Advancement Manager

I manage communications and support outreach and fundraising efforts for the Land Conservancy of West Michigan, a nonprofit that protects natural land. I oversee our small communications/outreach department. Right now we’re in the midst of our 50th Anniversary celebrations, which involve a series of dynamic events and retrospective communications.

Writing is in everything I do. I am primarily doing marketing and fundraising writing, with some internal communications. I do a fair amount of document design, creating newsletters, brochures, postcards, etc. I write and design way-finding and interpretive signage for nature preserves. This is a little more abstract, but it’s true: writing (or, more accurately, story) informs how I approach thinking about our programming and events.

Right after graduation, I got a job as a “technical writer” at a small company in Grand Rapids that made custom material handling equipment. It ended up being less technical writing and more marketing and social media. On the side, I wrote for music and beer blogs for fun. After three years of that, I determined that I needed my 9-to-5 to mean something more to me, so I researched ways to further specialize my skills.

I began pursuing a Master's degree in Environmental Journalism from Michigan State University while still living in Grand Rapids. The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism runs a news website called Great Lakes Echo, and I worked there part time reporting (and eventually editing) stories about things like harmful algal blooms, hotly debated fishing techniques, climate impacts on forests and wildlife disease, and more. While producing a podcast about vernal pools, I emailed the Land Conservancy of West Michigan to ask where I might find a vernal pool in West Michigan. They were very helpful. I found I really loved learning and writing about the natural world. But the expense and commute on part-time pay caught up with me.

So I paused my studies and took another job doing marketing copywriting and social media for another small business—this time a vacation rental company in Saugatuck. I continued to write and edit for the Echo and kept my interest in the environment fed. 

Then a position for a Communications Specialist at the Land Conservancy of West Michigan opened, and I eagerly applied. I got the job in 2018 and have been working there ever since, gradually taking on more responsibility. A few years in, I was able to finish my Master's degree with support from the Conservancy’s education assistance program and some scholarships. I took electives and developed projects that deepened my understanding of the Conservancy’s work.

Lots of things come to mind, but working at the Writing Center probably takes the cake. Teaching really is the best way to learn. Listening teaches you how to communicate. The exchanges I had with fellow students over their WRT 150 and research papers taught me lessons that I apply at work every day, whether I’m writing a profile for our spring newsletter, developing a report for our board of directors, or sending an email to my boss. Those conversations also helped me realize that I loved and was excited by the nuts and bolts of writing and communication.

Not a day goes by that I don't use skills I learned in WRT 253/353.

Creative writing wasn’t my strong suit, but the creative writing courses I took were memorable. A class with Caitlin Horrocks wherein we peeled apart, line by line, stories by David Foster Wallace and an essay by T. Fleischmann changed the way I read and think about writing. Lessons I learned about poetry and metaphor sometimes get to play when I’m on the job but mostly get exercised when I’m co-writing music for the eco-hardcore band I'm in.

You’ve already chosen a writing major, so you’re off to a great start. From there, I guess I’d say follow what excites you. Don’t be afraid to wander off course a little. Sometimes the places that seem the least relevant to where you see yourself going/think you’re supposed to be are where it’s at.