Deborah Heard
I'm not supposed to be here, if you consider my background and my own naivete. I grew up in a very small town in northeast Alabama (Heflin) and many of the people there - black people, in particular - sewed at the chenille plant, processed chickens at the chicken plant or cooked and cleaned at the county hospital. One or two taught at the local school. That would have been my future, except that my parents, aunts and uncles strongly believed - and demonstrated - that getting an education and working hard would put you one more step up the ladder. They encouraged my love of reading and made it possible for me to go to college, where I discovered journalism. My mother says that even then I talked about wanting to work for The Washington Post. I don't remember that, but it was the early '70s, the era of Woodward, Bernstein and Watergate, so I don't doubt her.

Ten years later, I was working as a Neighbors editor at the Miami Herald and loving it. An editor at the Post called, after another Post editor had met me at a seminar. I told myself that I was flying up to Washington primarily as a courtesy. That I'd just been promoted 9 months before and wasn't leaving the Herald. Talk about naive and stupid. This was THE Washington Post. The day of interviewing was intense, but I was swept off my feet. The editors I talked to were energized and fascinating; they seemed to love the place and the work. I turned in my resignation and I haven't looked back.

In my 16 years here, I've worked as an editor on the Metro weeklies, assignment editor on the Virginia desk, assignment editor in the Style section, Lifestyles editor in Style and now deputy AME for Style. And that initial reaction is still valid -- it's a fabulous place to be. I love it all, especially the energy that sweeps through the place when big news breaks and the amazing results when so many smart people join forces. Even the regular routine of my day is fun. I get to talk to talented reporters and writers about interesting stories; I read and approve them or offer ways to make them better; and then I help decide what goes where and when in order to produce the most interesting and compelling Style section possible.

If I had to pick the two most rewarding things about my job, they would be helping good writers grow into great writers and having a say in what gets published. My voice matters.

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