Hello! I’m currently looking for a full-time position in which I can put my education, imagination, and problem-solving skills to excellent use. I love challenges and was raised in the Hill Country of Texas, where I learned an impeccable work ethic and the value of a firm handshake.

My most recent full-time position was as Publicity Manager at Seven Stories Press. Prior to that, I was Assistant to the Publisher (Kent Carroll) at Europa Editions. While seeking out my next role I am freelancing as a site editor, content writer, and PR liaison for NewYork.com as well as an editor, copywriter, and proofreader for a number of large ad agencies and smaller interests.

In addition to writing and editing for media outlets, I’ve recently received high praise for my “superior,” “outstanding,” and “out of this world” (all quotes from C-level ad executives) freelance copywriting, editing, and proofreading work for ad agencies such as Weber Shandwick, Jack Morton, McCann Erickson, MediaCom, and Havas Media.

I’ve also edited complex financial documents for Axioma, pedagogical case studies and web content (including SEO optimization) for The Wallace Foundation (a philanthropy founded by the same people who started Reader’s Digest), entire books, at least a dozen dissertations (from engineering and statistics to business and philosophy), and a multitude of medical, legal, and pedagogical peer-reviewed journal articles.

As if that doesn’t keep me busy enough, I’m concurrently working on four book-length projects (tentatively titled):

• NYC: Ten Lessons in Frugality and Faith, an account of how I manage(d) to live happily, healthily, and fully content in Manhattan for $1,000 per month, along with ten principles anyone can adopt to do it themselves;
• In the Mouth of the Lion’s Den, a short memoir of my time working as the manager of a swingers’ club in Manhattan;
• At Sixes and Sevens: My Annals of Dating, a collection of humorous essays about dates, sexual encounters, and random hook-ups; and
• Meningioma 101: A Guide to Benign Brain Tumors, which combines my personal experience of having a meningioma removed (via brain surgery) with practical advice on how to navigate a meningioma diagnosis; deciding if, when, and how to have surgery; the recovery process; and moving on after recovery “ends.”

My work has been published in Time Out Chicago, Time Out Chicago Kids, Time Out New York Kids, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Appleton Post-Crescent, Chicago Parent, The Daily Gazette, Pioneer Press, The Beacon News, The Courier News, The Herald News, and The Naperville Sun, as well as on multiple web sites.

I hold a B.A. in Liberal Studies (Double Major: Philosophy & English Literature; Minor: Mathematics/Statistics) from Excelsior College (Albany, New York). My graduate studies culminated in two degrees: an M.A. in English: Language, Literacy, and Rhetoric with a concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics: TESOL (focusing on curriculum and testing development), both from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Academically, I’ve presented my scholarly work on children’s literature, species discourse, and other popular culture topics at more than a dozen conferences across North America. I’ve taught at the University of Chicago, Dominican University, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and various other four- and two-year institutions, developing curriculum for students ranging from gifted second-graders to graduate students studying in the U.S. for the first time.

In addition the above, I formerly owned Yellow Bird Consulting, a service to assist lawyers and doctors with their written communication skills from 1999–2012 and from 2009–2012 ran Word of Mouth Bakery, a small vegan baking company.

Visit my profile on LinkedIn for a fuller picture of my skills and work history.

In addition to looking for full-time work, I am currently accepting freelance and contract work. Contact me using the form below for rates and more information.