I hold two Bachelors degrees: one in Psychology and another in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, in which I passed with Highest Honors. I also have practitioner certification in performance training and therapeutic counseling. I've passed five Graduate Record Examinations, in Education, English, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology, scoring on average in the top five percent; and I'm a published author of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and journalism.
My career hasn't been mainly academic. I've worked principally in marketing and advertising. A part-time job as an illustrator led to my becoming a copywriter, and then the chief copywriter, for a Rochester marketing firm. From that I developed into a freelance business writer and marketing consultant. When the computer revolution struck, I developed my skills further and mastered XHTML, CSS, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, InDesign and other design and web design tools, and offered those services as well.
What I learned, I taught: principally at Writers & Books, the third largest community-based writing center in the United States. There I've taught classes for several years in web writing and design, business writing, fiction, poetry, publishing, and, in particular a class called 'Writing More And Suffering Less' aimed at helping writers of every age and condition overcome writer's block. My students have ranged from college deans and writers of Ph.D. dissertations to award-winning novelists, retirees in their 90's, and ninth-graders writing college admissions essays.
My own track record as a writer is extensive: I'm a published author of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, magazine articles, interviews, reviews, and more. I've written grants and served as a judge on a grants panel, and I've also spoken and lectured at universities and colleges.
While I have academic credentials, I think what distinguishes me as a tutor is actual life experience. What I teach I've applied in the real world. I haven't just lectured about writing, or psychology, or design, or web design: I've practiced it, published it, and made a living at it. Tutoring is more than just reciting what's already written in books, just as learning is more than memorizing it. I like to see my students succeed -- to apply what they've learned, and to go on to create independently, as writers, designers, or scholars.