Editing demands a yogi's stamina, flexibility, and steady mind.
~ Susan Bell in The Artful Edit
I love the magic of words and how language works. I also love to learn, and a vast universe makes that possible every day. That my love for words and learning allows me to help others communicate something that's meaningful to them or important to teach makes the work I do very rewarding.
My editing and writing portfolio spans topics in spirituality and religion, psychology and personal growth, health and wellness, profiles, and book reviews. With over twenty years in publishing, I've acquired a broad skill set that includes collaborating with authors and publishers as well as professionals across organizations, managing projects and teams to meet deadlines, and using graphic design to enhance editorial content.
Early in my publishing career, I was the staff copy editor and the food and profiles editor of Yoga Journal magazine, which gave me experience with an editorial team that repeatedly won Folio Gold Awards for editorial excellence. At the Institute of Noetic Sciences, a nonprofit founded by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell to advance our understanding of human potential through scientific research on consciousness, I was the senior editor of its membership publication, Shift—At the Frontiers of Consciousness. For several years after that, I worked with Edgar Cayce’s legacy organization, the Association for Research and Enlightenment, as the editor of its quarterly magazine, Venture Inward.
After my work with the Institute of Noetic Sciences and before my tenure with the Association for Research and Enlightenment, I began editing transformational and creative nonfiction books, which I love doing and this site is about.
Before transitioning into publishing and straight out of university, I taught English to high school students of all levels, from seniors studying AP English to students at risk of dropping out. I’ve also taught English as a second language to college students and professionals working in the US. I studied for my master’s in English language and literature at the University of Chicago, where I was rigorously schooled in the elements of good writing and engaging storytelling.
Officially, my work is to improve something that's been written or to do the actual writing. Unofficially, what I do is grow with the people I work with as we think more deeply about the writing at hand and engage with the discipline and art of language to communicate something helpful, something meaningful, something inspiring.