Center for Plain Language

About the Center

The Center for Plain Language is a 501(c)(3) corporation established to propel the belief that government and business communication can be clear and understandable. This unique collaboration of academic, government, and private sectors promotes research, education, and use of plain language. The Center will transform how people think about communication. We will educate people to demand plain language in public communications and will help businesses and government to meet that demand.
Center Mission and Goals
The Center's mission is to increase the usefulness and efficiency of government, legal, and business documents, so that the people who use those documents can quickly and easily:
  • Find what they need
  • Understand what they find
  • Act on that understanding
The Center's activities support four primary goals:
  • To advocate for plain-language use, education, and training within government, the private sector, and academia.
  • To conduct and disseminate research that identifies best practices and that supports plain-language use, education, and training
  • To educate and equip leaders in government, business, and academia with the information and tools they need to achieve their plain-language goals.
  • To support and strengthen plain language use by harnessing the energy of plain-language practitioners and advocates and by coordinating activities that promote the use of clear communication.
Contact us
Don Byrne, Executive Director
Center for Plain Language
Mailing Address:
3936 Rickover Road
Silver Spring, MD 20902
Phone: 301.523.8563
Executive Board

Executive Director
Don Byrne

Board Members
Annetta Cheek, Chair
Joanne Locke, Vice Chair
Lee Clark Johns, Treasurer
Melodee Mercer, Secretary
Deborah Bosley
Dana Botka
Amy Bunk
Karen Schriver
William A. Smith
John Spotila
  • Contact Us • 301.523.8563
    • || Center for Plain Language · Mailing Address: 3936 Rickover Road • Silver Spring, MD 20902