what I do

I started my career as a business journalist before becoming a copywriter, then content manager, strategist and finally creative director for a small agency with big clients, overseeing $1.45M in annual marketing and communications for national and international brands. Wanting change, I scaled back, working part-time as a communications writer with the University of Arizona and ultimately opting for the freelance life, in which I still apply nose to grindstone 5+ days a week.
(Not what you're looking for? Jump to a list of projects in my portfolio or clients I've worked with.)
Today, there’s not a ready-made word for what I do. I write, yes — it’s a lot of how I spend my time — but I’m not a copywriter. You might say I’m a content designer, in that I approach my work like a D-school veteran, thinking about not just content and audience but the context of development in the broader landscape of your communications, in the context of your goals and gremlins, in the context of your resources, work style and office politics.
I also do a lot of work that isn’t writing. I coach clients on everything from marketing plans to dealing with difficult bosses and employees. I analyze business processes and help articulate value propositions. I work with video and audio, print and web. And I help organizations get to the bottom of who they are and what they offer, align those truths with aspirations and plot a path from status quo to status whoa (I thought I just made "status whoa" up, but Google tells me otherwise).
Bottom line: I work with clients in any aspect of how they engage people — internal or external, direct or tangential, through words, sound, visuals, products or services. If you’re looking for some help in that vast and murky territory, let’s talk.
A/V Presentations
Acquisition Communications
Ad Concepts & Content
Application Planning & Modeling
Awards Submissions
Banner Ads
Billboard Concepts & Content
Blog Posts
Board Meeting Materials & Recaps
Brand Consulting
Brochures
Business Identity Development
Business Process Audits
Case Studies
Communications Strategy
Company Retreat Reports
Conference Materials
Corporate Culture Development
Creative Briefs
Crisis Communications
Destination Marketing Content
Direct Mail Planning & Content
Distance Learning Curricula
Elevator Pitches
Email Campaigns Planning
& Content
Event Programming Planning
Event Promotion Materials
Fact Sheets
projects in my freelance portfolio (2008 to present)
PR Toolkits & Campaigns
Presenter Scripts & Speeches
Press Releases
Process Mapping
Product Documentation & Manuals
Program Rollout Planning
Promotional Postcards
Proposals & RFQ Responses
Radio Spots
Research Briefs & Distillation
Research Recruitment Materials
Research Reports
Focus Group Planning
Sales Decks & Kits
Self-Studies & Organizational
Reviews
Social Media Planning & Content
Sponsored Editorial
Student Recruitment Materials
Technology Briefs
Tradeshow Signage & Materials
Training Curricula & Materials
Video Planning & Production
Video Tutorials Production
Webinar Planning & Content
Website Audits, Planning & Content
White Papers
Feature Articles (Print & Web)
Flyers & Sales Sheets
Fundraising Materials
Holiday Communications
HR Toolkits Development
Infographics Planning & Content
Interior Display/Design Content
Kiosk Planning & Content
Leadership Briefs
Leave Behinds
Legacy Planning
Listening Campaigns
Marketing Plans
Marketing Strategy
Media Kits
Membership Materials
New Product/Service
Development
News Briefs
Newsletter Planning & Content
Organic SEO Advising
Orientation Materials
Personnel Profiles
Phone Scripts
Phone Tree Planning & Content
Photo Library Planning & Curation
Photo/Audio Essays
Poster Concepts & Content
Presentations
organizations & brands I've worked with
This list includes groups I worked with before freelancing and/or as a subcontractor. Clients I've worked with as an independent contractor appear in red. "UA" refers to the University of Arizona.
5 Lights Group
Agnese Nelms Haury Program
in Environment & Social Justice
America West Vacations
American Gaming Association
American Hotel & Lodging
Association (w/NJI Media)
American Petroleum Association
(w/NJI Media)
Anne Maley Consulting
AOL Travel
APLUS Research Study
Arizona Bilingual Magazine
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Bon Voyage Travel
Calgon Bath & Body
California Travel Association
Carondelet St. Mary's
& St. Joseph's Hospitals
Celine Dion Parfums
Champlain College
CITRON Paint
Civano
Community Foundation
for Southern Arizona
Cooper Center
for Environmental Learning
Cottonwood Tucson
Coty, Inc.
Coyote Creek
City of Phoenix Aviation Dept.
Creative Slice
Desert Diamond Casino
Design Collaborations
Destination Irvine
Doctors Recall Service
Dunwoody CVB
Edible Baja Magazine
Electronic Arts
Florida's Space Coast
Office of Tourism
Go Hawaii
Greater Tucson Economic Council
HTG Molecular Diagnostics
(w/Godat Design)
Hughes Federal Credit Union
(w/Caliber Group)
Inside Tucson Business
International Congress
& Convention Association
International Ornithologists' Union
Jovan Body Tonic
Jovan Musk
Kansas City Convention & Visitors
Association
Ken Kay
LP&G
LSVT Global
Madden Media
mary-kateandashley
Mirasol
National Endowment for Financial
Education
O The Oprah Magazine
Pet Genius
Petfinder & Petfinder Foundation
Piles of Paper
Powerade
R.E. Darling
Raytheon
Rio Nuevo (w/Moia Group)
SCN8A Shay Emma Hammer
Foundation
Sharon Stills, NMD
(w/Commotion Studios)
Simpleview
Smiley Babies
Smiley Licensing
Southern Arizona Arthritis
Foundation
Southern Bleacher
St. Lucia Tourism Authority
Stetson Colognes
Stetson World Licensing
Sundt Construction
Sunquest Information Systems
Susan G. Komen Foundation
of Southern Arizona
Tampa Bay Convention Center
The Conscious Leader
the healing garden
Thomas Smile Designs
Tourism Kelowna
Tourism Richmond, B.C.
Tucson Guide
Tucson Home Magazine
University Physicians Hospitals
UA Alumni Association
UA Center for Integrative Medicine
UA College of Education
UA College of Medicine
UA College of Science
(w/Godat Design)
UA Corporate & Business Relations
UA Department of Surgery
UA Diversity & Inclusion
UA Eller College of Management
UA Flandrau Science Center
& Planetarium
UA Health Sciences
UA Healthcare Partnership
UA McGuire Center
for Entrepreneurship
UA Mineral Museum
UA News
UA Norton School of Family
& Consumer Sciences
UA Office of Sustainability
UA Online
UA Rogers College of Law
UA STEM Learning Center
UA Tech Launch Arizona
UA Terry J. Lundgren Center
UA University Relations
U.S. Travel Association
University of Minnesota
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Valley Forge Convention & Visitors
Bureau
Virgin Mobile
Visit Alexandria
Visit Charlottesville
Visit Natchez
Visit Orlando
Visit Panama City Beach
Visit Rochester MN
Visit South Haven
Visit Tucson
Visit Utah Valley
Washington Waterfronts
Waters Foundation
(w/AB Graphic Design)
Western National Parks Foundation
Westland Consulting
Wichita Convention
& Visitors Bureau
Ydoyouthink Campaign
Young Audiences, Inc.