Portfolio

This isn’t really a portfolio. If I handed you all the work I’m proud of, you’d be buried under so many words you might never surface again.

(I counted my published words until I hit one million around 2010. Then I stopped.)

So if you think of a portfolio as an ice cream sundae, what you’ll find here are a few of the chocolate sprinkles. Intriguing, but not the whole thing.

If you don’t see a link to the type of writing you’re interested in, don’t worry. Chances are I’ve done it. Contact me for additional samples.


Feature writing

I cut my teeth as a full-time reporter and stringer in Madison, Wis. Producing up to eight articles a week for three newspapers and the occasional magazine, I reached the Holy Grail of reporting: writing both quickly and well.

And these weren’t half-assed jobs. I made my editors and fact-checkers happy with my well documented research, and my coverage of the payday lending industry was nominated for Best Investigative Story or Series in the Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism Competition of the Milwaukee Press Club.

I had a blast writing about education and communities for The Capital Times, politics and lifestyle for the weekly Isthmus newspaper, and a little bit of everything for African-American newspaper The Madison Times.

I also wrote for a number of consumer magazines, including Readers Digest, Hope, Lambda Literary Review, Wisconsin Trails, Madison Magazine, and Wisconsin Woman. Areas of focus included sustainability, human rights, and lifestyle.

Oh, and books! My work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies and Changing Boundaries: Best Religion News Writing.

Shannon Barry interview
Mulusew Yayehyirad: Madison Nurse Improves Health in Ethopia

Nonprofit communications

As an editor for philanthropic advisor Geneva Global, I produced grant prospectuses that connected nonprofit agencies on five continents with more than $10 million in funding. Later, I directed communications for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. I boosted its social media engagement, managed email campaigns, and established editorial excellence in its publications.


Websites, email, and content marketing

As the communications manager for Ujuzi African Travel, I plan and create web and email content to encourage conservation-focused travel to eastern and southern Africa.

I’m a contributing writer to AOM Insights, an online magazine bringing business leaders the latest in evidenced-based organizational research.

I write and edit a variety of marketing pieces for WATT clients, including white papers, blog posts, brochures, branded magazines, and sponsored content.

Using my talent for plain language, I write easy-to-read web and print content to inform patients and their parents about kids’ health.

I provide the leader in B2B marketing education with content to help its own marketing excel.