Laura Fletcher
www.laurahollandfletcher.net
LHF@laurahollandfletcher.net
Experience
LAURA HOLLAND FLETCHER COMMUNICATIONS
Small Business Providing Freelance Writing and Editorial Services to Clients Including U.S. Catholic Magazine, TruQua
Software Applications, Vergent Digital Design, Prism Insights PR, Demand Media, Leading Lawyers Magazine,
Chicago Lawyer, The Daily Glow and West Suburban Living Magazine, and others.
August 2004-present
-Research and compose news articles on various topics, including articles that reach a national audience and articles that utilize SEO
methodology.
-Wrote web content for a Springfield-based law firm; in negotiations to manage that firm’s social media.
-Blogged for a digital design company.
-Launched a social media campaign to promote a Kickstarter fundraiser for a documentary filmmaking group.
-Composed web content for a software firm specializing in SAP add-on applications.
-Composed SEO and ordinary web content for a law firm and a public relations firm.
-Composed SEO press releases on important court victories won by a law firm’s attorneys.
-Ghostwrote an opinion column for a nationally known lead attorney using SEO practices, with guest op-eds in The Chicago Defender and
The Buffalo News.
-Managed company's social media platforms for over 2,000 followers and over 5,000 "fans."
-Pitched guest appearances for a nationally known attorney to Oprah’s Lifeclass, The View, WGN Radio, and others.
-Planned events and seminars to promote a law firm’s legal and charitable work, including a monthly webinar and charitable art auctions.
-Managed web content on three different web sites using WordPress, including the selection of licensed imagery.
-Created integrated marketing plan incorporating special events, webinars, e-mail marketing, social media, outreach, and media appearances.
-Edited script for television commercial.
-Researched and composed newsletter articles for a national non-profit organization of steel manufacturers.
CONTRACT CAMPAIGN WRITER & RESEARCHER
October 2013-present
The University of Chicago Medical and Biological Sciences Division, Chicago, IL
-Research, write, and edit various internal and donor-facing pieces, including brochures, e-newsletters, reports, proposals, and books, for the
Education and Community Team, Research Team, Surgery Team, and Medicine Team in UCMBSD’s $1 billion fundraising campaign.
-Distill and explain complex medical topics such as non-invasive surgeries for abdominal aortic aneurysm; surgical treatment of
hydrocephalus; and genetic research covering SIRT proteins and mature onset of diabetes in the young (MODY).
-For UCMBSD’s research team, conducted research and wrote three to seven 300-500 word reports on potential donors daily.
-Recommended dramatic edits for a coffee-table book celebrating medical school dean Joseph Ceithaml, which were then implemented;
composed introduction for the same book.
-Drafted various donor correspondence, including letters soliciting gifts, and letters of congratulations and acknowledgement.
-Drafted several six- and seven-figure proposals to fund medical research in neurosurgery, cardiology, endocrinology, and other fields.
STAFF EDITOR
December 2011-May 2013
The Leading Lawyers Network, a Division of Law Bulletin Publishing Company, Chicago, IL
-Wrote original ad copy for web pages and brochures profiling lawyers nominated by the 60,000 attorneys in Sullivan’s Law Directory as
Leading Lawyers, an honor given to only the top five percent of lawyers in the State of Illinois.
-Proofread advertisements for Leading Lawyers Magazine, a quarterly magazine with a circulation of 100,000 that runs 30-50 ads per issue.
-Edited and revised marketing content submitted to the Leading Lawyers web site using HTML code and the Leading Lawyers editorial style
guidelines, which incorporate AP Style.
-Copyedited legal articles written by attorneys for The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s annual Law Day newspaper insert.
ADJUNCT COMPOSITION AND ESL INSTRUCTOR, Madison, WI and Greater Chicago Area, IL
For various colleges and institutes including Robert Morris University, Elgin Community College, and Wisconsin ESL
Institute
January 2008-May 2012
-Instructed college students from diverse backgrounds in the acquisition of business and academic writing skills.
-Trained adult immigrants and international students in the acquisition of English language skills.
-Provided interactive PowerPoint presentations of class material on a regular basis.
-Maintained class web sites using Blackboard, Angel, and Google Sites and tracked and calculated student grades using Microsoft Excel.
ASSISTANT LANGUAGE TEACHER
The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, Ogaki-shi, Gifu-ken, JAPAN
July 2005-September 2007
-Negotiated and adapted to cultural and structural differences in the nations of Japan and South Korea.
-Planned original, activity-oriented classes for first-year Japanese high school students.
-Planned and designed the curriculum for an entire third-year high school English course for Japanese students.
-Coached four students in Prefectural English Speech Contest, with one student winning the 5th Place Prize, a trip to Malaysia.
-Member of Student Art Club.
GRADUATE STUDENT INSTRUCTOR
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
August 2002-June 2004
-Taught Introductory Creative Writing for two semesters, from August 2002 to May 2003.
-Taught Introductory English Composition for two semesters, utilizing the Toulmin model of rhetoric, from August 2003 to May 2004.
-Served as a volunteer ESL tutor in Greater University Tutoring Service.
-Took two teacher training courses in writing pedagogy, including research and systems of rhetoric.
-Completed graduate level linguistics courses in the Structure of English and Methods of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
ASSISTANT EDITOR
West Suburban Living Magazine, Elmhurst, IL
August 2001-August 2002
-Wrote feature articles, news shorts, reviews, etc.
-Edited proofs and article drafts, managing content in Quark X-Press.
-Solicited advertisers and promoted the magazine at local home and garden shows.
Computer Skills
Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook, and PowerPoint.
Experience in data input and design on Quark XPress, Adobe In-Design, Illustrator and Photoshop, and Web Content Management
systems, including WordPress and Law Bulletin’s in-house program.
Experience with the Internet and social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Hootsuite, and analytics.
Working knowledge of research databases, including LexisNexis, Accurint, DonorScape, and iWave.
Awards
ITT Technical Institute-Mount Prospect Winter 2009 Teaching Spirit Award.
Coach of 2005 Gifu Prefecture English Student Speech Contest Winner (5th Place- Trip to Malaysia).
University of Wisconsin Martha Meier Renk Fellowship.
University of Dayton Brother Frank Ruhlman Award for Literary Achievement.
University of Dayton Presidential Scholarship.
National Merit Commended Scholar.
Illinois State Scholar.
Education
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AT MADISON- Madison, WI
Master of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing, with highest honors, May 2004.
THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO- Chicago, IL
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Creative Writing, May 2002.
*With courses in film production and theatrical writing.
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON- Dayton, OH
Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, magna cum laude, May 2001.
*With a visual arts minor and over 30 credit hours in visual art and design.