Professional writer, editor, graphic designer. Magna cum laude graduate with English/Journalism degree. Worked as newspaper and magazine writer, editor, and designer for a dozen years. Self-employed for past 20 years as writer and designer. Also director of a mental health advocacy nonprofit. As a reporter, I learned the skills needed to become an instant expert on any topic at a moment's notice, convey complex topics to the public in an understandable and engaging way, and do so on the strictest of deadlines. As a professional editor, I learned to cut the waste and rewrite the phrases that diminish the power of my own and other writers' works. My design career began laying out both news and feature pages for newspapers and magazines. For the past 20 years, I have used these skills to provide organizations with a wide variety of writing, design and marketing needs. I have also used them as my primary tool in advocating for individuals with mental health diagnoses.