Good writing is my passion! My entire career has been devoted to it, whether as a newspaper journalist, internal communications writer, marketing communications expert or author.
These samples are only some of the thousands of articles and millions of words I have written throughout my career.
The first is my very first published book!
Next is a handy and fun guide I created to help colleagues proofread materials.
The next three samples are from work I did on behalf of the Western New York Writing Project to earn my master's degree. I was one of the few non-teachers WNYWP ever had in the program, and I was extremely proud to receive the "Tough Act to Follow" award that year for one of the best writing lessons presented. I attend several National Writing Project conferences and even lobbied our Congressional representatives in Washington, D.C.
While working in HR communications, I was often asked to create fliers and posters to educate employees about health plans, benefits, etc. These fliers focused on that month's theme of "being seen" while enjoying summertime activities, and promoted the company's wellness program.
Next you'll see some of the work I completed as part of coursework I completed with the Society for Technical Communication. I have never worked as a technical writer, per se, but I have written how-to and informational articles for the technology division of an international bank. The skills and practices I learned from STC are invaluable in helping me write clearly and concisely, no matter what the subject.
Grantwriting has always been of interest to me, and so a few years ago I earned the Certified Grant Writer designation from the American Grant Writers' Association. I've never worked as a grant writer professionally, but I have helped with a few grant proposals. "Buffalo Book Buddies" was the imaginary program I designed to complete my AGWA coursework; maybe someday it will come to life!
Starting with "A rose is a rose," the next few articles are all about gardening - including an extensive "ebooklet" I researched and wrote with tips about pollinator gardening in this area. I am a member of GardenComm (Garden Communicators International) and a Master Gardener in Erie County, NY.
Because all the work I had to do for my master's degree wasn't enough (ha ha), I decided to simultaneously research famous authors with Buffalo connections. I placed these pages (Mark Twain, Taylor Caldwell and Herman Melville are here on my portfolio) throughout my published thesis. I'm very proud that I received the Deborah A. Henretta Award for the top Integrated Marketing Communications project that year.
"Bookstore Breakdown" and "Welcome to the (Royal) Family" were two coursework assignments, and they turned out so well I decided to make them part of my portfolio!
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! A couple of the hundreds of articles I wrote as a newspaper reporter. These two feature school news, which I enjoyed writing about the most! ("Three cheers for their favorite principal" and "The play's the thing for middle school pupils")
Last but not least are some examples from the work I did in school district public relations, including press releases and the district newsletter.
