Corporate and not-for-profit clients
… and just about anything else!
I also teach, give writing workshops and am a frequent speaker and presenter at writing and blogging conferences.
I am an award-winning freelance writer and editor, specializing in plain-language writing and substantive and stylistic editing. For more than 20 years, I have worked closely with my clients in order to translate their messages and goals into clear, compelling copy. Whether it’s writing a handbook for parents of children in hospital, a magazine article for women on the latest advances in cancer screening, a series of researcher profiles for a university, an annual report for a not-for-profit, or a book for judges on making their courtrooms more user-friendly, I synthesize complex materials into informative, user-friendly text that’s a pleasure to read. Have a look at what my clients say about my work.
I’ll write about pretty much anything, but I have expertise in particular on personal finance and law, parenting, LGBTQ family issues, and health and wellness (in particular issues related to cancer).
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
New York Times
The town where mercury still rises, on the ongoing and devastating consequences of mercury poisoning at Grassy Narrows first nation.
Toronto Life magazine
The Orthodox Jew who became a gender-reassignment surgeon: “As an Orthodox Jew, I was always taught to fear sexuality. Then I discovered my calling.” My profile of Dr. Yonah Krakowsky.
Today’s Parent & other parenting writing
I’ve written several articles on education, behaviour, health and family life for Canada’s largest parenting magazine. I also blog regularly for CBC Parents and blogged for Today’s Parent as The Other Mother.
Gender in the classroom: All kids deserve the chance to learn to their full potential, but unconscious stereotypes can get in the way. Here’s what can be done about it.
Listen up! You’ve said it 1000 times. Why can’t kids just do as they’re told?
When kids fly solo: Travel tips to make your junior traveller’s first unaccompanied flight easy and stress-free
When can kids stay home alone? How old is old enough to ditch the daycare costs let your child be latchkey kid?
How to get the teacher you want — without being labeled “pushy”
Personal finance
I love writing about money! In addition to ghostwriting a book on life insurance, I write a quarterly newsletter for financial services company Al G. Brown & Associates. I’m also a regular contributor to Corporate Knights, Advisor's Edge and Advisor's Edge Reports magazines, and advisor.ca. Here are some recent articles:
The last chapter: Estate and legacy planning for writers. I wrote this booklet for The Writers’ Union of Canada. It covers wills, powers of attorney, literary states, and appointing literary executor, and includes comments from Canadian authors including Lawrence Hill, Terry Fallis, Susan Swann and more.
Serving the public good: Ed Waitzer is on a mission to expand the role of corporate boards well beyond narrow definitions of fiduciary duty. Corporate Knights magazine (June 2018)
One year of legal cannabis: The recreational market didn’t stabilize the sector’s notoriously volatile stocks. Here’s what investors need to know about Cannabis 2.0. Advisor.ca (October 2019)
The man who fixed the hole in the sky: Thirty years ago, Tom McMillan helped forge the Montreal Protocol, lighting a pathway to getting the world to act in unison. Corporate Knights magazine (June 2019)
Offering money advice when millennials divorce: Why some younger couples are seeking different solutions when they split. Advisor.ca (March 2019
Does this genetic testing bill threaten the insurance industry?
Creative ways to motivate clients: On "gamifying" your practice
Estate planning for diverse communities: What you need to know about Jewish, Muslim and First Nations communities when making wills
How to raise financially savvy kids, advisor.ca
Genetic testing and your insurance, advisor.ca
Boards are not enough:Efforts to expand female corporate diversity need to extend to senior management and beyond. Corporate Knights magazine (January 2016)
Pride guide: What corporate Canada is doing to welcome its LGBTQ workers. Corporate Knights magazine (June 2017)
The Canadian Bar Association’s National and CCCA magazines:
I’ve written for the Canadian Bar Association National and CCCA magazines for more than a dozen years, writing lawyer profiles, articles on practice management and issues and the latest legal trends for law firms and in-house counsel.
“The time for action: Separating families deserve affordable access to legal services”
The road less travelled: Interested in taking a different direction? These three lawyers offer advice on how to land your dream job and help save the world.”
“In for the long haul: Nathan Whitling has fought long and hard, but justice remains elusive for Omar Khadr.”
Ms. Magazine
“Test cases: The Supreme Court and Angelina Jolie remind us how genetic information affects our lives”
Lakehead alumni magazine
Cover profiles of prominent Lakehead researchers, executives, and alumni
Researcher Mary Lou Kelley is changing the end-of-life experience for the dying and their families
Zsolt Toth is adapting diabetes education to Aboriginal cultural beliefs.
Lakehead grad Barbara Eccles is now the University’s and technology transfer manager, helping researchers succeed
Other magazine writing
Big canoes, small world, for University Affairs magazine (July-August 2022(
Creative ways to motivate your clients, for Advisor's Edge magazine (2016)
Eight-page National Post pull-out supplement on the release of Ontario Women’s Health Council’s Report on Women’s Health (2002)
A series of five articles on cervical screening, for the Ontario Cervical Screening Program (OCSP) published in 50Plus Magazine
Website content
I wrote much of the content, including several Fellow profiles for Ashoka Canada’s updated website.
I recently wrote the content for the Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division’s Get Screened website, promoting colon, breast and cervical cancer screening to LGBTQ people in Ontario.
I’ve worked for more than a decade with Al G. Brown & Associates, a boutique insurance and financial services firm in Toronto. I also write AGB’s newsletters and other marketing and promotional materials.
I’ve written 20+ Stories of Hope — online profiles of cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and volunteers — for the Canadian Cancer Society at the national level, and .
Handbooks
I’ve written several booklets for the Canadian Cancer Society, including:
Chemotherapy and other drug therapies: A guide for people with cancer (2015)
Complementary Therapies: A guide for people with cancer (2014)
Life after Cancer Treatment: A Guide for Cancer Survivors (2013)
Understanding Treatment for Breast Cancer: A guide for women (2012)
Living with Cancer: A guide for people with cancer and their caregivers (2004; 2011)
Pain Relief: A guide for people with cancer (2010)
Childhood Cancer: A guide for families (2009)
The Writers’ Union of Canada:
Canadian Population Health Initiative
Reducing Gaps in Health: Knowledge Synthesis, Translation and Exchange. Conference proceedings synthesis, 2007.
Kachimaa Mawiin/Maybe for Sure: Finding a Place for Place in Health Research and Policy. Conference proceedings synthesis, 2005.
You say ‘to-may-to(e)’ and I say ‘to-mah-to(e)’: Bridging the communication gap between researchers and policymakers. Conference pr oceedings synthesis, 2004.
National Judicial Institute
Problem-solving in Canada’s Courtrooms: A guide to therapeutic jurisprudence
Literacy in the courtroom: A guide for judges
Blogs
I have been blogging as Mama Non Grata since 2007. In 2012, this post was selected as one of BlogHer’s Voices of the Year community keynotes. Mama Non Grata was a VOTY selection in 2011 and again in 2014. It has twice been selected by readers of The Walleye as Thunder Bay’s best blog (in 2012 and 2013), and was chosen as top LGBTQ blog in the 2013 Canadian Weblog Awards.
I wrote a monthly Expert Opinion column on retirement for advisor.ca.
I blog regularly for Today’sParent.com as “The Other Mother.”
I have guest-posted for the CBC, The Mid, Bonbon Break, InterfaithFamily.com, Ms. Magazine (on Angelina Jolie’s ovaries, no less) and MSN.Canada’s “Embrace the Chaos” parenting column.
Press releases, media packages, and promotional materials
Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute, 2014 Summer School of Medical Imaging: press release, media advisory, speakers’ notes
Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC): promotional brochure, one-page project description, other promotional materials
Materials for October 2010 and October 2011 Breast Cancer Awareness Month: plain-language article for the general public
Materials for October 2009 Breast Cancer Awareness Month: cover letter and two plain-language articles for the general public
The Ontario Breast Screening Program: Saving Lives across Ontario through Early Detection. I wrote the content for this document celebrating the opening of the 100th OBSP site.
Newsletters and annual reports
Connecting, Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Financial News & Views, Al G. Brown & Associates
Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, annual reports 2011–2013
Strengthening Ties: The Ontario Breast Screening Program Newsletter (February 2003), Cancer Care Ontario
A Focus on Quality: Ontario Breast Screening Program Annual Report, 2002–2003. I wrote several plain-language articles targeted toward the general public and OBSP stakeholders for this report.
Books
I am co-editor of the anthology And Baby Makes More: Known Donors, Queer Parents and Our Unexpected Families.
I have co-authored two books for expert clients:
Drawing the line: Ten steps to constructive discipline — and achieving a great relationship with your kids (Grand Central Publishing, 2006), with child psychologists and TV personalities Dr. Michael Weiss and Dr. Sheldon Wagner. “In the bestselling tradition of “1-2-3 Magic” comes a unique and controversial approach that tells parents in order to eliminate conflict with their child, they must first create it. The authors introduce a ten-step program that shows parents how to create and engineer conflict to help their children break inappropriate habits and learn more productive ways of behaving.”
The Facts of Life: How to Build Wealth and Protect Your Assets with Life Insurance, 2nd Edition (Wiley, 2003), with Paul Grimes. “With The Facts of Life, you’ll learn about the basics of life insurance, the choices you have to make as a financial consumer, and how best to use insurance to protect your family, your business, and even to grow your wealth.”
Profiles
For the Whole Family Happiness Project, I had the pleasure of profiling dozens of Canadian women involved in fighting climate change in their communities.
I’ve written 20+ Stories of Hope — online profiles of cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and volunteers — for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Researcher Mary Lou Kelley is changing the end-of-life experience for the dying and their families, Lakehead University Alumni Magazine
Zsolt Toth is adapting diabetes education to Aboriginal cultural beliefs.
Lakehead grad Barbara Eccles is now the University’s and technology transfer manager, helping researchers succeed
Profiles of 30+Lakehead University researchers for the University’s Office of Research
“In for the long haul: Nathan Whitling has fought long and hard, but justice remains elusive for Omar Khadr.”
Teaching, writing, and presenting
I’ve spoken at several conferences, including BlogHer (2012, 2013, and 2014), SalonLGBTQ, the 2014 Mom 2.0 Summit, and Blissdom Canada (2015).
I have taught creative writing at Lakehead University.
I’ve given several workshops, on writing, editing, anthologies, and blogging, to organizations including the PARO Centre forWomen’s Enterprise, Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop, and The Other 10% youth group
Awards
2014 Ontario Arts Council Writer's Works in Progress grant for the short story collection Love in the Time of Twitter
2014 Ontario Arts Council “Northern Arts” grant to co-facilitate “in/Visible Ink,” a writing and zine-making workshop for queer youth and allies
2013 Canadian Weblog Award for best LGBTQ content
2012 Ontario Arts Council “Northern Arts” grant for performance piece, Overflow
2012 & 2013: Mama Non Grata awarded “Best Blog in Thunder Bay” by The Walleye, Thunder Bay’s monthly arts and culture magazine.
2009 Ontario Arts Council “Northern Arts” grant for novel-in-progress, Step on a Crack
2002 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence, Editors’ Association of Canada, for editing Misinformed Consent: Thirteen Women Share Their Stories about Unnecessary Hysterectomy
Stephen J. Mills Memorial Award (mentorship in substantive fiction editing); Ryerson Polytechnic University
— Susan Flynn, Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division —