Client: Alverno College
Project: Alumni magazine story
Not surprisingly, I’ve been writing a lot about COVID-19 this year — everything from patient communications for health care orgs to features for alumni magazines. But it was this interview with an ICU nurse on the front lines of the pandemic that I couldn’t stop thinking about for days afterward. Read the story.
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin feature story
Client: Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Project: Feature story
In the cardiac community, it’s well known that Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin played a pivotal role in transforming survival rates for kids with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, one of the most severe heart defects. But the hospital had never captured and shared the full, behind-the-scenes story of its pioneering cardiac research for a lay audience, and the hospital’s leadership wanted a narrative feature to commemorate this important part of its history. The story was shared online and distributed as a booklet at an event that celebrated the Herma Heart Institute’s new name and the conclusion of a successful fundraising campaign. As the mom of a child with heart defects, I found this project especially meaningful, and it was a true gift to be able to tell this important story. See the PDF.
Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation
Client: Envision/Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation in Chicago
Project: Feature stories, July ’15
A Chicago design firm, Design360, asked me to help produce the content for this donor publication. I wrote the planned giving article, which tells the stories of donors who have included the hospital’s foundation in their estate plans, as well as the article about the Beverly Breast Cancer Walk and accompanying sidebar. See the PDF.
Deer meets motorcycle
Client: Froedtert Today magazine/Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin
Project: Feature story, May ’15
After a motorcycle accident left a Fond du Lac man’s leg shattered, he turned to the experts at Froedtert for emergency surgery and followup care. Read the story online.
Alumni award profiles
Client: University of Wisconsin-Madison/Wisconsin Alumni Association
Project: Profiles of the 2015 “Forward under 40” award winners
There’s nothing like an alumni awards project to make me feel woefully unaccomplished by comparison! Seriously, though, it’s a treat to write about a university’s most successful and inspiring alumni, and I loved learning the stories behind this year’s “Forward under 40” honorees. I wrote all eight profiles for the Wisconsin Alumni Association website, including this one.
“She smiles when she swims”
Client: UU World magazine/Unitarian Universalist Association
Project: Feature story, Spring ’15
This 16-year-old swimmer, who recently set a world record, might be the most determined teen I’ve ever met. My favorite quote: “The jellyfish stings were a good distraction from everything else that was going on. It was only bad when they stung me in the nose or ears.” Read the story online.
Engineering beyond boundaries
Client: Marquette University Office of Marketing and Communication/College of Engineering
Project: Cover story, October ’13
How do you capture a college’s global impact? To make a broad topic more concrete, I crafted this feature story around a series of vignettes that spotlighted the work of Marquette’s engineering students and faculty around the world. This reporting-intensive story required a dozen interviews. See the PDF.
The planet hunter
Client: On Wisconsin magazine/University of Wisconsin-Madison
Project: Cover story, June ’13
This might be my favorite profile of the year: A freelance astrobiologist and astronomer who has dedicated her career to advancing the search for extraterrestrial life. Read the story online.
Project Tanzania
Client: Marquette Magazine/Marquette University
Project: Feature story, Fall ’10
It all began with a tattered postcard from Tanzania. The message was simple: “We’re here. Why aren’t you?” And so started an amazing 15-year journey of discovery and development for two maverick missionaries. Read the story online or see the PDF.
Polka underground
Client: MKE/Journal CommunicationsProject: Cover story, March 2005
Although this is an older clip, it remains one of my favorites because it’s quirky and quintessentially Wisconsin. My interest was piqued after the 20-year-old Miss Wisconsin Polka Booster Queen pitched herself for a profile. I soon discovered that she was part of a small (but larger than expected) crowd of 20- and 30-somethings who are determined to keep their grandparents’ favorite music alive. These young polka addicts spend their time cruising the underground polka circuit, from rural dance halls and corner taverns to polka festivals across the country to polka house parties where they jam all night. Who knew? Read the PDF.
