For those interested in my personal and professional background, I was born and raised in rural Minnesota, and attended Bemidji State University, the College in the Pines (Go, Beavers!). Between my B.A. and M.A. degrees in English, I served as cub reporter for the Red Lake Falls Gazette. There I learned about small-town journalism and what happens if the proofreader doesn’t catch a misspelling of a local’s name. (Hint: it’s not good.)
During graduate school I was introduced to higher education faculty development. I spent seven years after graduation in the Big City (well, St. Paul), working for The Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching & Learning. It was a nonprofit consortium of 70+ colleges and universities across the U.S. As Program Director, I planned conferences, published a quarterly newsletter, developed and presented workshops and created the organization’s first online presence.
In 2003 I returned home to the Alexandria, MN, area to take a job with Tastefully Simple, Inc. Initially I served as editor of the monthly magazine for the sales field. My position morphed into many different things over 20 years, including
- writing training materials
- creating marketing assets such as sales emails and social media post captions
- developing web content
- blogging
- writing speeches for the CEO
- coming up with funny stories for the annual Christmas party (a niche skill, admittedly).
A lifelong animal lover, I’ve only been a cat lady for the past quarter century or so, since I was presented with a kitten found in a dumpster in Minneapolis. My life has been shared with eight cats, but never more than four at a time (the current tally). I believe the innate dignity of all living things deserves to be honored and cherished, and that compassion, empathy and humor are the human species’ highest attributes.
How I Will Work With You
When we work together, you can expect me to be responsive, respectful, efficient and productive. I value your time and understand that you are looking for someone who can hit the ground running on your project. I will work with you to ensure that, at the end of our work together, you can say, “I am completely satisfied.” My goal is to exceed your expectations.