About Me

I work with non-profits, research institutions, think tanks, foundations, and startups – in other words, anyone who needs help translating complex ideas into clearer writing for everyday readers. I have worked on everything from blog posts to peer-reviewed reports, corporate sustainability strategies to fact sheets for Congress. I also specialize in turning dense writing into web-friendly text for more general (read: less wonky) audiences. 

 

I have a B.A. in History from Brown University and a Masters in City Design from the London School of Economics. Before becoming a freelance writer and editor, I worked as an editor and online specialist at the World Resources Institute, an environmental research organization in Washington, D.C. 

My Approach

With me, you can expect practical and positive editing focused on solving your problems quickly (no grammar lectures or snark, I promise). I'm good at finding compromises between what’s “right” and what works, knowing that in the real world you have to balance different audiences, different goals and different priorities. To me, that’s what makes it interesting.

 

To read more about how I work with clients, check out my interview on Copyediting.com

 

For more about the editing and writing services I provide, see the Services page.

Topics

Topics I’ve worked on include: cities; climate change; climate science; cooking; constitutional law; coral reefs; corporate social responsibility; ecosystem services; food issues; forests; governance; health and nutrition; international climate policy; international development; land conservation; renewable energy; sharing economy; sustainable business; transportation; U.S. policy, urban planning, voting rights; and water.

 

I’m a quick study and always enjoy getting up to speed on new issues, so if you don't see your topic on this list, don't worry. You can help me add something new to it. 

Clients

Companies and non-profits I've worked with include:

  • The Alliance for a Healthier Generation
  • The Brennan Center for Justice
  • The Climate & Development Knowledge Network
  • The Clinton Foundation
  • Coqui Marketing + Communications
  • Code for America - San Francisco
  • EMBARQ - The Center for Sustainable Transport
  • Jimdo
  • MIT GOV/LAB
  • Toolbox Genomics
  • United Nations Development Programme
  • The World Resources Institute

What people like about working with me

"Maggie came in and was so great to work with. She took immediate ownership of every phase of the content strategy. Not only that, but she did it in a way that was very respectful to all the hard work that had come before her. Soon she had expanded upon what we had already created and added new levels of professionalism and polish that made the program more effective for our internal goals and more helpful for our readers." - Brent Gummow

 

"Although Maggie had not written for textbooks before, she was open-minded, asked insightful questions, and remained calm despite being bombarded with instructions and paperwork...She grasped the pedagogy and product concept more quickly and more thoroughly than more-experienced science-textbook writers. She brought creativity, intelligence, and impeccable writing skills to the task. Her lesson was *better* than the one I would have written. I recommend her highly." - Elisa Eiger

 

"I had gone through countless writers on this project before we discovered Maggie. She grasped very quickly what we were trying to do and she executed beautifully, bringing her own clever ideas and appealing prose to what could have been a very dry topic. She came back with the perfect draft; we barely needed to change a word. In addition, she was lovely to work with." - Adrienne Schure