| "I dislike arguments
of any kind.
They are always vulgar, and often convincing."
- Oscar Wilde
~~~~
 My
goal for any client is to listen carefully and then deliver
a product that meets all criteria. Sounds easy, but...
Over the years I have written in many
different arenas and have found the diversity to be stimulating.
I have written about occupational safety on the job for General
Motors, logical database training for an airline, AIDS awareness
for a school system, and public relations materials for a
botanical garden. I have not yet found any material to be
so technically
inaccessible that I have not been able to understand it and
re-work it in such a way as to render it accessible to lay
people. I continue to take pride in the art of crafting words
to enhance communication.
In tandem with my freelance writing I work
alongside the staff of New England's premiere garden magazine,
People, Places & Plants, as Associate Editor for Rhode
Island. This marriage of skills and interests provides the
magazine with an on-site garden writer and editor, and offers
me an even larger network of garden-writing colleagues.
My professional background is documented
in detail below.
~ INDEPENDENT FREELANCE WRITER, scriptwriter,
producer and journalist from 1986 present
~ LANDSCAPE GARDENER & PUBLIC RELATIONS
WRITER for Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum.
(On-staff & Independent: 1993-Present)
~ PRODUCER, The New Repertory Project, Cambridge,
MA.
Produced 'The Nightingale,' an adaptation of Hans Christian
Anderson's story, for Young Audiences of Massachusetts,
to tour high schools. (1986)
~ MANAGING PRODUCER/WRITER, Interactive Training
Systems, Inc., Cambridge, MA.
This encompassed long range planning and management of video
personnel and resources, client contact, proposal writing,
conceptualizing, scripting, videodisc geography, detailed
budgeting, stringent pre production preparations, working
with designers to ensure full utilization of video, storyboarding,
production management, scouting locations, props, post production.
(1984 1986)
~ PRODUCER/WRITER. Digital Equipment Corporation,
Bedford, MA.
Projects for DEC Media Design group included the writing
and production of the company's first IVIS interactive videodisc
the LA100. All projects included set designing, props, styling
and costuming. (1982)
~ PRODUCER/PRODUCTION COORDINATOR,
International Television Trading Corp., and WNET/13 (PBS),
New York. (1978 1981). These two production entities were
very closely linked producing arts programming for Great
Performances. I participated in the production of the following
programs:
BERNSTEIN BEETHOVEN with Leonard Bernstein
leading the Vienna, Philharmonic; SUMMERMST, a series
of live Jazz, dance and rock, concerts; Gounod's FAUST,
from the Chicago Lyric Opera; CALLAS a 90 minute documentary
about Maria Callas; MANON LESCAUT, Live From the Met;
Moliere's TARTUFFE; MOURNINQ BECOMES ELECTRA by Eugene
O'Neill, a mini series; SOLTI CONDUCTS..., a series of
concerts featuring Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra, and more.
~ PRODUCER, Theatre of the Open Eye, New York,
NY.
Produced a festival of live theatre works in progress. (1980)
~ MEDIA DIRECTOR, Jian Guo Hotel, Peking,
PRC, for Clement Chen & Associates of San Francisco,
CA.. 1981 was spent in Peking, Shanghai, and Hong Kong where
I opened and managed an office to handle publicity in Asia
and the USA, and the hiring of Hong Kong hotel personnel
to work in Peking. This position demanded strict record
keeping and budgeting to comply with the policies of the
two governments involved. The Jian Guo now leads China's
blossoming tourist industry. (1974 1976 & 1981)
~ PRODUCTION/RESEARCH ASSISTANT, Film Infinity,
and Arch Diocesan Communications, San Francisco, CA. Production,
research, writing grant proposals. (1975)
~ ASSISTANT TO FINANCE DIRECTOR. Corporation
for Public Broadcasting, Washington, DC Administrated requests
for funding from PBS stations, and evaluating and advising
on program proposals. (1975)
~ ASSISTANT, Commission for the American Bicentennial
Washington, DC.
Handled publicity for the Tall Ships Procession into New
York Harbor and involved daily
contact with the national newspapers and tv stations. (1975)
~ FILM PRODUCTION ASSISTANT, BBC Television
Documentaries, London, England.
he program series in production was titled ONE PAIR OF EYES
in which issues were examined through the eyes of different
celebrities. (1972 1975)
~ WRITER/EDITORIAL ASSISTANT, Double Bond,
BP Chemicals Company, London, England. This company newspaper
was distributed throughout the British Petroleum conglomerate
nationally and internationally. (1971 1972)
EDUCATION
~ MASTER GARDENER Certificate, University of
Rhode Island, RI (1993)
~ BS ENGLISH, Northeastern University, Boston, MA (1988)
~ BA POLITICS, pursued, University of Kent, England (1976
1978)
~ HOTEL MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DIPLOMA, Ealing College, London,
England (1968 1969)
~ PITMANS BUSINESS DIPLOMA, Pitmans Business College, London,
England (1967)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
~ Garden Writers Association of America
~ Greater Providence Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce
~ Newport County Chamber of Commerce
~ Portsmouth Business Association
~ Creative Communications Club of Providence
~ Women's Network of Newport County
NON PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
~ Court Appointed Special Advocate working for the rights
of children in legal cases of abuse or neglect
~ Volunteer Landscape Gardener, Lucy's Hearth Shelter for
Homeless Women & Children
REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS
AND PROJECTS
Business Publishing Group
Writer for corporate marketing magazines for various industry
clients
OSO.Com (Ocean-State Online) Cox Communications
Writer: on-line Garden Guide to Rhode Island
Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum
Writing & Public Relations for Long-Term Vision document,
major fund raising efforts: Gardens Open for Blithewold 2000
and 2001, and Landscape Designer Julie Moir Messervy fund-raising
luncheon
Charlton Memorial Hospital
Writer/Designer of Award-winning behavior changing motivational
videotape on AIDS education for Middle School students for
Fall River School System
Spectrum Interactive, for IBM
Writer: two dramatic interactive videodiscs on educating the
instructor
Interactive Media Communications
Writer/Producer: 9 modules interactive videodiscs
Writer/Designer: two 2 sided interactive videodiscs on industrial
hazard communications
Century III Teleproductions
Writer/Producer: 80 page proposal for Wang Laboratories for
production of Maestro projects. Contract was awarded to Century
III Corporate Images Group
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
Writer: dramatic 2 sided interactive videodisc on insurance
agent recruitment
VizWiz Film/Video
Designer/Writer/Producer: interactive videodisc for LaserActive
LaserActive Award for Outstanding Production
Other Clients include:
Digital Equipment Corporation
University of Massachusetts
Fidelity Investments
The Boston Company
New England Life
Hewitt Associates
VDI/Editel Boston
Agora Resources |
