WORK SAMPLES

Client: FLT Consulting
Project: Corporate Identity Workshop
Role: Creative Strategy
Objective: A period of growth and change prompted this firm’s owner to examine what her company does best—and what makes it different from the competition. She wanted to formalize a company marketing direction and play to the strengths of her brand. To involve employees in the process we developed a participatory identity workshop. (powerpoint file) This exercise and follow-up work honed the company identity and captured its brand principles in employees own words. Today, this work is helping the company choose projects that fit its values, create more meaningful marketing materials, and select new hires. The essence of the FLT brand shines through in all that they do. File Size: 15KB

Client: Sound Transit
Project: Training Manual for Regional Travel Ambassadors
Role: Copywriter, Project Management
Objective: There are dozens of transit systems, community transportation providers, government programs and non-profit support organizations in our region. However it’s not always obvious which ones to use, and how they connect to each other. This manual gives travelers a broad view of their options as they move through Pierce, King and Snohomish counties. It is a teaching tool for travel ambassadors, travel trainers and social service agents to use with the public.

Sound Transit, King County Metro, Pierce Transit, Snohomish Transit and various human service providers from the three counties worked together on this guide. It had to support—but not duplicate—existing county-specific information and travel training programs.

One editorial challenge was fact-checking and managing approvals through a large, multi-jurisdictional committee. I handled the copywriting, edits and source material contributions of more than a dozen different subject matter experts and approvers. I was also responsible for securing a graphic designer and managing the document design prototypes, approvals and all production deadlines. Final formats included a hard copy binder, PowerPoint version, and large-print version on an accompanying CD. File Size: 957KB

Client: CCI Solutions
White Paper: “Strengthening Faith with Recorded Sermons”
Role: Copywriter, Creative Strategy
Objective: This AV solutions firm commissioned a national survey to determine how churches and their members prefer to use and share recorded services. My job was to select the most relevant findings in a large amount of research data, and present them in an easy-to-read white paper. CCI’s consultants are now using the paper to help church customers select the right types of recording and CD duplicating equipment. We also used the report as base material for a series of articles placed in trade magazines read by CCI’s target markets. File Size: 133KB

Client: Washington State Department of Agriculture
White paper: “Information Flow in Agriculture”
Role: Copywriter
Objective: This document is a planning tool for the department’s Future of Farming project. It is based on first-person interviews with agricultural producers, association representatives, economists and others with communications expertise in the agriculture arena. The aim was to learn more about how they exchange information within the industry and with the public. My assignment was to capture a current snapshot of high-level issues in Washington agriculture and how people are communicating about them. It will be used to help the Future of Farming stakeholders, legislators, government agencies, industry analysts, and producer associations choose the most effective channels, methods and timing for information sharing. File Size: 104KB

Client: Group Health Cooperative
Project: 2004 Report to the Community
Role: Copywriter, Creative Strategy
Objective: publicize the free healthcare, medical research and innovative programs Group Health funds across Washington State and northern Idaho. Group Health had never produced a comprehensive piece to show the breadth, depth and monetary value of its community benefit activity. We used first-person narrative, setting up a powerful one-to-one dialogue with the reader and departing from typical corporate “telling” style. File Size: 1.43MB

Client: Northwest Health Magazine
Role: Copywriter
Objective: I write about a half-dozen articles for this consumer magazine every year. They are intended to inform 450,000 Group Health patients and medical practitioners about everyday health and wellness topics, pioneering treatments, national trends, member successes, and research findings.

In “Getting relief from low back pain” I highlighted the results of groundbreaking research done at Group Health’s Center for Health Studies on practicing yoga for back pain.

The magazine took a lighthearted look at quirky skin conditions with the article “What’s that? Skin concerns demystified.” I shed light on skin abnormalities that cause concern but are usually not serious. Editors also wanted to encourage proper self-care and let readers know when they should take certain lumps and bumps to the doctor.

My cover story in the Spring 2008 issue, “Expert tips on hitting the trail,” covered some dos and don’ts of leaving civilization behind. The goal was to help beginning and average hikers prepare for a hiking trip in the Northwest wilderness— what to bring, and what to do if they get lost or injured. File Sizes: 114KB, 1.1MB, 935KB

Client: Washington State Department of Agriculture
Project: Avian Influenza Conference Handbook
Role: Editor, Copywriter
Objective: Assemble, organize and edit facts and action plans on Avian Influenza into a basic handbook for Washington’s small and mid-sized poultry producers, backyard bird owners, and people in contact with wild or farmed birds. This manual was designed to support a conference featuring expert veterinary and public health presenters. Raw material came from multiple government agency contributors; it required editing and re-writing for style and consistency. We worked to make the information simple, approachable and actionable for non-scientific audiences. File Size: 96KB

Client: Federal Engineering
Project: Business Case for Statewide Radio Interoperability, State of Oregon
Role: Editor
Objective: Edit a complex technical document, with nine contributing authors, for consistency, clarity and persuasiveness. The audience for this business case is Oregon state legislators and policy influencers in the criminal justice arena, most of whom have little knowledge of radio interoperability technology. We focused on eliminating redundancies in the document, tightening the executive summary and conclusion, and simplifying sentence construction and language for easier reading by non-technical audiences. File Size: 2.43MB

Additional Samples and Client References

Please contact me for a more extensive look at my work and contact information for my references. I like to select a range of samples that are relevant to your industry or business need.

Unfortunately, I can’t share some projects because they were produced under non-disclosure agreements. Some of it I can discuss and share in person, but I treat it carefully because it deals with emerging business strategies. I prefer to ask my clients’ permission before sharing such projects. If we work together, I’ll respect your business in the same way.