Bio/Resume

I’ve been a professional freelance writer in the Cleveland and Akron area since 1994.
When I graduated from Ohio University in 1981 with a degree in Communication, I headed to Chicago where I got my first “real” job — producing educational videos and teaching adult education courses in production.

After four years, I drove west in a little Honda Civic, pulling a U-Haul across the Great Plains, to work at a CBS TV station in Casper, Wyoming. In a state where sheep outnumber people, I learned how to drive a pick-up truck first and then how to write commercial copy and direct live TV newscasts. The job responsibilities often blurred here — as I was once called in to the news department to fly over Casper Mountain in a twin-engine plane to shoot a raging forest fire.

Returning to Cleveland in 1987, I became a video editor at WEWS-TV and production instructor at Lakeland Community College. With that experience, I landed a job as writer/producer in the video department of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. For five years, I got to play “big fish in a small pond”, often surprising faculty with highly professional quality videos and scripts. I even won an International Television Association Golden Reel in 1990 for a kids’ program I wrote and produced for an orthodontist from France who was earning her PhD at the CWRU School of Dentistry.

In 1992 I made the leap into a different level of writing when I joined Cinecraft Productions in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. Under the direction of owners Neil McCormick and Maria Keckan, my writing and producing skills greatly improved. I learned the art of writing proposals and highly focused scripts for corporations and non-profits.

After marrying my wonderful husband Steve — and starting a family in 1994 — I decided to freelance as a writer. I’ve been blessed with success … and the flexibility that comes with running my own business.  I love not being in a cubicle all day… and getting to work for large companies, non-profit organizations, government agencies, small businesses and production/design firms.

My greatest professional strengths…

• high ethical standards and integrity
• ability to understand and communicate complex material
• great rapport with clients and those I interview

What works best for me is listening first — making sure I hear and understand what a client needs. I often hit the mark on first draft. And when I don’t, I revise until I do. I’ve built a great business by delivering material that’s on target, on time and on budget.