Good writing is my passion! My entire career has been devoted to it, whether as a writer on the corporate communications team, or the content manager for education and training, or the author of a book!
These are some of the thousands of articles and millions of words I have written throughout my career. Feel free to scroll down to the actual articles if you're in a hurry!
The first is my very first published book!
Keeping our members and clients informed was my most important task as content manager for a healthcare-adjacent company. See snippets of the member and client monthly e-newsletters I wrote and distributed. Also read a portion of a one-pager we sent to all new members.
"Tech Tuesday" was a product of my time with HSBC's technology division comms team. Each week we distributed news and information to colleagues around the world.
Next is a handy and fun guide I created to help colleagues proofread materials.
While working in HR communications, I was often asked to create fliers and posters to educate employees about health plans, benefits, etc. These fliers ("Getting the message to employees") focused on that month's theme of "being seen," and promoting the company's wellness program.
Next ("I 'can' write good instructions!") is a file of writing assignments I completed for coursework 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 a healthcare-adjacent company and 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.
The next three samples ("Writing for someone else," "PR 101" and "Save your place") I created 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
Grant writing 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 master's degree assignments, and they turned out so well I decided to make them part of my portfolio!
Last but not least: Securing media coverage was a big part of my job as a school district public relations coordinator, so here's one of the press releases I wrote.
