Bienvenue! Hola!

I’ve been flourishing in the world of marketing and communications for decades. As a connector and idea wrangler, I write for impact, quickly capturing your essence to shape written materials that reflect your voice and personality. I collaborate closely with talented graphic designers when given the chance, because content and design go hand-in-hand. I’m a professional nitpicker, too, proofreading and polishing so you don’t have to. Whether you're starting from scratch, or simply want to refresh your brand, I'm here to help.

Hoping to reach readers, clients, viewers, funders, or business partners? It's all about building connections. I’ve been “linking people with ideas with people with ideas” since before networking was a thing. My curiosity fueled me, building expertise that moves projects and possibilities forward. I LOVE finding the right people, the right information, or simply the right words to advance remarkable ideas and good causes.

Background

A long time ago, when telephones had wires and packaged cheese slices were new, I was into psychology and social work. I accrued supervised counseling hours, and spent a year sleeping regularly at the Maimonades Dream Lab in Brooklyn as part of a telepathy experiment. Whenever I could I took off traveling. At 20, I traveled for a full year on my own, moving from the arctic circle to warmer southern climes. As luck (and love) would have it, several years later I lived outside the US again, editing the European Journal of Immunology at the Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology in Freiburg, Germany and teaching weekend classes in Touch for Health, a healing technique combining acupressure and muscle testing. But I digress… As a publicist in California, I launched the runaway bestseller "50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth” in 1989. Selling millions of books (including my sale of 3 million copies to the makers of Tampax) was thrilling! Next I created the first nationally distributed environmental gift basket, and shipped thousands. Then back to books. Following six years in publishing, I tackled film, managing production coordination , research , and translation for producers at the BBC, ZDF, NDR and other foreign networks. We created prime-time shows on social change, addiction, future trends, and more. Then it was time to pursue a dream: I flew to Kathmandu to hike in the Himalayas with my brother.

By 1993 my future was clear: I couldn’t wait to pursue a digital career and made the move to San Francisco to do just that. Every minute as Marketing Director for the launch and early years of Salon.com was lively; I later transitioned to Business Development at Ask Jeeves. After my son was born, I contributed to the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley as Director of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships. During that time, I also completed Compassion Cultivation Teacher Training at CCARE, Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. I’ve been carrying out assorted pro-social marketing deeds ever since, including nine years on the Board of Rockwood Leadership Institute, a Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary about food activist Vandana Shiva, and polishing a report on the needs of freelance investigative journalists. (I later volunteered on the Advisory Board of FIRE, Freelance Investigative Reporters and Editors, for many years after that, editing outreach materials and discussing strategy). Wonderful longterm clients also included The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, The Centre for Investigative Journalism in London, and The Paul Ekman Group.

I take advantage of my ADHD by tackling a wide variety of tasks with enthusiasm. I’ve edited or rewritten entire websites for start-ups like Social Piper and Threatoptix; I also pen brochures, bios and listing presentations for Realtors. More recently, I edited memoirs for two highly distinguished gentlemen who had stories to tell.

In addition to writing and consulting, years ago I created a greeting card line called ‘In Word” to highlight expressions in languages from around the world that express sentiments English doesn’t. I sold to museum and gift shops nationwide. The truth is I’ve collected unusual words for a very long time. Fluent in French, German, and Spanish, I am fascinated by how language directs our awareness to certain facets of life, depending on what tongue we speak. The nonprofit Terralingua studies and reports on the interconnection of species diversity and cultural and linguistic diversity. I’m so happy to serve on their board, as I have for almost twenty years.

On a side note: I took time to curate resources and thoughts about privilege and racism, and what must be done to create a more equitable world. You can read about that right here. And if you live somewhere where fire safety and emergency prep is a priority, check out this Peace of Mind booklet. It could save a life.

I’m a meditator and lapsed Tai Chi practitioner who grows edible flowers, collects dice, and loves to take photographs.

Want to know more? You’re curious! No worries; I try to keep my LinkedIn page current.