Stephanie’s expertise in English and writing spans over a decade in freelancing and teaching. Stephanie worked as a staff writer and editor for The Houstonian, contributed to The Huntsville Item, freelanced for The Houston Chronicle and spent four years teaching English and reading at the junior high and high school level. She has a Master’s Degree in English from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Sam Houston State University. Stephanie has also ghost-authored several non-fiction and fiction manuscripts, numerous fashion and travel articles, and countless press releases, pitch letters, taglines, and print ads. Her copywriting and journalism experience includes technical copy for Tyco Flow Control and customer communications copy for a major American credit card company. Stephanie has also worked on copy and campaigns for Hilton and Carpet One Floor & Home, North America’s largest floor covering retailer.

At The Writers For Hire, she has overseen, edited, proofread, or written copy for over 50 clients. Stephanie is an exceptional proofreader, writer, and editor and has a gift for adding a creative flair to projects while keeping copy professional and concise.

Stacy Clifford is a wearer of many hats, both literally and figuratively. Having earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996, his career has covered environmental cleanup, software testing, web development, technical support, copy editing and proofreading, and martial arts instruction. He has been proofreading since 3rd grade English with Mrs. Barry, corrected every stripe of web copy for over 15 years, copy edited both fiction and non-fiction books, and written on subjects as diverse as volcanology, sword fighting, and space colonization. A fixer by nature, Stacy is a stickler for structure and form and enjoys a good challenge whipping a document into shape. When not tackling the worlds problems or teaching people how to stab each other, Stacy enjoys pencil drawing and hiking in the national parks.

Flori, who has more than 25 years of writing experience, began her career in suburban Detroit as a community newspaper reporter. She has worked as a neighborhood news editor for the Houston Chronicle and as a copywriter for Powell Public Relations. During more than 10 years as a freelance writer, her projects included newspaper and magazine articles, press releases, brochure and website copy, Request for Proposal (RFP) responses, and grant applications. Her clients have included Galveston Monthly magazine, Weddings in Houston magazine, Judy Nichols & Associates (public relations) and NCIC Phone Services, along with nonprofit organizations, Lifeway International and Newspring. Since joining The Writers For Hire, Flori has assisted with social media campaigns and written blog posts, articles, press releases, brochures, and web copy.

Flori has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Oakland University.

Jenny Higgons is a New York City-based writer, editor and reporter for magazines and newspapers. Her resume includes on-staff and freelance on-site work for Manhattan-based magazines (Us, InStyle, TV Guide, Playgirl, Time and Avenue) and an acclaimed TV-themed website, where she wrote and edited stories about TV and film celebrities. Jenny also spent four years as a staff writer at three regional magazines owned by national media giant Gannett. She’s currently a staff writer at Gannett’s The Journal News, the largest and most influential daily newspaper in Westchester County (a suburb of New York City).

She attended Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, and Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, the latter from which she graduated with a B.A. in TV/Radio. Her favorite pastime is laughing.

Arielle Emmett joined The Writers for Hire after a 30-year career in science, technology, and international journalism education. Early in her career, during the Watergate era, Arielle was selected as a journalism intern for The New York Times columnist William Safire, and she was a correspondent for Newsweek. She has worked as an editor for Science Digest, as a reporter and features staff writer for the Detroit Free Press, and as a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer and The American Journalism Review. She also has held senior editor and editor-in-chief positions at leading technical magazines and was a 10-year contributing editor at The Scientist. Arielle’s work has been published in Parents, Ms., OMNI, and Toronto Globe & Mail, among other publications. In 2011 she completed her doctoral dissertation in visual media and iconic photography at the University of Maryland. Since then, Arielle has taught science communications and online journalism at Temple and Drexel Universities, International College Beijing, and University of Hong Kong.

Carissa has been writing professionally for nearly 20 years, working as a public relations copywriter, as a newspaper journalist and blogger, and as a magazine feature-story writer and columnist for publications both domestic and abroad, including the United Kingdom and Egypt. During her career, Carissa has covered arts, education, business, government, entertainment, and religion for regional and national audiences, including 13 years with The Houston Chronicle. She also spent a year living in and blogging about her experiences in Marrakech, Morocco, Africa. Carissa is originally from Louisiana. She attended the University of Louisiana – Lafayette, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Liberal Arts degree with a double major in journalism and English.

With a Bachelor of Science in Language Arts from Georgetown University and 20 years of editorial experience, Erin brings a passion for words and well-crafted writing to every project. As a writer, she revels in the opportunity to create vibrant original copy and rejuvenate tired text. She has written on a range of topics, in a variety of styles, and for an array of platforms. As an editor, proofreader, translator, and trusted second set of eyes, she has helped clients from around the world enhance their writing. A self-proclaimed editorial perfectionist, Erin once canceled a credit card because of a grammatically incorrect form letter, which she edited and promptly sent back to the company. (Incidentally, she wasn’t surprised to receive no response.)

Jennifer’s decade of writing and editing experience includes clients ranging from locally-owned small businesses to government entities, such as the Harris County Healthcare Alliance and magazines with international distribution like The Costco Connection. She has worked extensively with the travel industry, writing for publications such as Texas Highways, Texas Journey, and Texas Meetings and Events. Jennifer’s newspaper experience includes contributions to The Dallas Morning News and The Houston Chronicle. Her marketing skills were honed while serving as the Dallas-Fort Worth area marketing director for an organic grocery company. Jennifer’s range of writing and editing expertise includes social media, website copy, real estate copy, non-fiction books, pitch letters, blog posts, and profiles. She graduated cum laude from The University of Texas and enjoys inspiring the next generation of writers by leading youth writers’ workshops.

Journalist/Content Maven Judy Cole is the former Editor-in-Chief of Playgirl, Today’s Charlotte Woman, SexIs and Vibrant Living magazine. With more than 20 years’ professional experience, she’s interviewed everyone from homeless artists and street soccer activists to doctors, lawyers, and business entrepreneurs, as well as major names in the fields of music, arts, and entertainment. In addition to penning televisions scripts, web copy, blog posts, press releases, and even trivia for pub quizzes, Judy has conceptualized, created, and published content on subject matter that includes dating/relationships, health/fitness, arts/culture, gender equality, sex-positive education/legislation, DIY, home repair, fashion, finance, food, beauty, décor, gardening, going green, pets/animal welfare, celebrities—and anything else that’s ever sprung to mind or fallen into her lap that demanded coverage. Her work has been featured at Nerve.com and Men’s Fitness online, and in print at Skirt! Creative Loafing, Draft (all things beer), Business North Carolina, and Charlotte Magazine. Judy’s ebooks, “Grrracie! A Stray Dog’s Tale” and “Peculiar Parables for a Dubious Millennium,” are available at Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

Morgan has worked in marketing and communications for more than eight years, with a primary focus on copywriting and content creation. Throughout her years of experience, she has written and edited almost every kind of copy imaginable – magazine articles, blog posts, website copy, brochures, press releases, nonfiction books, newsletter articles, brand guidelines, and more – for both B2B and B2C audiences in a wide array of industries, including energy, technology, finance, healthcare, education, travel, retail, and more. In addition to her creative skills, Morgan has technical expertise in HTML coding and utilizing content management systems (e.g. WordPress) and email platforms, such as MailChimp, ExactTarget, and Constant Contact. With a lifelong interest in language, it is not surprising that Morgan has a bachelor’s degree in German and Linguistics from Rice University, where she studied more than eight languages. In 2011, she received her master’s degree in Advertising from The University of Texas, where she was accepted into the elite Texas Creative Program for her copywriting skills. In her free time, Morgan enjoys writing personalized picture books for friends and family.

Tammie Letroise-Brown brings over 13 years of experience to the Writers for Hire. Attending college at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, Tammie studied communications with a strong focus on Public Relations. She’s worked in several industries including Energy, Education, Aerospace, and more. She’s also highly experienced in executive communications, speech writing, social media campaigns, and high-level communication/marcom campaign creation. Tammie lives near Galveston with her husband, baby boy, and dog. She loves sewing, cooking, and craftiness in general.

Martha Scott’s technical writing career began on a contract at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. She edited papers for scientific journal publication, documents for departments across the site, and a book about a proposed crew escape vehicle. She produced a yearly booklet describing Shuttle contract cost-saving measures, the mission managers’ Flight Data Pack, and a 45-page booklet called Charting a Course to the Year 2000 and Beyond describing plans to develop additional space vehicles and prepare for manned Mars explorations. At Invesco, Martha edited and contributed to two company newsletters (online and hardcopy). She wrote software user manuals, Help files, Training and Benefits department documents, and, finally, shareholder reports. She returned to aerospace for the Shuttle Program’s last 5 years where she attended and produced detailed descriptions of presentations and subsequent discussions at the Orbiter Configuration Control Board’s weekly meetings. She also documented crew debriefings for 17 flights. Martha’s most recent experience was on Jacobs Engineering’s contract with a Texas City refinery for which she wrote and edited Engineering, Safety, Inspection, and Information Systems documents.

Douglas Paton fell in love with words at an early age and was rarely seen without a book in his hands as a kid. At some point along the way, he picked up a pen and started writing and never looked back. He has been writing professionally for nearly 20 years at this. From writing children’s books to magazine articles, comic books to full-length novels, there’s very little that Douglas hasn’t written in his career. For most of the last 10 years, Douglas has focused on writing educational material for younger readers, writing both fiction and non-fiction for clients such as Scholastic Canada and Nelson Canada. These days, he focuses more on writing content and copy for the web. Douglas has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto.

Kim Jackson has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, journalism and content strategy. She has been writing and editing since she could pick up a No. 2 pencil. Some of the earliest “assignments” she tackled included serving as “Dear Abby” for her fifth-grade class newsletter; co-editor of her high school newspaper; and as city hall beat reporter/night editor for the former daily newspaper, The Pasadena Citizen. From there, she served as editor for a weekly newspaper that had multiple, feature-filled sections prior to taking a job with The Houston Chronicle, where she wrote more than 1,000 articles on events and issues important to residents and business owners in Harris and Montgomery counties.

Before launching her career in journalism, Kim worked in marketing, public relations and publishing in Houston and Hong Kong. While living in Hong Kong, she wrote, edited and marketed a full-color magazine for a prominent American business and social networking organization, and worked as a freelance writer and editor for several Hong Kong publishing companies and magazines.

Most recently, she worked as a public information officer for a government agency involved in emergency management communications; and in community/governmental relations, media relations, writing and editing, social media strategy and implementation, and project communications.

She moves easily between different styles of writing, including feature and lifestyle pieces, vlogs and blogs, social media posts, and good, old-fashioned man/woman-on-the-street interviews.

Based in the UK, Louisa graduated from Solent University with an LLB (Hons) degree in Law and subsequently from Oxford with a Diploma in Legal Practice. Her final year dissertation A Critical Analysis of the Justification of the Use of Violence as a Means of Political Protest won first prize and was published in the Mountbatten Journal of Legal Studies. Over the last decade, she has worked as a financial investigator for both the public and private sectors; compiling statutory reports, court documents, and technical manuals in addition to carrying out hundreds of extensive interviews. Louisa can legitimately say that she is able to keep lots of plates spinning, as she ran away to join the circus in 2014. On her return, she began applying her writing and investigative skills to the creation of marketing copy, blogs, articles, RFP, email campaigns, website content and ad scripts, to great success.

Jessica has a fundamental dread of the mundane, which is reflected in her career. Her background includes content marketing, event planning, employee relations, and even a bit of accounting and IT troubleshooting. The common denominator, and her driving passion, has always been her love of reading, writing, and editing. Over a decade-long career, Jessica has managed multi-channel marketing campaigns for small businesses and international organizations, as well as written articles and content on topics from child advocacy to community association management. She has served as editor for multiple publications, including her high school handbook and her mother’s doctoral dissertation. She once contacted a cereal company about a grammatical error on the box. Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and her master’s degree in communication from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.

Brenda Hazzard has over 30 years’ experience working as a writer and editor in the private and public sectors. She spent over 20 years working for the US Government in Washington and abroad, and spent several years working with the CIA during which she managed a team of writers producing internal briefs on international news, events, and politics. She writes on a variety of topics but loves opportunities to work on projects that cater to her keen interest in international affairs. She considers herself to be an empathetic editor, one who improves a draft but lets the spirit of the writer shine through. She has also worked on dissertations, white papers, newspaper articles, and family histories.

Merrisa has enjoyed writing since she was a kid, winning her first competition at the age of 10. She went on to study journalism at Texas A&M University and launch a nearly 20-year career in B2B marketing and corporate communications. Her experience includes everything from business blogging, to ghostwriting for big-company CEOs, to magazine and book editing. In 2013, she became accredited by the International Association of Business Communicators, a rigorous process that attests to her ability to apply strategic thinking in her communications planning tasks. Outside of work, she is a new(ish) mom whose time is spent catering to the whims of a tiny human and a not-so-tiny yellow lab.

Dock David Treece comes to The Writers for Hire after a 10-year career in the investment industry. With a breadth of knowledge spanning business administration, real estate, and securities, Dock has long applied his expertise to communicate complex subjects in simple terms. In addition to a long history writing newsletters and editorials, he also has experience in unpaid media, having been featured on CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg. Dock’s CV includes time spent as a Chief Compliance Officer and Market Strategist for a retail investment advisory firm, a featured columnist for several local, national, and industry-specific media, and a freelance consultant for other small businesses. His specialty is in breaking down complex, business-related subjects for consumption by broad audiences.