About
Life is unpredictable. Who knew that my insatiable thirst for knowledge would land me a career as a freelance writer in the non-profit sector?
I have trained for and worked as a conservation bookbinder, designed websites and print material, taught school, wrote for a trade publication specializing in California real estate law, worked as an investigator for a corporate litigation firm, and held several positions in the museum field (oral historian, collections cataloger, curatorial assistant, writer). But wanting to go back to school to study art history and having no funds to do so led to a full-time writing gig in the development and alumni relations department at one of the top universities in the country.
Eventually, I walked away with a master’s degree and years of valuable writing experience that I was able to parlay into a career in non-profit communications.
During my career, I have set up donor research and stewardship programs, developed many grant proposals funded by mid- to large-size corporations, written numerous successfully funded applications to government agencies (including the National Endowment for the Arts and the US Department of Education), and have written appeal letters to individual donors, corporate letters of request, and authored development communication materials for a capital campaign. Additionally, I wrote articles for newsletters, press releases, and produced a DVD about an advanced training program for talented high school students at a community school of the arts.
As much as I love non-profit communications, I’m entering a new phase in my writing career – freelance magazine writer. Share in my journey as I research topics and pitch ideas to consumer and trade publications. The prospect of rejection frightens me, but the potential success exhilarates me. I’m hoping that regularly reporting on my progress motivates me to continue in the face of possible rejection – it would be humiliating to have to report that I failed because I didn’t try hard enough!
When I’m not writing, I teach art at my local community center, take on the occasional private bookbinding commission, spin fiber into yarn, knit, take long walks (I live near a national park), ride my bicycle, read, read, read, blog about sustainable living and homesteading at A Handcrafted Life, and make things to sell on Etsy under the moniker Sea Maiden Studios.
