Medical Writing

I've been a professional writer and editor for more than 30 years — the first two decades or so as a newspaper and magazine journalist. I've written for the New York Times and Time magazine, and done health pieces for a range of newspapers and for Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

In more recent years as a medical writer, I’ve worked with hospitals, academic health centers, universities, and others to create content for various audiences — but especially for healthcare providers, patients, prospective patients and the general public.

I worked for several years as a senior communications specialist for Oregon Health & Science University, one of the nation's top academic health centers. I was the lead communicator for the OHSU Brain Institute, and wrote about multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease and dozens of other topics relating to neurology and the brain. I also became expert in writing about HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, gene therapy and other research areas.

More recently, I’ve moved into continuing medical education, working with organizations to help them educate and update healthcare providers on the continual advances in medicine and healthcare.

Writing Portfolio

Media Relations

My background in journalism has allowed me to excel in helping clients with public and media relations — working beside them to strategize how to interest reporters and bloggers in their medical and health stories.

As the lead media relations coordinator for the OHSU Brain Institute, I routinely worked with local, national and international media on stories about OHSU's clinical care and health and medical research. I successfully pitched stories to, among many others, the New York Times, NBC News, the National Geographic Channel, Mashable and the Huffington Post.

I've also created and presented media training programs and performed media relations work for a number of other agencies and non-profits.

I also have experience as a crisis communications expert. I did crisis communications work for three years for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, serving as media relations coordinator at the site of natural disasters throughout the United States. I also did crisis communications work at OHSU, and of course intrinsically understand crisis communications through my years of covering crisis news and events as a journalist.

Other writing and editing

Over my career, I've written about much other than medicine and health. I've written about U.S. presidential debates and Portland boxing gyms. I've written about air pollution in Kentucky and poverty on South Dakota American Indian reservations. I've written for newspapers and magazines and websites. I've written hundreds of thousands of words, always striving to tell stories in compelling ways.

Writing Portfolio