Meet Your Writer!

When I write for your organization, I want to understand your story inside and out. Having a firm grasp of your history, mission, and voice helps me write communications that truly embody who you are.

And if I want you to share all of the little details with me, it seems only fair that I start to shade in my own background for you. Let's break out the colored pencils!

1. I'm a bona fide (and shameless) theater kid-turned-theater adult. Does the smell of Aqua Net take you back to a musty dressing room in the suburbs? Do you know the burning sensation of gluing a fake mustache to your upper lip with Spirit Gum? (I truly hope you don't; it's foul.) Have you ever played an apple tree in a community theater production of The Wizard of Oz (or any tree, in any show)? Well, then we've got something in common.

2. My dad taught me how to do crossword puzzles. I looked over his shoulder as he did The New York Times puzzle in pen, always pen. He explained to me what it means when there's a question mark at the end of the clue and how to decipher the theme. I grew up in the same town where Will Shortz (the editor of The New York Times crossword) lives, and he'd host an annual crossword tournament, which my parents competed in for fun. I'd love to compete in a crossword tournament someday (I certainly wouldn't win, but I think I'd make a fair showing!).

   
   

3. I love an icebreaker (I know they're some folks' worst nightmare; please don't hold this against me). Every year for my friend's birthday, I hand-write 100 dinner table questions and put them in a little box he can keep in his kitchen. Awkward silences, begone!

   1. Examples:

      1. What is a subject you could give a TED Talk on right now? (Why Parasite is a perfect film.)

      2. What is a YouTube rabbit hole you’ve fallen into? (Does watching Doechii's Tiny Desk Concert over and over again count? Oh, and Crucible Cast Party.)

      3. If your life were a musical, what would one of the musical numbers be titled? ("You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Red Lip")

4. I make a mean cake pop. I like baking them because it's sort of like playing with Play-Doh; shaping the dough is a nostalgic tactile sensation. My favorite flavor to make is devil's food cake topped with crushed peppermint. On the savory side, I make excellent homemade pesto, super zingy with lots of garlic. Welp, I'm hungry.

5. I'm a New Yorker at heart, but most of the northeast had a hand in raising me.

   1. I grew up in the suburbs of New York City, taking the train in every chance I could, haunting the TKTS booth for back-row balcony tickets to Phantom of the Opera. I've also lived in Washington Heights and on the Upper East Side.

   2. I went to college at a small school in Connecticut, where I fell in love with the beach at wintertime, crab fritters, and Shakespeare.

   3. I lived in a run-down farmhouse in New Jersey for a year after school (Intern Housing™), learning how to work like an adult and yapping with my five spectacular housemates over Ari's season of The Bachelor at night.

   4. Prior to the pandemic, I lived and worked in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, where I spent Saturday mornings walking from my apartment to the base of Kennedy Park. I'd hike up the mountain, past the eerie remnants of a hotel that burned down, reaching the stunning overlook at the top. (I also may or may not have filmed an audition tape for Survivor while I was up there once. It has gone unanswered. Your move, Jeff Probst.)

Well, that's a little bit about me! Now I want to learn about you. Drop me a line and let's talk about how your work is making the world a better, safer, more equitable place. I write to help you achieve your goals, and there's no better time to start than the present.

~ Emily