Marketing and Outreach

• Jun 2020 - Present

Humanities Teacher

• Jan 2021 - Present

I work with students one-to-one to provide writing and humanities instruction along with executive function support. I provide a gentle reintroduction to academics for students in a therapeutic setting who struggle with anxiety, OCD, and other issues that have affected their education.

Writer & Editor

• 2008 - Present

I provide editing services for clients; past projects have included dissertations, literature reviews, reports, stories, and essays. My typical rate is $25/ hour for proofreading, editing, and/or tutoring in writing. I can also offer a flat rate per project.I've published articles and stories in various magazines and literary journals. I've written monthly columns for the North Fork Journal and Shenandoah Journal (in 2009, on gardening; in 2010, on cooking).

Lecturer, School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication

• Aug 2019 - Jul 2020

Part-time Faculty, School of Writing, Rhetoric and Composition

• Aug 2016 - Aug 2019

I teach a first-year writing/composition course (3 sections) using old and new technologies--from hand-made commonplace books to digital photo-essays. I also teach library research skills and how to write a fabulous research paper, broken down into multiple, manageable steps.I also teach a Humanities 200 level course called "Art of the Personal Essay," which I designed during a professional development opportunity called JMuDesign, exploring the personal essay tradition from ancient times to the present, and across several cultures.

Freelance Writer

• Apr 2016 - Jun 2020

I write non-fiction books for the school library market.

Adjunct Instructor

• Aug 2016 - Aug 2017

I taught a course in Research Skills to international students preparing to enroll at James Madison University. We cover research strategies, citations, avoiding plagiarism, presentations, formatting in MLA and APA styles, and other aspects of composing a 1500-word research paper.

Writing Tutor, Writing Center for Graduate and Professional Studies

• Oct 2013 - Aug 2016

I met one-on-one or in small groups with graduate students and the adult-degree completion students (ADCP) to assist them with improving their writing and research skills. We discussed main ideas, organization, style, citations, and other topics relevant to academic writing. Many of the students I worked with were international students or professionals returning to school after taking many years out of the academic setting, so I also provided academic coaching and encouragement. I taught APA, Turabian, and CSE citation styles according to the discipline. I worked with students at any stage of the writing process, whether brainstorming and outlining, organizing and restructuring a draft, or final polishing.

Adjunct Faculty, Language and Literature Department

• Aug 2014 - Dec 2015

In my role as adjunct faculty for the Language/Literature department, I taught college students the basic skills needed for college research and writing. I emphasized close reading and observation, sentence and paragraph construction, and critical thinking. I taught how to evaluate the quality of books, journal articles, online sources, and other research materials. Furthermore, I taught how to build a thesis statement and support it with reputable sources (correctly cited) and logic. I also taught the value of finding counter-arguments, considering alternative viewpoints with respect, and keeping a curious mind. I provided feedback to students in the form of line edits, prodigious comments, personal conversations, and adaptations to classroom instruction. I have significant experience working with English-language learners.

English teacher (8th grade, one-year position)

• Jun 2013 - Jun 2014

I taught 8th grade English at a private Mennonite school (one-year position).

Faculty of Writing and Literature (one-semester position)

• Aug 2012 - Jan 2013

My teaching position included facilitating daily discussions about the readings (100-150 pages per day), working one-on-one with students on their individual study projects, and occasional lecturing (on literature and writing). Lecture topics included: image patterns in Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, the history of the personal essay, and women characters in Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov.

Apprentice to Fiber Artist

• Sep 2005 - 2008

As apprentice to fiber artist Nancy Slye, I learned to clean fleeces, card wool, spin and dye yarn, and weave wallhangings.

Art Gallery Director

• 2003 - 2005

Directed Ortlip Gallery, supervised student gallery, and advised Artists' Guild (student club)