Creative Skills
- Deeply experienced word nerd for digital and print: UX and marketing copy; content strategy, writing, editing, and production; newsletters; feature articles; blog posts; travel guidebooks; music and food reviews; press releases; bios; speeches; you name it
- Highly skilled brand and product voice developer
- Savvy storyteller and narrative architect
- Proven, respected manager of people and projects
- Proficient in Google Analytics, Web content management, and HTML
Work History
2020–Present
Principal Copywriter / Product Content Manager
PandaDoc
Product wordsmith for thriving document software company
- Compose clear, concise copy within app and across entire product spectrum: signup flows, activation and onboarding, product upgrades, and transactional emails
- Create and continually hone UX copy guidelines and style guide
- Edit and proofread content written by colleagues: Help Center articles, sales reports, video scripts, and user interview templates
- Collaborate closely with Product Design, Product Management, and Product Marketing teams
- Contribute marketing copy as necessary: blog posts, launch emails, and more
- Shape product voice and adopt appropriate tone during all stages of customer experience
Ongoing
Writer / Editor / Content Strategist and Producer
Exploding Head Trick Productions
Peculiarly named vehicle for contract/freelance work
- Handle creative projects for an array of clients: Audible Treats Public Relations, KGO-TV, Crescent Heights Real Estate, All Music Guide, Noise Pop, Charles Krug Winery, San Francisco Bay Guardian, and many others
2015–2019
Senior Copywriter / Newsletter Content Manager
Healthline
Marketing/UX writer and newsletter editor for health content provider
- Curated, wrote, and produced up to 60 newsletters each month for two million subscribers
- Composed UX copy for mobile apps and Web
- Helped define and introduce new brand identity through engaging copy, in collaboration with senior management and Marketing, Product, and Design teams
- Ensured consistent voice in messaging across all touchpoints, from email campaigns and SEO meta descriptions to landing pages, native ads, even office signage
- Developed content strategies for new and existing newsletters, plus email campaigns
- Managed newsletter content calendar for publications on nutrition, wellness, multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, and other conditions
- Tracked and reported monthly performance data for all newsletters
2011–2015
Senior Copywriter / Editor
Brandracket
Content marketing slinger for music licensing and creative agency
- Wrote and edited copy for regular placement on clients' music blogs
- Clients included prominent brands such as Quiksilver (action sports), RocketDog and Roxy (women's apparel), Skullcandy (headphones), and Zippo (lighters)
2008–2015
Travel Author / Contributor
Rough Guides
Writer and researcher for celebrated travel guidebook and content publisher
- Author of several travel features for Roughguides.com
- Author of Pocket Rough Guide: San Francisco, 2nd Edition, published 2016
- Author of Pocket Rough Guide: San Francisco, 1st Edition, published 2014
- Co-author of / contributor to eight other titles, including The Rough Guide to California (published 2014 and 2011), The USA (2014, 2011, and 2009), San Francisco & the Bay Area (2012 and 2009), and Yellowstone & Grand Teton (2011)
2009–2015
Deputy Managing Editor
iVillage
Editor, content producer, and manager for NBCUniversal-owned lifestyle website
- Managed 20 writers, editors, and translators
- Maintained editorial calendar up to three months in advance
- Curated and produced weekly email campaigns
- Edited and produced feature articles, short pieces, and marketing copy, as well as editorial and marketing newsletters
2003–2013
Founder / Editor in Chief
Burritoeater.com
Creator, producer, and author of "San Francisco's top resource for taquerias and mustaches"
- Conceptualized direction, tone, and scope of website from pre-launch to final bite
- Built and maintained comprehensive directory of data about all San Francisco taquerias
- Wrote 1000 detailed burrito reviews (no joke)
- Reviewed several taquerias each month for Intestinal Apocalypse newsletter
- Appeared on the Cooking Channel's United Tastes of America and KALW San Francisco's Crosscurrents; quoted in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe; featured in San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, San Francisco Examiner, Gelf Magazine, and countless online outlets
- Enjoyed San Francisco folk-hero status
2008–2010
Food Writer / Content Editor
ChefsBest
Articulator of competition results for food-judging website
- Wrote and edited nearly two hundred 400-word "quality definitions" for a wide-ranging lineup of everyday, best-in-class grocery foods
- Edited feature articles written by chefs and other culinary experts
- Performed QA and HTML coding leading up to site launch
2007–2008
Contributing Writer
SFist
Author of Blocker urban environment series for award-winning news and culture website
- Conceptualized original idea for observational series exploring San Francisco through the lens of individual city blocks
- Field-researched, photographed, outlined, wrote, edited, and produced over forty 500- to 800-word pieces
2007
Project Analyst (Assistant Managing Editor)
University of California, San Francisco
Key member of UCSF-based staff publishing two respected medical websites
- Wrote, edited, and fact-checked annotations and citations for PSNet (Patient Safety Network), a weekly collection of studies, journal articles, and news pieces on patient safety
- Edited case studies, commentaries, and interviews for monthly patient safety journal WebM&M (Morbidity & Mortality Rounds on the Web)
2004
Music Editor
MP3.com / CNET
Content writer and producer for high-profile music website
- Pitched, researched, wrote, edited, and produced feature stories, artist profiles, and album reviews
- Performed daily QA on staging site's front page
2002–2004
Media Permissions Editor
Wadsworth Publishing (now Cengage)
Licensing and clearance maven for higher education publishing house
- Created, implemented, and executed workflow to secure permissions for assets in all media (non-print) projects
- Acted as liaison between Production, Editorial, and Media teams
- Managed freelancers' work
1999–2001
Senior Music Editor
Listen.com (later Rhapsody, now Napster)
Editorial department leader for meteoric online music company
- Managed staff of writers
- Edited and wrote capsule artist reviews and weekly feature pieces
- Helped supervise growth to 30 editors and writers (from less than 10) in under one year
- Contributed weekly column, Hodge's Corner, to newsletter
Education
B.A., English
University of California, Berkeley
Emphases: Twentieth-century and popular culture literature
- Thesis: The Crazy Quilt: The Language of Music and Musicality of Language in the Works of Toni Morrison