Freelance Services
As a storyteller, a program manager, and a social justice educator, I bring a wealth of experience to the work that I do. Here you can find the services that I offer.
Brand Communications
I'm a storyteller by nature and use that skill to amplify your company or organization's brand through compelling communications copy including newsletters, blog posts, annual reports, and educational materials. Whether I'm writing a 100-word blurb or a 3,000-word reported story, I'll find the compelling element that showcases the best of what you do.
Journalism and Reported Stories
I regularly research and pitch stories to local, regional, and national publications and write assigned stories for brands such as the Specialty Coffee Association's industry magazine, 25. I conduct all of the research and interviews and have even been known to conduct interviews in (my rusty, but still existent) Spanish (two examples include this story and this story). You can find my latest journalism at my homepage.
Research and Data Synthesis
With a background in academia, I have a knack for making meaning out of both quantitative and qualitative data and translating findings into stories geared towards all kinds of audiences. I conduct interviews, do external research, and synthesize the findings into reports or white papers that influence an organization's approach to their work. An example includes Oregon Metro's toxics reduction and equity strategy which came out of nearly a year of research that included interviews with professionals in the toxics reduction and equity fields throughout the west coast region.
Grant Proposals and Awards Nominations
Whether you're seeking funding or recognition for the amazing work you and your organization does, I can help showcase your accomplishments to secure funding and recognition. Award nominations I've written have resulted in important and deserved recognitions for my clients such as Homes for Sonoma's 2018 AIA Redwood Empire Social Responsibility award.
Ghostwriting
I showcase an author's ideas, voice, and experience through well-structured and compelling book proposals and book projects that lead to successful publication. My current book project is with an elected official focusing on their background in transportation planning and engineering to create a paradigm shift in the field to create transportation solutions that are better for all community members (stay tuned for more details).
Strategic Consulting
With 12+ years of program management experience in the areas of event planning and community engagement, I bring a strategic vision to organizations working to take ideas into action. For example, I worked with the Specialty Coffee Association’s events team to conduct site assessments for 15 event sites around the world (e.g., Kenya, Indonesia, Colombia, South Korea, Taiwan) where I refined their bidder proposal protocol and assessment tool. The work served to ensure that SCA was following and advancing their mission around equity through their event partnerships. The work conducted and recommendations provided resulted in SCA’s Ad Hoc Committees for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion publication of the SCA Events Site Criteria white paper.
Training and Facilitation
With a background in social justice education in the higher education sector, I've conducted numerous trainings for students, faculty, and professionals around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), active citizenship, experiential education and service-learning, and social justice. I created student and staff/faculty training programs for the University of Maryland’s Alternative Breaks program and I taught graduate level service-learning courses at the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine as the Associate Director of JHU SOURCE. At SOURCE, I also created the Service-Learning Faculty Fellows Program from the ground up leading the strategic planning process, implementation, training and program development, and reporting for the program. In all my projects, such as with my work with the Specialty Coffee Association, I bring this training experience to ensure that the materials and lessons learned are passed on in an accessible and easy-to-use format to the teams with which I work.
Find more samples of my work on the Portfolio page
testimonials
Elizabeth is an authority on social justice and current events and their organizational impact, but she went beyond just being an expert by shepherding us with clear communication that was humbly available to us. Our group wasn’t easy- we are a large group of strong personalities and various stakeholder perspectives, and Elizabeth brought us together to build consensus in a way that reflected a clear understanding of our needs and her own commitment to the highest possible standard of quality for our project. Every one of us learned something new that we could continue to use in our pursuit of building on the project success. I would utilize her again in a heartbeat, and I sincerely hope we have the need sometime.
- Ellie Hudson, Director of Sustainability Partnerships, Special Projects & Advocacy, Professional Development, Specialty Coffee Association (in reference to the SCA event site assessments project, see “Strategic Consulting” above)
Elizabeth quickly made my shortlist of go-to writers. I could always depend on Elizabeth to write content that was informative, compelling and enjoyable to read, even if the topic wasn't the sexiest. She's organized, responsive and transparent about her bandwidth and other content projects, which made it easy for me to plan my editorial calendars and assignments in advance and she never missed a deadline. On top of that, her content rarely required heavy editing which, again, made my job as an editor and content/project manager much easier. I can't recommend her enough to anyone in need of an excellent writer and storyteller!
- Heidi Augustin, Managing Editor, ABUV Media/Higher Education
Elizabeth was hired as our inaugural SOURCE Associate Director. It was a true pleasure to work with Elizabeth during her time at JHU SOURCE. Her program development and management skills are top-notch, and were essential to launching our SOURCE Service-Learning Faculty and Community Fellows Program at Johns Hopkins University health professional schools. Elizabeth has a passion for community work and social justice. She would be an incredible asset to any organization that seeks to higher a talented, committed, reliable, and highly skilled person. Elizabeth is recognized for her efforts in teaching, training, writing, organizing, and programming. Simply put - she's incredible!
- Mindi Levin, Director, Johns Hopkins University SOURCE
Rates
I typically charge an hourly rate, however, I'm open to discussions about per project consulting and can provide a quote that’s specific to the project you have in mind.
Get a quote
Contact me at elizabeth.doerr@gmail.com. I look forward to working with you!