Who Am I?
I am a writing coach and developmental editor who is skilled at academic storytelling. As a first generation college student, I know that the roadblocks to academia are not equal for every writer. I use my knowledge and experience to help my clients bring out the best in their academic writing. 

Why Work With Me?

I am passionate about writing and love helping clients reignite a passion for their intellectual work. No matter where you are in the writing process I can help translate your ideas into words. Reading drafty drafts and coming up with concrete next steps is a specialty of mine as is structure and organization. Struggling to motivate yourself to write at all? As a writing coach I can help you come up with practices and habits that will bring your writing goals to fruition.

I know firsthand the challenges and demands of academia and the imposter syndrome and anxiety that can impede us from doing our best work. Personally and professionally I have a deep commitment to equity and inclusion and through my work seek to increase the diversity of voices we hear in academia.

Who Are My Clients?

I work with a wide range of academics all over the world, including the U.S., UK, Canada, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Caribbean and SE Asia. I have reading knowledge of Spanish, French, Italian, Latin, Middle and Old English, as well as a conversant fluency in several national Englishes and their written conventions.  

Regardless of location, many of my clients are writers who feel “stuck” on their current project or overwhelmed by the work that they need to do. Often that feeling of being stuck or having “writer’s block” comes from a place of anxiety or from the stress of academia. I know these experiences well, and this is a perspective I’ve been able to bring to help many of my clients.

What Is My Story?

The first in my family to attend college, I earned my PhD in English at Cornell University and was fortunate enough to obtain a tenure track job immediately after graduation. However, like many non-traditional academics,  I struggled with imposter syndrome and the pressing demands of professional writing. Finally, in 2005, I joined the faculty at Mills College and truly found my people. The intellectually stimulating and emotionally supportive environment and diverse community that I found there helped to inform my approach as an award-winning teacher and as a writing coach. 

At Mills College, I thrived. I became a full  professor and department head and I served in a number of leadership roles, including my college’s promotion and tenure committee.  It was there that I wrote and completed my monograph, The Gender of Money in Late Middle English Literature. In addition to my own work as a medieval gender studies scholar, I served as a reader or editor on several journals and presses.

COVID-19 was a time of change and reflection for many of us, and I was no exception. Although I loved my time at Mills College, I began to consider what I wanted in life and with my career. My partner and I made the move to a rural property in Southern Oregon where we could be closer to family and nature. As a freelance writing coach, editor, and academic story consultant, I’m able to continue in the work that I find most important and gratifying: mentoring and cheering on my fellow academic writers and  helping  them realize the best version of their work so they can share it with the world. 

When I’m not diving into my own studies or helping my clients with their writing, I enjoy gardening, hiking, painting, reading, and I am an enthusiast for the restorative power of nature — as well as any and all fuzzy creatures.