than 29 years of financial experience primarily in the banking industry, handling both corporate and commercial accounts in England, New Zealand, and Australia. Ian manages all contracts, finance, and accounting functions of the company. He served as the Vice President of Finance for 13 years before becoming the Chief Financial Officer of Shea Writing and Training Solutions in October of 2014.

Ian attended Bradford College in England and Auckland University in New Zealand, majoring in finance. He and his wife live in Houston, Texas, and he has four adult daughters who are raising families, starting businesses of their own, advocating for law reform, and over-all making him proud. His top three hobbies used to be golf, golf, and golf, but now are golf, fishing, and fishing.

Production Manager, Project Manager, & Senior Technical Writer

Leslie joined the Shea staff in January of 2006 as the Project Manager for Panhandle Energy, and although she continues to work with her original clients, she has since been named Production Manager of Shea Writing and Training Solutions. Leslie is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the company, helping project managers resolve issues, managing the work-flow of projects, and working with the staff to keep us on target and on time.

Leslie earned her BS in Geology from West Virginia University, and she began her professional career as a geologist, working in a lab and writing procedures and technical reports. She has also worked for an environmental company that put together reports for OSHA, and for seven years, she worked with the space program, writing procedures for experiments for NASA’s space shuttles and the space station.

A happily married mother of three adult children, Leslie’s finest accomplishment, in her eyes, is her family, and she especially treasures the years that she stayed home to raise her children.

Project Manager, Senior Technical Writer, & Editor

Jordan’s career in technical writing and editing spans more than 12 years, beginning with developing a regulatory manual for a mid-size oil and gas company in Houston, Texas and expanding to work with clients in numerous industries located all around the world.

She has been working remotely for the past 6 years, during which time she has frequently facilitated and attended virtual meetings. She has successfully completed multiple projects that required continual virtual interaction with all levels of personnel, from support staff members to company executives and leadership. Jordan works collaboratively with her clients to establish clear communication patterns based on best practices from her experience, extending to all client and peer communications.

Jordan earned her Bachelors in English from Harding University and her Masters in English and American Literature from the University of Houston.  Jordan loves to read and travel, and she has enjoyed travelling to several foreign countries. She also enjoys good food, especially if someone else does the dishes. Her family is her greatest joy, and her favorite projects involve documents that help keep people safe and improve productivity.

Project Lead & Senior Technical Writer

Growing up reading, Ryan was always keenly aware of how language can influence people’s imaginations, perceptions, and interactions with the world around them. The exchange between intangible ideas and concrete actions fascinated him, and launched an exploration of this principle that took him from his hometown outside Chicago, up to study writing at Marquette University, and down to Houston where he began his career at Shea Writing and Training Solutions.

After years of learning from Shea’s senior staff and Project Managers, Ryan had the opportunity to return to Chicago and live near family, where he continues serving as a remote Technical Writer and Project Lead. Along the way, Ryan has also had the honor to expand his work domain into part-time federal and local Emergency Services, which has afforded him a deeper understanding of the principles and people he writes for at Shea.