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About Me
How to go on about myself without you wanting to run for the nearest exit. That’s the challenge. But I’ll try:
Starting my advertising career with two years in retail, I made the leap to the world’s biggest dog at the time, J. Walter Thompson / Chicago. It was there that I learned to write for traditional media (TV, radio, print), developing and honing my advertising chops to the point where I was knighted with a VP/Creative Director title. All in all, it was the best education an advertising acolyte could have ever hoped for.
After 12 golden years of that, I made another giant leap – this time to freelance, taking with me my skills and Awards*, growing them both exponentially. Thanks to meeting the needs of innumerable clients, my writing repertoire expanded well beyond traditional media to include websites, videos, brochures, blogs, case studies, social media -- and so much more.
Now it’s time I apply those skills to successfully market your business. And do so while we both have fun in the process.
OUTSIDE OF WORK: I've been serving 8 years as president of Independent Writers of Chicago (IWOC) and will up until our mid 2025 merge with the Writers and Publishers Network. Believing in the importance of IWOC's mission -- helping writers succeed in the business of freelancing, I continue to tour the lecture circuit, presenting "Life in the Freelance Lane" to aspiring freelance writers at various venues across Chicago and 'burbs.
ON THE SIDE: I write songs, record them in Nashville and have written "Nashville Notes: Diary of a Mad Songwriter," my one-woman show I'm planning to take on the road.
But enough about me. Let’s talk about you.
Starting my advertising career with two years in retail, I made the leap to the world’s biggest dog at the time, J. Walter Thompson / Chicago. It was there that I learned to write for traditional media (TV, radio, print), developing and honing my advertising chops to the point where I was knighted with a VP/Creative Director title. All in all, it was the best education an advertising acolyte could have ever hoped for.
After 12 golden years of that, I made another giant leap – this time to freelance, taking with me my skills and Awards*, growing them both exponentially. Thanks to meeting the needs of innumerable clients, my writing repertoire expanded well beyond traditional media to include websites, videos, brochures, blogs, case studies, social media -- and so much more.
Now it’s time I apply those skills to successfully market your business. And do so while we both have fun in the process.
OUTSIDE OF WORK: I've been serving 8 years as president of Independent Writers of Chicago (IWOC) and will up until our mid 2025 merge with the Writers and Publishers Network. Believing in the importance of IWOC's mission -- helping writers succeed in the business of freelancing, I continue to tour the lecture circuit, presenting "Life in the Freelance Lane" to aspiring freelance writers at various venues across Chicago and 'burbs.
ON THE SIDE: I write songs, record them in Nashville and have written "Nashville Notes: Diary of a Mad Songwriter," my one-woman show I'm planning to take on the road.
But enough about me. Let’s talk about you.
*Awards are great, but only if they get great results. The following entail both:
- Won TMP Worldwide International Creative competition for Burger King “You’re King Material” recruitment campaign. (Garnered rave reviews in the New York Times.)
- Transportation, Sales and Marketing Assn. Communications Award, “Burnin’ Love” Best Trade Ad for Schneider (America’s #1 trucking company)
- EMA Awards (the Cleo of Recruitment Awards) for Schneider, Rockwell Automation and Xerox campaigns.
- Telly Award for Convenient Food Mart “Loooooong Lines” TV spot.
- Winner in the Advertising Age/Scholastic, Inc. Yearn-to-Learn Challenge for “Fighting Chance”, a print ad whose aim was to encourage teenagers to stay in school.
- Chicago International Film Festival Award for Ken-L Ration “Happy Dogs” commercial.
- Addy Award for Hyatt Hotels “Capture the Spirit” campaign.
- Grand Prize Winner of Chicago Ad Club’s “Chicago’s Got It” competition.
- American Film Institute/Sony “Visions” Award for “Shopping in Paris,” a music video written and performed by Shotzie (c’est moi). Also featured in AFI’s International Video Festival.
- 1st prize in radio station WSCR’s poetry contest for the Chicago Bulls that sent me to N.Y. to see Bulls vs. Knicks at MSG.