About

Jan Gerston has had a lifelong dedication to nonfiction, technical, and news writing. She has 40 years' experience as a technical writer and editor, half of which has been within academia. She has a B.S. in journalism with a minor in geology from Northern Arizona University, where she served as a reporter and editor on the college paper, The Lumberjack. While in school, she also worked briefly at the Scottsdale Progress and the Arizona Daily Star. After graduation and several stints of working in National Parks, Jan took a job as a newspaper reporter in southern Arizona. After a few years of newspaper work, Jan moved on to become a technical writer, researching and writing three Army field manuals (on field power sources, fiber optic system design, and telephone outside plant design and installation), as well as editing and producing software user manuals, systems documentation, and technical reports. She also served as a database application developer on a cost- and milestone-tracking system for a large contract.

After a short gap to bicycle solo across the United States, Jan relocated to Texas to become a science writer for Texas Water Resources Institute at Texas A&M University, where she wrote about water use efficiency, water reuse, and rainwater harvesting. She also served as the business coordinator of the institute. For two years Jan was executive director of the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association.

She has written for State Lines (Houston Chronicle's magazine), and covered urban and agricultural water issues in Irrigation Business and Technology, Texas Turfgrass Association Magazine, and  Water and Wastes Digest, as well as articles in The Conversation website and several technology and business blogs She is co-author of The Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting. She was awarded the Watermark Award and by the Texas Section, American Water Works Association, and a publications award from the Texas Section, American Water Works Association, Conservation and Reuse Division.

Jan Gerston Consulting was founded  in 2003.