Who I am

A little girl who chose Nancy Drews in a huge east-facing bedroom with four massive windows. . .

…who went onto boarding school, then college and a career in hospitality and customer service. Which led to a chance encounter with a (vrrom, vroom!) race car driver and his company. After a few years there, onto corporate America and the first job that taught me to write: marketing copy.

Later, the small business world of coaching in the early 2000s, blogging (!) and side hustles in sales at a tea company and the retail floor of a lifestyle store, hidden in the Hudson Valley. Back to school for a graduate degree and time as an overnight volunteer for a domestic violence agency’s crisis line.

“Change was incessant, and change perhaps would never cease.” - Virginia Woolf

So it went until the Fall of 2022 when I took my first writing class since high school. And I started taking seriously my drive to turn letters into language into story.

What influences me?

I have a background as a trauma educator, researcher and lay counselor. I have worked with inter-personal trauma survivors for 15 years, first as a volunteer on an overnight hotline. As paid staff, I’ve trained hundreds of community professionals on abuse dynamics and active listening. (While at the same time, training community volunteers for a 24 hr hotline and in-person client services- thanks non profit world!) I’ve also led survivor support groups and offered trauma-informed continuing ed trainings on the long-term affects of sexual abuse on reproductive and sexual health to clients like NC AHECs, Duke University School of Medicine, Lamaze and others.

I have a Masters of Arts degree in Women’s Studies. One of the things this means for me is that I take a broad view at how “interlocking systems of domination” come together. Think: patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism. You’re never “just” a woman doing stuff. You’re a human being whose identity is made of up of things like race, language, sexuality and so much else. All of that influences what you think and do and how and what you communicate.

What do others say about me?

“You are really good, Elizabeth, at distilling complex ideas down, making them practical, and engaging with people around those ideas.”

"When I hear myself talking to kids, I find myself talking and listening like you showed me. Thanks for modeling that for me and making me a better person, specifically a better communicator, a person who sticks up for herself and demands that others do the same. Empowerment is your middle name."

"Knowing women like you, Elizabeth, who are gracious, and passionate and strong has helped me to not only feel less alone in the world but also see the variety of ways people do show up for others.”

What do I believe?

Everyone is a trauma survivor.

We cannot be truly free until we are all free.

Community is everything.

Also: magic. Big magic (Santa and fairies) and small magic (found objects and rainbows).

The fun ftuff?

I love bright colors, clothes and sparkle. I’m a sucker for Haribo gummies and homemade scones. Beach over mountains. Rescue dog fan. Gen X. Terrific with names. Typewriter fan and lover of vintage. Heels over clogs. Books (or food) are my love language.

Want to learn more?

Follow me here at my Substack or on Instagram @EMJWriting.

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