Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do for a living?

I am the senior writer/editor in the Communication & Marketing department at A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Mo. (I’m a Kirksvillian born and raised). Outside of writing and editing magazines, I’m a married mother of one brilliant little boy and have a daughter on the way.

Do you have any formal training?

I received my BS in marketing/management from Park University.

Describe your workspace.

I have to have things organized. Everything has a place. I prefer well-lit, bright spaces – it helps me when proofreading and helps me stay awake! I also have several photos of my family in my office.

Describe your creative process. What steps do you normally follow?

I’m always thinking about my audience – what are they going to think is cool? What do they want to read? Then I look for those things in everyday life. Once I have an idea, I brainstorm a shell for a story, and then I research information to fill in the missing links. I don’t usually go through many drafts. I’ve found that I write best when I correct sentence construction, punctuation, and grammar as I go instead of waiting until a revision.

Less is more. Explore new ways to write
in different formats.

What motivates you?

The final product. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing your words printed on the glossy pages of a magazine!

What is your advice to others just starting in your field?

Less is more. Explore new ways to write in different formats. Keep the end product in mind, visualizing how the article will look when it’s laid out.

What do you do to market yourself and/or your business?

I recently launched a portfolio website to market my freelance work. Other than that, I count on word-of-mouth from friends and family.

Who are your heroes in your field?

I read a ton of magazines for inspiration on content and design. Right now some of my favorites are Discoveries by Cedars-Sinai and Real Simple. The writing is so conversational and interesting, and the design is so clean it blows me away!

What do you do in your spare time?

When I’m not playing with my son I’m probably cleaning house (boring, I know). I love going out to eat, visiting friends, and drinking coffee.

This piece on military medicine is reader-friendly because it’s scannable.

As editor of an alumni magazine, I’m always looking for new ways to engage my audience. The website allows us to feature exclusive online content not available in the print edition.