Sylvia Ann Mansfield is an American typeface designer and home inspector whose career included font design for Florida Data Corporation and Genicom Corporation, leadership of Blue Ridge Home Inspections, and teaching at Blue Ridge Community College. She also received art awards and participated in professional and civic organizations.
Background
Sylvia Ann Mansfield was born on December 19, 1957, in Lincoln, Illinois, to Rogers David Mansfield and Nina Loetta Walters Mansfield. Her early adult life and professional development were associated with Florida's Space Coast, where she studied at Brevard Community College and received recognition from local art organizations.
She later moved to Virginia, where her work in digital typeface design, property inspection, education, and community organizations connected creative practice with applied business and technical services. She married Charles Richard Dobson on February 9, 1984, and they have three children: Jason, Janssen, and Cierra.
Education
Mansfield received an Associate in Arts degree from Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Florida, in 1982. The college, founded in 1960 as Brevard Junior College, served the educational needs of Brevard County and was later renamed Eastern Florida State College.
Her education preceded work in sales and digital typeface design. Her later adjunct teaching at Blue Ridge Community College placed her in a Virginia community-college tradition focused on accessible postsecondary and workforce education.
Career
Mansfield began her professional career as a sales manager with United Agencies in Cocoa, Florida, from 1981 to 1982. She then worked as a font designer at Florida Data Corporation in Melbourne from 1982 to 1985.
In 1985, she joined Genicom Corporation in Waynesboro, Virginia, as a senior font designer. Genicom had emerged from a General Electric business unit and manufactured computer printers and related equipment; its products used electronically generated typefaces in the expanding business-computing and office-automation market. Mansfield later became a design consultant and font designer for the company, continuing from 1993.
From 1993, Mansfield was president of Blue Ridge Home Inspections in Crimora, Virginia. The company provided residential and property-inspection services in the Shenandoah Valley region. In 1994, she also served as an adjunct instructor at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Virginia.
Achievements
Mansfield developed and applied digital typeface-design skills in positions with Florida Data Corporation and Genicom Corporation during the growth of computer printers and electronically generated fonts.
She combined a career in typeface design with leadership of a residential and property-inspection business, Blue Ridge Home Inspections, in Virginia.
She taught as an adjunct instructor at Blue Ridge Community College in 1994, extending her professional activity into community-college education.
Membership
Mansfield served on the board of directors of the Genicom Employees Community Service Fund from 1989 to 1993, participating in an employee-supported community-service organization during her years at Genicom.
She was also affiliated with Business and Professional Women, the National Association of Counselors, the National Association of Property Inspectors, and realtor associations in Waynesboro, Staunton-Augusta County, and Charlottesville. These organizations represented professional networking, counseling, property-inspection, and real-estate interests relevant to her work in Virginia.
Served on the board of directors.
Genicom Employees Community Service Fund
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United States
1989 - 1993
Business and Professional Women
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United States
National Association of Counselors
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United States
National Association of Property Inspectors
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United States
Participated as an affiliate.
Waynesboro Board of Realtors
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United States
Participated as an affiliate.
Staunton-Augusta County Board of Realtors
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United States
Participated as an affiliate.
Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors
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United States
Interests
Gardening and fine arts.
Sport & Clubs
Running and cross-country skiing.
Connections
Mansfield married Charles Richard Dobson on February 9, 1984. They have three children: Jason, Janssen, and Cierra. Her parents were Rogers David Mansfield and Nina Loetta Walters Mansfield.
