LensAI & Photoshop
About
I am a long-time designer and developer of creative and informative content. I’ve earned an M.A. in Digital Storytelling from Ball State University’s famed College of Communication, Information, and Media, as well as an M.A. in English: Creative Writing and an M.F.A in Creative Writing, focus: Creative Nonfiction, from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers.
I love designing, creating, learning, and teaching. I’ve taken on many titles: writer, copy editor, college-level instructor, instructional designer, communications manager, project manager, web editor, creative director, technical producer, design consultant, graphic artist, content developer, journalist, even photographer. Over the last decade, I’ve worked as an end-to-end project manager in multiple settings, from initial concept through revision to final evaluation, publication, and ongoing analysis and refinement.
I’m multi-skilled in all facets of designing and developing websites, publications, courses, and professional trainings. I’ve self-learned and worked within most major creative software applications as well as content and learning management systems, designing/editing learning modules, graphics and pages, videos, and presentations, even searchable in-depth content libraries, organizing, analyzing, problem-solving, and updating basic and complex digital operations and functions.
Since 2007, I’ve instructed higher education courses in English Composition, Inquiry and academic research, Creative Writing, and Communications, developing my own unique curriculum for diverse populations in both on-site and virtual classrooms. I am educated and experienced in andragogy and online-learning best practices. In my experience as an instructor, I bring a passion for human-centered instruction that upholds inclusion and fairness, and I bring a love for teaching critical thinking and creative processes through deeper reflection and affective feedback that offers best next steps toward growth.
As I continue to grow in my own career, I bring my education and theoretical knowledge, my expansive technical know-how, my creative skills and artistic insight, and a sincere desire to make new connections and build strong relationships for better, creative collaboration.
Projects I can build and deliver:
Education-based websites and presentations * Interactive eLearning modules and materials * Infographics, illustrations, informative documents/articles * Virtual courses * Company and bio websites * Slide presentations and videos * Newsletters * Magazines and books * Promotional material and articles * Graphic design and logos * Photography (people, places, and things) * and more!
Technical Tools I can use:
Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Premiere * Adobe Express, Lightroom, and Firefly * Canva * Microsoft Power Point, Word, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, OneDrive, and Teams * Articulate Storyline and Rise * Genially * Blackboard and Canvas Learning Management Systems * LearnWorlds * WordPress (including Avada and Divi builders and WooCommerce) * Squarespace * BigMailer (AWS) * MailChimp * Google Drive, Gmail and Hangouts, Sheets, Docs, Forms, Sites, and Classroom * Zoom (for meetings, webinars, and interactive trainings) * Submittable * Hubspot * Quickbooks * Discord * Slack * Chat GPT * Midjourney
Skills & experience
- content development and management systems
- user experience (UX) and interface (UI)
- stakeholder engagement and influence
- creative thinking and idea generation
- research, analysis, and application
- team work, collaboration, and leadership
- project management
- graphic design
- web development and design
- instructional design & eLearning tools
- curriculum development (academia and adult/professional PD and virtual trainings)
- learning management systems
- writing/editing
- photography and photo-editing
- video editing
- marketing and sales
- event management
- office operations
- problem solving
- customer/client support and services
Mom, my big sister, and me: 1982
ME
… And there is, of course, more about me personally. See that old Polaroid? I grew up in a little house in a small Midwestern town, just me and my big sister and our hardworking, single mom. It wasn’t easy, but we took care of each other and taught ourselves a LOT. I was an artist, explorer, and entrepreneur at an early age, writing and selling my own newspapers, producing plays on my back porch, and building families of giant cardboard robots. I found my own way to college (and just kept going and going once I got there!). I was granted full scholarships and graduate and teaching assistantships to back me. I became the first in my family to earn a graduate degree. And, in the midst of all that schooling, I raised four beautiful children and gained an excellent partner in marriage. Fast forward to now, and I’m an awesome grandma (Just ask any one of my five grandkids!)! I’ve wandered along a challenging path, but, over the years, I’ve grown quite fond of it all and wouldn’t change a thing if I could. I love my family immensely, and I love that I’m back in my home state of Indiana, in a small town, in a house surrounded by tall trees, where I can step out my back door every morning, if I so desire, to watch the sun rise over a cow field and then, with my camera in hand, go bug-hunting.
Contact me.
How can I help you? I do some freelance work and would love to help my fellow freelancers, artists, organizations, and small businesses! Are you needing a website, an interactive lesson or course, a slide presentation, promotional graphics, or photographs? Send me a quick note through the form below, and I will reply with an email response. Thank you!