Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Download a PDF of my CV here: lawrence_cv_08.14.pdf
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Assistant Professor, English (Professional and Technical Writing). George Mason University.
Aug. 2013 to present
Graduate Teaching Assistant, English/Rhetoric and Writing. Virginia Tech. Aug. 2009 to May 2013
Writing Center Coach, Virginia Tech Writing Center.Jan. 2012 to May 2012
Adjunct Professor, School of Management. George Mason University. Aug. 2007 to May 2009
Teaching Fellow, English. Northern Virginia Community College/George Mason University.
Aug. 2006 to May 2007
EDUCATION
Ph.D.,Rhetoric and Writing. Virginia Tech, Aug. 2009 to May 2013
Dissertation:Conscientious Object-ion: Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Medical Controversy
M.A., English, Professional Writing and Editing.George Mason University, Aug. 2005 to May 2007
Thesis: Emerging Genres in Professional Writing: Corporate Rhetoric and New Media
B.A., English.Mary Washington College, Aug. 1998 to May 2002
Thesis: “History is the Nightmare from which I am Trying to Awake”: Derek Walcott and Caribbean Literature
AWARDS
Outstanding Dissertation(Social Science, Business, Education, and Humanities [SSBEH]), Virginia Tech, 2014
Outstanding Graduate Student, Professional Writing and Editing, George Mason University, 2007
GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
“Expanding the Professional Writing Curriculum to Enhance Global and Civic Engagement.” With Doug Eyman and Isidore Dorpenyo. George Mason University (GMU) Curriculum Impact Grant (CIG) Submitted June 1, 2018. Funded, June 19, 2018, $30,000.
“Virginia Colloquium on the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine (VCRHM).” With Bernice Hausman, Kelly Pender, Michael Klein, Lori Beth De Hertogh, and Cathryn Molloy. 4-VA. Submitted October 17, 2017. Funded December 12, 2017, $16,500.
“Community-Engaged Health Research Program.” With Ali Weinstein, Emily Ihara, Cathy Tompkins, and Rebecca Vargas-Jackson. GMU CIG. Submitted September 25, 2017. Funded December 2017, $35,000.
“Rhetorical Approaches to Vaccination Controversy.” With Bernice Hausman. American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Collaborative Research Fellowship. Submitted September 24, 2015. Not funded.
“A Multidisciplinary Approach to Mitigating Campus Sexual Assault.” With Bonnie Stabile, Nance Lucas, Angela Hattery, Anthony Stefanidis, Siona Listokin-Smith, Patricia Maulden, Linn Jorgenson, Kate Destler, and Jessica Terman. Provost’s Multidisciplinary Initiative Grant Program. May-June 2015. Funded July 2015, $25,000.
“The Persuasive Appeal of Vaccine Refusal: Identifying and Addressing Alternative Health Literacies.” Role: Grant Writer. National Institutes of Health (NIH), June 2010 and March 2011. Not funded.
“Language, Learning, and Civic Action: School Children and the Discourses of Environmental Sustainability.” Role: Grant Writer. The Spencer Foundation, December 2009. Not funded.
SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES
Publications in Peer-Reviewed Journals
Hausman, Bernice, Heidi Y. Lawrence,Susan Marmagas, Clare Dannenberg, and Lauren Fortenbery. “H1N1 Vaccination and Health Beliefs in a Rural Community in the Southeastern United States: Lessons Learned.” Critical Public Health. Accepted August 2018.
Lawrence, Heidi Y.“When Patients Question Vaccines: Considering Vaccine Communication through a Material Rhetorical Approach.” Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, 1.1-2 (2018): 161-178.
Lawrence, Heidi Y.,Rachael Graham Lussos, and Jessica Clark. “The Rhetoric of Proposal Writing: Pedagogy, Research, and Real-world Practice.” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. First Published December 13, 2017. 1-18.
Lawrence, Heidi Y. Review of The Antivaccine Heresy: Jacobson v. Massachusetts and the Troubled History of Contemporary Vaccination in the United States. Nursing History Review (NHR). 26.1 (2018).
Lawrence, Heidi Y.“Fear of the Irreparable: Narratives in Vaccination Rhetoric.” Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 6.3 (Winter 2016): 205-209.
Scott, Jennifer Bracken, Kristin Kondrlik, Heidi Y. Lawrence,Susan Popham, and Candice Welhausen. “Rhetoric, Ebola, and Vaccination: A Conversation Among Scholars.” POROI: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Rhetorical Analysis and Invention11.2 (Dec. 2015): 1-26.
Lawrence, Heidi Y. Review of Vaccinations and Public Concern in History: Legend, Rumor, and Risk Perception. Journal of Business and Technical Communication29.4 (October 2015): 490-495.
Lawrence, Heidi Y.“Healthy Bodies, Toxic Medicines: Vaccination Beliefs and the Rhetorics of Health, Illness, and the Body.” Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 87.4 (December 2014): 423-437.
Lawrence, Heidi Y.,Bernice L. Hausman, and Clare J. Dannenberg. “Reframing Medicine’s Publics: The Local as a Public of Vaccine Refusal.” Journal of the Medical Humanities35.2 (June 2014): 111-129.
Dannenberg, Clare J., Bernice L. Hausman, Heidi Y. Lawrence,and Katrina M. Powell. “The Moral Appeal of Environmental Discourses: The Implication of Ethical Rhetorics.” Environmental Communication6.2 (Summer 2012): 212-232. DOI: 10.1080/175242032.2012.668856.
Publications under Review
“Communicating Campus Sexual Assault: A Mixed Methods Rhetorical Analysis.” With Lourdes Fernandez, Bonnie Stabile, Rachael Graham Lussos, and Melissa Brockelman-Post. Technical Communication Quarterly. Submitted November 2017; under review.
Publications in Progress
Rhetorics of the Needle: Vaccination Controversy in Professional and Public Context. Ohio State University Press,
Revision to be submitted August 2018.
“Creating a Community Engaged Health Curriculum: Lessons Learned Across Sites and Stakeholders.” With Elizabeth Ferguson, Jaclyn Dunn, Emily Ihara, Catherine Tompkins, and Ali Weinstein. Pedagogy in Health Promotion. To be submitted, August 2018.
“The Disappearing Accused: Media Narratives and Campus Sexual Assault.” With Lourdes Fernandez and Bonnie Stabile. Rhetoric Review, Submitted November 2017. Revise and resubmit; to be re-submitted August 2018.
“Communicating Vaccination: Considering the Rhetorics of Dr. Offit and Dr. Bob.” World Medical and Health Policy. To be submitted, August 2018.
Public Scholarship
Lawrence, Heidi Y. and Cathryn Molloy. “Assistant Editors’ Interview with Dr. Heidi Lawrence of George Mason University.” Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Podcast, 27 February 2018. http://stars.library.ucf.edu/rhm/vol1/iss1/1
Anthony, Libby, Heidi Y. Lawrence, and Amy Reed. “What are you Working on Today?”: A Model for Remote Coworking.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 14 December 2017. https://www.chronicle.com/article/What-Are-You-Working-on/242055
Palmer, Jason. (Media Interview) “The Fake Truth is Out There.” InfluenceQ3 2017.
Gross, Rachel. (Media Interview) “Just Add Science? In the Age of Trump, the Science Press Must Rethink its Habits.” The Undark January 24, 2017.
Lawrence, Heidi. (Invited Article) “Rhetoric, Language, and Addressing Social Problems.” The George Mason Review 25 (May 2016).
Gross, Rachel. (Media Interview) “The Martian and the Cult of Science.” Slate.com October 2, 2015.
Research Groups and Collaborations
Virginia Colloquium on the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine. August 2017 to present
Professional Writing and Rhetoric Programmatic Research. March 2018 to present
Vaccination Research Group (VRG). Jan. 2010 to present
Affiliate Faculty, May 2013 to present
Graduate Research Assistant, Jan. 2010 to May 2013.
Graduate Research Assistant, Cumberland Plateau Health District 2009-2010 Flu Season Vaccine Study. Collaboration with the Virginia Tech Masters in Public Health (MPH) Program, funded by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Jan. 2011 to Oct. 2011.
Graduate Research Assistant, Environmental Discourses Research Group.Virginia Tech. Aug. 2009 to
May 2011
Reviews
Presentations
At National Conferences: Paper Presentations
2018“Making Connections, Expanding Mentoring: Creating High-Impact Practices in Mentorship for Graduate Students.” Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference. Fairfax, VA. September 2018.
2018 “Analyzing Complex Public Problems: Rhetoric in the Case of Campus Sexual Assault.” 2018 Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA). Minneapolis, MN. May 2018
2018 “The Phronesis of Proposal Writing.” 2018 Computers and Writing Conference. Fairfax, VA. May 2018.
2017 “’Vaccination Rates...As Low as South Sudan’: Creating Health Crisis through Statistics.” Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine (ARSTM) Preconference. Dallas, TX. November 15, 2017.
2017 “Persuasive Ethics: Studying Medical Rhetoric and Vaccination Controversy.” American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) 2017 Conference. Kansas City, MO. October 20, 2017.
2016 “Vaccination, Persuasiveness, and Rhetorical Theory: Beyond the Deficit Model.” 2016 Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA). Atlanta, GA. May 29, 2016.
2016 “Medicolegal Rhetorics: Medicine as Arbitrator in Competing Discourses about Disease and Disability.” 2016 Conference of the RSA. Atlanta, GA. May 27, 2016.
2016 “Skepticism and Doubt in Outbreak: A Study of Community Perspectives on Disease, Health, and Medicine following Pertussis.” ARSTM Preconference. Atlanta, GA. May 26, 2016.
2016 “Rhetorical Analysis of Media Coverage of Campus Sexual Assault: Implications for Policy.” Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Annual Conference. April 7, 2016.
2015 “Understanding Voluntary Nonvaccination: Qualitative Approaches to Research.” ASBH 2015 Conference. Houston, TX. October 24, 2015.
2014 “’I’m Not a Coincidence:’ Reflective Persuasiveness and the Before-and-After Trope in Vaccine Narratives.” ASBH 2014 Conference. San Diego, CA. October 16, 2014.
2014 “Enacting Health through Illness: Infant Immune Systems as Borderland Bodies.” 2014 Conference of the RSA. San Antonio, TX. May 22-26, 2014.
2013 “Professional Constraints and Disease Exigencies: How Doctors do Disease through Vaccination.” Association for the Rhetoric of Science and Technology (ARST) Preconference. Washington, D.C. November 20, 2013.
2013 “Adult Vaccination and the Health Belief Model: Rhetorics of Vaccine Controversy.” American Historical Association (AHA) Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. Jan. 6, 2013.
2012 “Adult Vaccination and the Health Belief Model: Historical Lessons about Vaccine Controversy from Polio and the 1976 National Influenza Immunization Program.” American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA. Oct. 29, 2012.
2012 “Vaccination, Rhetoric, and Bioethics.” ASBH 2012 Conference. Washington, D.C. Oct. 19, 2012.
2012 “Constructing Severity: Health Communication and Perceptions of Seriousness in Flu Discourse.” 2012 Conference of the RSA. Philadelphia, PA. May 27, 2012.
2012 “Rhetorics of Risk, Authority, and Presence in Vaccine Controversy.” 2012 Conference of the RSA. Philadelphia, PA. May 26, 2012.
2012 “’Doesn’t Scare Me, the Flu’: Seriousness and Personal Risk in Vaccination Discourse.” ARST Preconference. Philadelphia, PA. May 24, 2012.
2012 “Science Versus the Playboy Bunny: Jenny McCarthy and Embodied Rhetorics in Vaccine Controversy.” Gender, Bodies, and Technology (GBT) Conference. Roanoke, VA. Apr. 25, 2012.
2012 “Countering Vaccination: Online Confession and Subverting the Medical Gaze.” International Society for the Study of Narrative Annual Conference. Mar. 27, 2012.
2011 “Zealots and Murderers: Vaccination Satire.” International Society for the Study of Narrative Annual Conference. St. Louis, MO. Apr. 8, 2011.
2010 “Constructed Audiences and Exigencies in Satire.” 2010 Thomas R. Watson International Conference on Rhetoric and Composition. Louisville, KY. Oct. 15, 2010.
2009 “Crisis, Risk, and Business-Community Communication.” Association for Business Communication (ABC) 74thAnnual Convention. Portsmouth, VA. Nov. 6, 2009.
2009 “Rhetorical Situatedness and the Web: Kairos, Genre, and Pedagogy.” The 59thAnnual Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). San Francisco, CA. Mar. 12, 2009.
At National Conferences: Poster Presentations
2016 “The Rhetoric of Campus Sexual Assault.” With Bonnie Stabile and Lourdes Fernandez. *Award Winner, Population, Reproductive, and Sexual Health Section. American Public Health Association (APHA) 2016 Annual Conference. Denver, CO. October 30, 2016.
2016 “Vaccination, Pertussis and Health Beliefs: Qualitative Research to Improve Communication with Vaccine Skeptics.” With Bernice Hausman, Tarryn Abrahams, and Kari Putterman. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Immunization Conference, September 2016.
2016 “The Rhetoric of Campus Sexual Assault: Media Constructions of Student Advocacy and Campus Citizenship.” With Bonnie Stabile and Lourdes Fernandez. 19thAnnual Conference, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW). Houston, TX. April 6, 2016.
2014 “Constructing Disease Exigence: Risk, Flu, and the CDC.” Association for Business Communication (ABC) 79thAnnual International Conference. Philadelphia, PA. October 23, 2014.
2013 “Understanding Persuasion in Medical Contexts: Physician Communication Strategies and Vaccination Controversy.” American Medical Writers Association Annual Conference. Columbus, OH. November 8, 2013.
2012 “Failed Science, Failed Rhetoric (?): Andrew Wakefield and the Discourses of Scientific Controversy. 15thAnnual Conference, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW). St. Louis, MO. Mar. 20, 2012.
National Seminars, Workshops, and Institutes (Competitive Placement)
2015 “Diseases, Injuries, and the Rhetorics of Material Exigence.” RSA Summer Institutes 2015 Workshop: Theory Building in the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine. Madison, WI. June 1-7, 2015.
2012 “Perspectives on the Professional’s Rhetoric: Medical Discourses about Vaccination.” ATTW Research Methods Workshop: Analyzing Data from Complex Institutional Contexts. St. Louis, MO. March 19, 2012.
Invited Presentations and Symposia
2017 “Portrait of a Tech Writer: Building Competencies in Technical Writing for Government Agencies.” Society for Technical Communication (STC) First Friday Lunch Presentation, Washington, D.C. August 4, 2017.
2017 “The Rhetoric of Campus Sexual Assault: Media Constructions of Student Advocacy and Campus Citizenship.” With Bonnie Stabile and Lourdes Fernandez. 2017 Biotech & Health Sciences Research Symposium, George Mason University. April 21, 2017.
2016 “How Vaccines are Different for Skeptical Parents: A Material Approach to Communication.” Invited presentation at theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health Communication Science Office, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Atlanta, GA. May 27, 2016.
2016 “Campus Sexual Assault: Rhetorical Analysis of Media Coverage and Implications for Policy.” School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs, George Mason University. March 16, 2016.
2015 “Vaccination Controversy: The Rhetoric of Vaccine Refusal in Professional and Public Contexts.” Multidisciplinary Research Symposium, George Mason University. April 27, 2015.
2014 “Vaccine Controversy: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Skepticism and Shaping Clinical Interventions.” Sponsored by Rowan University and the Hollybush Institute. April 10, 2014.
2013 “Building Interdisciplinary Research Programs: Methods and Epistemologies in Medical Research.” Symposium on Vaccine Discourse. East Carolina University. September 24, 2013.
TEACHING
Courses taught at George Mason University
English 609: Advanced Proposal Writing (Spring 2018)
Students build upon existing proposal knowledge, gaining the project and program management skills, research development, and relationship management skills required to lead proposal efforts and build programs with external funding.
English 489/509: Proposal Writing and Development (Fall 2017, Fall 2018)
Students gain a broad foundation of the skills, capabilities, and knowledge required to effectively create proposals for various types of organizations, including proposals written for grant and contract funding for nonprofit, academic, and industry environments.
English 501: Introduction to Professional Writing and Rhetoric (Fall 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018)
Students examine the practical, historical, and theoretical underpinnings of professional communication as a rhetorical art.
English 502: Research Methods in Professional Writing and Rhetoric (Spring 2014, Spring 2018)
Students investigate the methods of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods used in professional writing and rhetoric. Students examine how these methods engage different forms of knowledge production in both academic and workplace environments.
English 388: Professional and Technical Writing (Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2017)
Students learn about the role that communication plays in professional and technical environments by analyzing and producing a wide variety genres and texts tailored to specific audiences and situations.
English 824: Medicine, Health, and Technical Communication (Spring 2016)
Students read current theoretical approaches to analyzing and understanding medicine and health, examine how those theories can be used to interrogate standards of health care and communication, and analyze approaches to medical communication as addressed within the field of professional and technical writing.
English 613: Technical Communication/English 824: Advanced Technical Communication
(Fall 2014; cross-list Fall 2015)
Students examine contemporary issues the communication of technical and scientific concepts by exploring their historical precedents, theoretical implications, and practice in professional settings.
For PhD cross-list (fall 2015): PhD students expand upon the theoretical and practical issues identified in the course by leading class discussions, teaching key concepts, and developing final projects aimed to advance research in the theory, teaching, and practice of technical communication.
SOM 301: Business Models: A Communications Approach (10 sections, Fall 2007 to Spring 2009)
Students developed business communications, research, and writing skills by producing workplace documentation and professional presentations.
Courses taught at Virginia Tech
English 3764: Technical Writing (Fall 2012, Spring 2013)
Students analyzed audiences, conduct research, and produce workplace genres such as memos, instructions, proposals, and web content tailored to specific situations and exigencies.
English 3154: Literature, Medicine, and Culture (Fall 2012)
Students examined the impact of culture on science and medicine by analyzing medical narratives in fiction, nonfiction, television, and film.
English 4804: Grant Proposals and Reports(Teaching Assistant, Spring 2011)
Students worked with community partners to research grant opportunities, write organizational summaries, and draft proposal documents for community partner use.
Courses taught at Northern Virginia Community College
College Composition II(Spring 2007)
Students conducted cultural analyses of texts and produced essays and multi-modal texts that examined the significance of related social issues.
College Composition I(Fall 2006)
Students wrote personal and research essays while examining audience and genre conventions of academic and public writing.
Supervised Studies and Projects
Dissertations (Committee Chair)
Dissertations (Committee Reader)
PhD Independent Studies
MA Theses
MA Independent Studies
MA Projects
Undergraduate Research and Theses
SERVICE
To the Field
Board Member, Northern Virginia Area Health Education Center (NVAHEC) at George Mason University
Society for Technical Communication (STC) Leadership Activities
Member, Society for Technical Communication (STC) Education Advisory Panel. May 2016 to present.
Delivered webinar, “Building Competencies in Technical Communication.” Delivered for the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Education Series. November 1, 2017.
Hosted lecture, “What’s the Value Proposition?” with Clay Spinuzzi, October 2017.
Judge, STC Washington D.C.-Baltimore Chapter, 2015 Technical Communication Awards. Winter 2015-2016.
Faculty Sponsor, Society for Technical Communication (STC) Student Chapter. Fall 2014 to present.
Enculturation: A Journal of Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture.2009 to present. http://www.enculturation.net
Senior Copy Editor, July 2014 to October 2015
Assistant Editor, January 2013 to July 2014
Copy Editor, May 2009 to December 2012
At George Mason University
Chair, Intellectual Life Committee, June 2017 to present.
Member, Outreach Committee, Aug. 2013 to June 2017.
Member, Professional Writing and Rhetoric Search Committee, Fall 2014-Spring 2015; Fall 2015-Spring 2016
“Rhetoric and Writing.” Guest lecture. English 305, George Mason University. February 26, 2014, and
November 12, 2014.
“Developing an Academic Poster Workshop.” Workshop on academic poster presentations and proposals for MA and PhD students. George Mason University. October 14, 2014.
Member, Writing and Rhetoric PhD Selection Committee. Spring 2014.
Facilitator, Faculty Writing Academy. May 2014.
Contributing Author, Spring 2008 Anthology of Student Writing. 2008. <http://pwr.gmu.edu/editing/>
Assistant Editor, So to Speak: a feminist journal of language and art. 2006 to 2007 <http://sotospeakjournal.org>
At Virginia Tech
Assistant Director, Center for the Study of Rhetoric in Society, Virginia Tech, Aug. 2011 to Dec. 2011
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS EXPERIENCE
Technical Communications and Management
Communication Training, January 2016 to Present, Insignia Federal Group
Quality Assurance Manager, 2005 to 2007, L-3 Communications
Federal Proposal Writing and Management
Professional Writing Consultant, 2008 to Present
Proposal Manager, 2007 to 2008, Atteloir, Inc.
Marketing and Proposal Communications Specialist, 2003, Atteloir, Inc.
Marketing and Web Writing
Entertainment Content Intern, The Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, 2002
Marketing Intern, 2000 to 2002, Collegiate Funding Services (CFS)
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Assistant Professor, English (Professional and Technical Writing). George Mason University.
Aug. 2013 to present
Graduate Teaching Assistant, English/Rhetoric and Writing. Virginia Tech. Aug. 2009 to May 2013
Writing Center Coach, Virginia Tech Writing Center.Jan. 2012 to May 2012
Adjunct Professor, School of Management. George Mason University. Aug. 2007 to May 2009
Teaching Fellow, English. Northern Virginia Community College/George Mason University.
Aug. 2006 to May 2007
EDUCATION
Ph.D.,Rhetoric and Writing. Virginia Tech, Aug. 2009 to May 2013
Dissertation:Conscientious Object-ion: Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Medical Controversy
M.A., English, Professional Writing and Editing.George Mason University, Aug. 2005 to May 2007
Thesis: Emerging Genres in Professional Writing: Corporate Rhetoric and New Media
B.A., English.Mary Washington College, Aug. 1998 to May 2002
Thesis: “History is the Nightmare from which I am Trying to Awake”: Derek Walcott and Caribbean Literature
AWARDS
Outstanding Dissertation(Social Science, Business, Education, and Humanities [SSBEH]), Virginia Tech, 2014
Outstanding Graduate Student, Professional Writing and Editing, George Mason University, 2007
GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
“Expanding the Professional Writing Curriculum to Enhance Global and Civic Engagement.” With Doug Eyman and Isidore Dorpenyo. George Mason University (GMU) Curriculum Impact Grant (CIG) Submitted June 1, 2018. Funded, June 19, 2018, $30,000.
“Virginia Colloquium on the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine (VCRHM).” With Bernice Hausman, Kelly Pender, Michael Klein, Lori Beth De Hertogh, and Cathryn Molloy. 4-VA. Submitted October 17, 2017. Funded December 12, 2017, $16,500.
“Community-Engaged Health Research Program.” With Ali Weinstein, Emily Ihara, Cathy Tompkins, and Rebecca Vargas-Jackson. GMU CIG. Submitted September 25, 2017. Funded December 2017, $35,000.
“Rhetorical Approaches to Vaccination Controversy.” With Bernice Hausman. American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Collaborative Research Fellowship. Submitted September 24, 2015. Not funded.
“A Multidisciplinary Approach to Mitigating Campus Sexual Assault.” With Bonnie Stabile, Nance Lucas, Angela Hattery, Anthony Stefanidis, Siona Listokin-Smith, Patricia Maulden, Linn Jorgenson, Kate Destler, and Jessica Terman. Provost’s Multidisciplinary Initiative Grant Program. May-June 2015. Funded July 2015, $25,000.
“The Persuasive Appeal of Vaccine Refusal: Identifying and Addressing Alternative Health Literacies.” Role: Grant Writer. National Institutes of Health (NIH), June 2010 and March 2011. Not funded.
“Language, Learning, and Civic Action: School Children and the Discourses of Environmental Sustainability.” Role: Grant Writer. The Spencer Foundation, December 2009. Not funded.
SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES
Publications in Peer-Reviewed Journals
Hausman, Bernice, Heidi Y. Lawrence,Susan Marmagas, Clare Dannenberg, and Lauren Fortenbery. “H1N1 Vaccination and Health Beliefs in a Rural Community in the Southeastern United States: Lessons Learned.” Critical Public Health. Accepted August 2018.
Lawrence, Heidi Y.“When Patients Question Vaccines: Considering Vaccine Communication through a Material Rhetorical Approach.” Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, 1.1-2 (2018): 161-178.
Lawrence, Heidi Y.,Rachael Graham Lussos, and Jessica Clark. “The Rhetoric of Proposal Writing: Pedagogy, Research, and Real-world Practice.” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. First Published December 13, 2017. 1-18.
Lawrence, Heidi Y. Review of The Antivaccine Heresy: Jacobson v. Massachusetts and the Troubled History of Contemporary Vaccination in the United States. Nursing History Review (NHR). 26.1 (2018).
Lawrence, Heidi Y.“Fear of the Irreparable: Narratives in Vaccination Rhetoric.” Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 6.3 (Winter 2016): 205-209.
Scott, Jennifer Bracken, Kristin Kondrlik, Heidi Y. Lawrence,Susan Popham, and Candice Welhausen. “Rhetoric, Ebola, and Vaccination: A Conversation Among Scholars.” POROI: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Rhetorical Analysis and Invention11.2 (Dec. 2015): 1-26.
Lawrence, Heidi Y. Review of Vaccinations and Public Concern in History: Legend, Rumor, and Risk Perception. Journal of Business and Technical Communication29.4 (October 2015): 490-495.
Lawrence, Heidi Y.“Healthy Bodies, Toxic Medicines: Vaccination Beliefs and the Rhetorics of Health, Illness, and the Body.” Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 87.4 (December 2014): 423-437.
Lawrence, Heidi Y.,Bernice L. Hausman, and Clare J. Dannenberg. “Reframing Medicine’s Publics: The Local as a Public of Vaccine Refusal.” Journal of the Medical Humanities35.2 (June 2014): 111-129.
Dannenberg, Clare J., Bernice L. Hausman, Heidi Y. Lawrence,and Katrina M. Powell. “The Moral Appeal of Environmental Discourses: The Implication of Ethical Rhetorics.” Environmental Communication6.2 (Summer 2012): 212-232. DOI: 10.1080/175242032.2012.668856.
Publications under Review
“Communicating Campus Sexual Assault: A Mixed Methods Rhetorical Analysis.” With Lourdes Fernandez, Bonnie Stabile, Rachael Graham Lussos, and Melissa Brockelman-Post. Technical Communication Quarterly. Submitted November 2017; under review.
Publications in Progress
Rhetorics of the Needle: Vaccination Controversy in Professional and Public Context. Ohio State University Press,
Revision to be submitted August 2018.
“Creating a Community Engaged Health Curriculum: Lessons Learned Across Sites and Stakeholders.” With Elizabeth Ferguson, Jaclyn Dunn, Emily Ihara, Catherine Tompkins, and Ali Weinstein. Pedagogy in Health Promotion. To be submitted, August 2018.
“The Disappearing Accused: Media Narratives and Campus Sexual Assault.” With Lourdes Fernandez and Bonnie Stabile. Rhetoric Review, Submitted November 2017. Revise and resubmit; to be re-submitted August 2018.
“Communicating Vaccination: Considering the Rhetorics of Dr. Offit and Dr. Bob.” World Medical and Health Policy. To be submitted, August 2018.
Public Scholarship
Lawrence, Heidi Y. and Cathryn Molloy. “Assistant Editors’ Interview with Dr. Heidi Lawrence of George Mason University.” Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Podcast, 27 February 2018. http://stars.library.ucf.edu/rhm/vol1/iss1/1
Anthony, Libby, Heidi Y. Lawrence, and Amy Reed. “What are you Working on Today?”: A Model for Remote Coworking.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 14 December 2017. https://www.chronicle.com/article/What-Are-You-Working-on/242055
Palmer, Jason. (Media Interview) “The Fake Truth is Out There.” InfluenceQ3 2017.
Gross, Rachel. (Media Interview) “Just Add Science? In the Age of Trump, the Science Press Must Rethink its Habits.” The Undark January 24, 2017.
Lawrence, Heidi. (Invited Article) “Rhetoric, Language, and Addressing Social Problems.” The George Mason Review 25 (May 2016).
Gross, Rachel. (Media Interview) “The Martian and the Cult of Science.” Slate.com October 2, 2015.
Research Groups and Collaborations
Virginia Colloquium on the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine. August 2017 to present
- Assembled group of scholars around Virginia and surrounding areas interested in topics of research related to health and medicine.
- Secured grant funding through the 4VA program to fund this colloquium.
- Hosted colloquium on June 9, 2018.
- Hosted event with special guest speaker Dr. Kirk St.Amant, “Preparing for Publication,” which mentored graduate students in preparing publication, dissertation, and thesis papers and topics.
Professional Writing and Rhetoric Programmatic Research. March 2018 to present
- Working to develop evidence-based recommendations for programs in professional writing, technical writing, and rhetoric in the Washington, D.C. area.
- Principal Investigator, research study examining the research needs in professional and technical writing (IRB 1249598-1) Understanding Industry Needs for Workplace Communicators.
- Assemble the PWR Executive Advisory Board, a group of industry leaders meant to advise on current workplace needs in technical writing and communication.
- Lead and mentor graduate student researchers.
Vaccination Research Group (VRG). Jan. 2010 to present
Affiliate Faculty, May 2013 to present
- Co-PI, “Pertussis and Health Beliefs,” a field study of a pertussis outbreak in a small, closed community with high rates of elective non-vaccination.
- Assist with study design, including research methods and methodologies informing interview and fieldwork.
- Assist with analysis and coding of interview transcripts.
- Write analyses and conclusions for publication.
Graduate Research Assistant, Jan. 2010 to May 2013.
- Conduct original research in vaccine refusal, including literature reviews in medicine and public health, media analyses of current issues in vaccination controversy, and review of popular books on vaccinations and public responses to vaccine mandates.
- Conduct research on medical and public health responses to vaccine refusal, including interviewing medical and health professionals and reviewing related literature. Train undergraduate and graduate researchers on qualitative interview practices.
- Collaborate with faculty and students to develop and conduct research projects, including surveys, media research, and data analysis.
- Develop website for the Vaccination Research Group. Write content and develop functionality. Supervise undergraduate web and content development tasks.
- Supervise undergraduate researchers and interns in conduct of literature reviews in public health, medicine, psychology, and science disciplines. Assist with research, report and annotation writing, and technical writing for web publication.
Graduate Research Assistant, Cumberland Plateau Health District 2009-2010 Flu Season Vaccine Study. Collaboration with the Virginia Tech Masters in Public Health (MPH) Program, funded by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Jan. 2011 to Oct. 2011.
- Conducted qualitative interviews of parents’ beliefs surrounding flu and flu vaccine.
- Conducted online survey of flu and flu vaccine beliefs among 18-25 year old college students in the Cumberland Plateau Health District.
- Conducted quantitative analysis of college student data, using pivot tables and analyses to develop descriptive data about respondents’ conceptions of flu severity. Compose analysis for report.
- Conducted qualitative analysis of interview data, coding for concepts of flu severity and seriousness in relationship to likelihood to vaccinate. Compose analysis for report.
- Co-author on report of findings to VDH. This 80-page report offers a complete overview of research and provides strategic recommendations for flu informational and outreach efforts.
Graduate Research Assistant, Environmental Discourses Research Group.Virginia Tech. Aug. 2009 to
May 2011
- Conducted, transcribed, and coded 15 qualitative sociolinguistic interviews for pilot study of college students’ perspectives on earth sustainability and conservation activities.
- Collaborated with co-authors to research and write article manuscripts, conference presentations, and grant proposals in faculty collaborative research group.
Reviews
- Reviewer, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, August 2018
- Reviewer, Medical Humanities, August 2018
- Reviewer, Health Education, February 2018
- Reviewer, Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine Preconference, October 2017
- Reviewer, University of Chicago Press, June 2017
- Reviewer, Oxford University Press, February 2016
- Reviewer, Critical Public Health, April 2016
- Reviewer, Journal of Medical Internet Research,February 2015
- Reviewer, Literature and Medicine, February 2013
Presentations
At National Conferences: Paper Presentations
2018“Making Connections, Expanding Mentoring: Creating High-Impact Practices in Mentorship for Graduate Students.” Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference. Fairfax, VA. September 2018.
2018 “Analyzing Complex Public Problems: Rhetoric in the Case of Campus Sexual Assault.” 2018 Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA). Minneapolis, MN. May 2018
2018 “The Phronesis of Proposal Writing.” 2018 Computers and Writing Conference. Fairfax, VA. May 2018.
2017 “’Vaccination Rates...As Low as South Sudan’: Creating Health Crisis through Statistics.” Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine (ARSTM) Preconference. Dallas, TX. November 15, 2017.
2017 “Persuasive Ethics: Studying Medical Rhetoric and Vaccination Controversy.” American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) 2017 Conference. Kansas City, MO. October 20, 2017.
2016 “Vaccination, Persuasiveness, and Rhetorical Theory: Beyond the Deficit Model.” 2016 Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA). Atlanta, GA. May 29, 2016.
2016 “Medicolegal Rhetorics: Medicine as Arbitrator in Competing Discourses about Disease and Disability.” 2016 Conference of the RSA. Atlanta, GA. May 27, 2016.
2016 “Skepticism and Doubt in Outbreak: A Study of Community Perspectives on Disease, Health, and Medicine following Pertussis.” ARSTM Preconference. Atlanta, GA. May 26, 2016.
2016 “Rhetorical Analysis of Media Coverage of Campus Sexual Assault: Implications for Policy.” Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Annual Conference. April 7, 2016.
2015 “Understanding Voluntary Nonvaccination: Qualitative Approaches to Research.” ASBH 2015 Conference. Houston, TX. October 24, 2015.
2014 “’I’m Not a Coincidence:’ Reflective Persuasiveness and the Before-and-After Trope in Vaccine Narratives.” ASBH 2014 Conference. San Diego, CA. October 16, 2014.
2014 “Enacting Health through Illness: Infant Immune Systems as Borderland Bodies.” 2014 Conference of the RSA. San Antonio, TX. May 22-26, 2014.
2013 “Professional Constraints and Disease Exigencies: How Doctors do Disease through Vaccination.” Association for the Rhetoric of Science and Technology (ARST) Preconference. Washington, D.C. November 20, 2013.
2013 “Adult Vaccination and the Health Belief Model: Rhetorics of Vaccine Controversy.” American Historical Association (AHA) Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. Jan. 6, 2013.
2012 “Adult Vaccination and the Health Belief Model: Historical Lessons about Vaccine Controversy from Polio and the 1976 National Influenza Immunization Program.” American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA. Oct. 29, 2012.
2012 “Vaccination, Rhetoric, and Bioethics.” ASBH 2012 Conference. Washington, D.C. Oct. 19, 2012.
2012 “Constructing Severity: Health Communication and Perceptions of Seriousness in Flu Discourse.” 2012 Conference of the RSA. Philadelphia, PA. May 27, 2012.
2012 “Rhetorics of Risk, Authority, and Presence in Vaccine Controversy.” 2012 Conference of the RSA. Philadelphia, PA. May 26, 2012.
2012 “’Doesn’t Scare Me, the Flu’: Seriousness and Personal Risk in Vaccination Discourse.” ARST Preconference. Philadelphia, PA. May 24, 2012.
2012 “Science Versus the Playboy Bunny: Jenny McCarthy and Embodied Rhetorics in Vaccine Controversy.” Gender, Bodies, and Technology (GBT) Conference. Roanoke, VA. Apr. 25, 2012.
2012 “Countering Vaccination: Online Confession and Subverting the Medical Gaze.” International Society for the Study of Narrative Annual Conference. Mar. 27, 2012.
2011 “Zealots and Murderers: Vaccination Satire.” International Society for the Study of Narrative Annual Conference. St. Louis, MO. Apr. 8, 2011.
2010 “Constructed Audiences and Exigencies in Satire.” 2010 Thomas R. Watson International Conference on Rhetoric and Composition. Louisville, KY. Oct. 15, 2010.
2009 “Crisis, Risk, and Business-Community Communication.” Association for Business Communication (ABC) 74thAnnual Convention. Portsmouth, VA. Nov. 6, 2009.
2009 “Rhetorical Situatedness and the Web: Kairos, Genre, and Pedagogy.” The 59thAnnual Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). San Francisco, CA. Mar. 12, 2009.
At National Conferences: Poster Presentations
2016 “The Rhetoric of Campus Sexual Assault.” With Bonnie Stabile and Lourdes Fernandez. *Award Winner, Population, Reproductive, and Sexual Health Section. American Public Health Association (APHA) 2016 Annual Conference. Denver, CO. October 30, 2016.
2016 “Vaccination, Pertussis and Health Beliefs: Qualitative Research to Improve Communication with Vaccine Skeptics.” With Bernice Hausman, Tarryn Abrahams, and Kari Putterman. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Immunization Conference, September 2016.
2016 “The Rhetoric of Campus Sexual Assault: Media Constructions of Student Advocacy and Campus Citizenship.” With Bonnie Stabile and Lourdes Fernandez. 19thAnnual Conference, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW). Houston, TX. April 6, 2016.
2014 “Constructing Disease Exigence: Risk, Flu, and the CDC.” Association for Business Communication (ABC) 79thAnnual International Conference. Philadelphia, PA. October 23, 2014.
2013 “Understanding Persuasion in Medical Contexts: Physician Communication Strategies and Vaccination Controversy.” American Medical Writers Association Annual Conference. Columbus, OH. November 8, 2013.
2012 “Failed Science, Failed Rhetoric (?): Andrew Wakefield and the Discourses of Scientific Controversy. 15thAnnual Conference, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW). St. Louis, MO. Mar. 20, 2012.
National Seminars, Workshops, and Institutes (Competitive Placement)
2015 “Diseases, Injuries, and the Rhetorics of Material Exigence.” RSA Summer Institutes 2015 Workshop: Theory Building in the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine. Madison, WI. June 1-7, 2015.
2012 “Perspectives on the Professional’s Rhetoric: Medical Discourses about Vaccination.” ATTW Research Methods Workshop: Analyzing Data from Complex Institutional Contexts. St. Louis, MO. March 19, 2012.
Invited Presentations and Symposia
2017 “Portrait of a Tech Writer: Building Competencies in Technical Writing for Government Agencies.” Society for Technical Communication (STC) First Friday Lunch Presentation, Washington, D.C. August 4, 2017.
2017 “The Rhetoric of Campus Sexual Assault: Media Constructions of Student Advocacy and Campus Citizenship.” With Bonnie Stabile and Lourdes Fernandez. 2017 Biotech & Health Sciences Research Symposium, George Mason University. April 21, 2017.
2016 “How Vaccines are Different for Skeptical Parents: A Material Approach to Communication.” Invited presentation at theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health Communication Science Office, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Atlanta, GA. May 27, 2016.
2016 “Campus Sexual Assault: Rhetorical Analysis of Media Coverage and Implications for Policy.” School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs, George Mason University. March 16, 2016.
2015 “Vaccination Controversy: The Rhetoric of Vaccine Refusal in Professional and Public Contexts.” Multidisciplinary Research Symposium, George Mason University. April 27, 2015.
2014 “Vaccine Controversy: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Skepticism and Shaping Clinical Interventions.” Sponsored by Rowan University and the Hollybush Institute. April 10, 2014.
2013 “Building Interdisciplinary Research Programs: Methods and Epistemologies in Medical Research.” Symposium on Vaccine Discourse. East Carolina University. September 24, 2013.
TEACHING
Courses taught at George Mason University
English 609: Advanced Proposal Writing (Spring 2018)
Students build upon existing proposal knowledge, gaining the project and program management skills, research development, and relationship management skills required to lead proposal efforts and build programs with external funding.
English 489/509: Proposal Writing and Development (Fall 2017, Fall 2018)
Students gain a broad foundation of the skills, capabilities, and knowledge required to effectively create proposals for various types of organizations, including proposals written for grant and contract funding for nonprofit, academic, and industry environments.
English 501: Introduction to Professional Writing and Rhetoric (Fall 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018)
Students examine the practical, historical, and theoretical underpinnings of professional communication as a rhetorical art.
English 502: Research Methods in Professional Writing and Rhetoric (Spring 2014, Spring 2018)
Students investigate the methods of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods used in professional writing and rhetoric. Students examine how these methods engage different forms of knowledge production in both academic and workplace environments.
English 388: Professional and Technical Writing (Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2017)
Students learn about the role that communication plays in professional and technical environments by analyzing and producing a wide variety genres and texts tailored to specific audiences and situations.
English 824: Medicine, Health, and Technical Communication (Spring 2016)
Students read current theoretical approaches to analyzing and understanding medicine and health, examine how those theories can be used to interrogate standards of health care and communication, and analyze approaches to medical communication as addressed within the field of professional and technical writing.
English 613: Technical Communication/English 824: Advanced Technical Communication
(Fall 2014; cross-list Fall 2015)
Students examine contemporary issues the communication of technical and scientific concepts by exploring their historical precedents, theoretical implications, and practice in professional settings.
For PhD cross-list (fall 2015): PhD students expand upon the theoretical and practical issues identified in the course by leading class discussions, teaching key concepts, and developing final projects aimed to advance research in the theory, teaching, and practice of technical communication.
SOM 301: Business Models: A Communications Approach (10 sections, Fall 2007 to Spring 2009)
Students developed business communications, research, and writing skills by producing workplace documentation and professional presentations.
Courses taught at Virginia Tech
English 3764: Technical Writing (Fall 2012, Spring 2013)
Students analyzed audiences, conduct research, and produce workplace genres such as memos, instructions, proposals, and web content tailored to specific situations and exigencies.
English 3154: Literature, Medicine, and Culture (Fall 2012)
Students examined the impact of culture on science and medicine by analyzing medical narratives in fiction, nonfiction, television, and film.
English 4804: Grant Proposals and Reports(Teaching Assistant, Spring 2011)
Students worked with community partners to research grant opportunities, write organizational summaries, and draft proposal documents for community partner use.
Courses taught at Northern Virginia Community College
College Composition II(Spring 2007)
Students conducted cultural analyses of texts and produced essays and multi-modal texts that examined the significance of related social issues.
College Composition I(Fall 2006)
Students wrote personal and research essays while examining audience and genre conventions of academic and public writing.
Supervised Studies and Projects
Dissertations (Committee Chair)
- Elizabeth Ferguson, Health Crisis, Medical Rhetoric, and International Technical Communication
- Lourdes Fernandez, Methods and Methodologies in Writing and Rhetoric Research
- Rachael Graham Lussos, Rhetorics of Chronic Pain
- Norma Smith, Rhetorics of Health, Fitness, and Nutrition
Dissertations (Committee Reader)
- Matt Magelssen-Green, Rhetorics of Tabletop Role-playing Games
PhD Independent Studies
- “Rhetorics of Sexual Assault,” (ENGH 824) Lourdes Fernandez, fall 2016
- “Grant Funding for Humanities Research,” (ENGH 824) Rachael Lussos, summer 2015
MA Theses
- “Role and Value of Grammar Knowledge for Professional Writers,”Madeline Graham, spring-fall 2018 (advisor)
- “Communication Matters: A Study of Methods of Delivery and the Role of Persuasion in Army Suicide Prevention Training Materials,” Nooshin Sherkat, spring-fall 2018 (advisor)
- “Risk Communication: A Study of the Effects of Asymmetries in Public and Expert Risk Perception,”Katelyn Noland, fall 2013-spring 2014 (reader)
- “Patent Applications: A Genre that Mediates the Social Actions and Ideological Goals of the America Invents Act,” Jongsung Bae, fall 2013-spring 2014 (reader)
MA Independent Studies
- “Rhetorics of Graves Disease,” (ENGH 797) Luana Shafer, fall 2018 (advisor)
- “Technical Communication in Environmental Discourse,” (ENGH 797) Tyler Anderson, spring 2017 (advisor)
- “Research Methods in Professional Writing and Rhetoric,” (ENGH 502) Meghan Cantwell and Bailey Lucero-Carter, spring 2016 (faculty advisor)
MA Projects
- “Ghostly Science: Genre and Rhetoric in Victorian Psychical Research,” Erinn Fry, spring 2017 (consultant)
- “Federal Government Proposal Writing: The Missing Element of Undergraduate PWR Programs,” Kathryn Makin, spring 2015 (consultant)
- “Risk or Rewards?: A Rhetorical Analysis Analyzing Risk Communication of Tanning and Tanning Bed Use,” Brittany Kelly, spring 2015 (consultant)
- “Document Review Process Improvement Study: Analyzing the Review Process of a Small Company with Minimized Resources,” Michelle Cotton, fall 2014 (consultant)
Undergraduate Research and Theses
- “The Legal Implications of Proposal Writing for the Government,” Patrick Swan, Independent Study, OSCAR Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) Grant Recipient, spring-fall 2018
- “Theories of Epistemology in Rhetoric and Professional Writing,” Lauren Hills Hoerath, English 308 Independent Study, spring 2018 (advisor)
- “A New Nosology: Rhetorical Analysis of Epilepsy: Its Symptoms, Treatment, and Relation to Other Chronic Convulsive Disorders,” Barbara Brophy, English Honors Thesis, spring 2017 (co-advisor)
SERVICE
To the Field
Board Member, Northern Virginia Area Health Education Center (NVAHEC) at George Mason University
Society for Technical Communication (STC) Leadership Activities
Member, Society for Technical Communication (STC) Education Advisory Panel. May 2016 to present.
Delivered webinar, “Building Competencies in Technical Communication.” Delivered for the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Education Series. November 1, 2017.
Hosted lecture, “What’s the Value Proposition?” with Clay Spinuzzi, October 2017.
Judge, STC Washington D.C.-Baltimore Chapter, 2015 Technical Communication Awards. Winter 2015-2016.
Faculty Sponsor, Society for Technical Communication (STC) Student Chapter. Fall 2014 to present.
- Founded Chapter; worked with local and national STC representatives to begin organization, set up bylaws and constitution, and secure funding for first year support. Recruited initial student members and set up student leadership infrastructure.
- Hosted special panel on research methods for fall 2017 Fall for the Book with Jennel Johnson, Laurie Gries, and Doug Eyman.
- Hosted talk with S. Scott Graham during Fall for the Book 2016.
- Hosted “Academic Publishing and Research Grants,” a special panel during Fall for the Book 2015 with Cheryl Ball, Huiling Ding, and Jeff Grabill.
- Hosted an academic professional networking event with visiting scholar, Dr. David Blakesley.
- Hosted “Building Your Professional Identity in Technical Communication.” The professional networking event connected George Mason students with local technical communications professionals to help them learn about careers in technical communication. Students attended one of three break-out sessions on editing, resumes, or building an online identity.
Enculturation: A Journal of Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture.2009 to present. http://www.enculturation.net
Senior Copy Editor, July 2014 to October 2015
Assistant Editor, January 2013 to July 2014
Copy Editor, May 2009 to December 2012
At George Mason University
Chair, Intellectual Life Committee, June 2017 to present.
- Organizing series of research presentations/conversations to encourage collaboration and student engagement across the university.
Member, Outreach Committee, Aug. 2013 to June 2017.
- “How to Network,” a career counseling session focused on teaching undergraduates how to develop and maintain professional networks, September 2016. Organizer.
- “Careers in English,” alumni-student networking session, February 2016. Organizer.
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Job Information and Recruiting Session, March 2014. Organizer.
- “Beginning a Career with your English Major,” alumni-student networking session, February 2014. Organizer.
- Developed alumni online presence, including LinkedIn page and updated alumni pages on English department’s website.
- Develop, conduct, and analyze English Department Outreach Questionnaire, a survey of alumni about upcoming outreach activities.
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Job Information and Recruiting Session, December 2013. Participant.
Member, Professional Writing and Rhetoric Search Committee, Fall 2014-Spring 2015; Fall 2015-Spring 2016
“Rhetoric and Writing.” Guest lecture. English 305, George Mason University. February 26, 2014, and
November 12, 2014.
“Developing an Academic Poster Workshop.” Workshop on academic poster presentations and proposals for MA and PhD students. George Mason University. October 14, 2014.
Member, Writing and Rhetoric PhD Selection Committee. Spring 2014.
Facilitator, Faculty Writing Academy. May 2014.
- Delivered presentation, entitled “Writing Technologies.”
- Facilitate writing groups, including goal setting and group discussion of writing progress.
- Facilitate monthly writing groups during fall 2014 semester.
Contributing Author, Spring 2008 Anthology of Student Writing. 2008. <http://pwr.gmu.edu/editing/>
- Submitted essays for an edited collection of research writing from George Mason University’s Professional Writing and Rhetoric program. Worked with students in a Masters-level editing class to make global and sentence-level edits for publication in an online forum.
Assistant Editor, So to Speak: a feminist journal of language and art. 2006 to 2007 <http://sotospeakjournal.org>
At Virginia Tech
Assistant Director, Center for the Study of Rhetoric in Society, Virginia Tech, Aug. 2011 to Dec. 2011
- Assisted interim director with coordination of faculty research projects in rhetoric and civil rights, health care, and data analytics. Contribute to project administrative needs, such as reviewing documentation, finalizing publications, and providing feedback and input on emerging findings.
- Professional Writing Intern Supervision
- Managed project tasks for interns according to faculty priorities as necessary
- Collected, reviewed, and provided feedback on intern deliverables
- Trained on tasks and requirements, such as grant opportunity searching
- Completed syllabi to ensure learning goals were set and achieved
- Evaluated performance at the mid-term and end of the semester
- Special Event Coordination
- Coordinated four guest speaker events during fall 2011 on neurorhetorics, archival research methods, media analysis, and statistical analysis for interdisciplinary research
- Coordinated travel, including itineraries, accommodations, and informal gatherings
- Arranged facilities and technology support for talks as necessary
- Blue Ridge Writing Project (BRWP)
- Supervised intern research of the BRWP and National Writing Project (NWP), projects that foster community literacy and teacher enhancement
- Wrote reports to guide grant searching; developed opportunity drafts and outlines
- Other Support
- Coordinated and developed research poster presentation at a university research forum. This required coordination and participation of all Center staff, including three graduate students and two undergraduate students.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH)
- Association for Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW)
- Rhetoric Society of America (RSA)
- Society for Technical Communication (STC)
PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS EXPERIENCE
Technical Communications and Management
Communication Training, January 2016 to Present, Insignia Federal Group
- Create specialized communications training materials and curricula for federal clients, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Adolescent Health (OAH), Office of Minority Health (OMH), and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources (ASFR).
- Instructed participants on concepts such as audience analysis, genre and document development, and preparing presentation materials for varied audiences and stakeholders related to health care, policy, and community initiatives and grantees.
Quality Assurance Manager, 2005 to 2007, L-3 Communications
- Wrote, edited, formatted, and reviewed production quality of contract deliverables and proposals.
- Conducted content review of documents for preparedness exercises and training, including instruction manuals, background research, and related briefings and handouts.
- Led support for conferences, training, report writing, and working groups for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
- Coordinated a staff of 15 editors, desktop publishers, graphics artists, and production coordinators to complete editing, formatting, graphics, and production support for authors of Federal and State contract documentation.
- Supported internal business development and proposal efforts, producing Federal, State, and local proposals and special events and materials such as posters, video, brochures, and user manuals.
- Supported onsite efforts at the Army Materiel Command (AMC).
- Cataloged active publications, coordinated rescinded manuals and reports, edited and reviewed documentation for use in military and government presentations and reference materials.
Federal Proposal Writing and Management
Professional Writing Consultant, 2008 to Present
- Support writing tasks, with a focus on proposal and marketing material development, for contracts with the Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
- Manage, coordinate, and review proposals; serve as the volume lead on technical and personnel proposal volumes; write proposal responses; and provide graphics and formatting support.
Proposal Manager, 2007 to 2008, Atteloir, Inc.
- Managed entire proposal response processes for two winning bids, totaling $30M in business.
- Developed outlines, composed technical data, wrote executive summaries, prepared supplemental presentations, developed graphics, and managed all production.
- Managed proposal teams, including proposal review teams, graphics and editing consultants, production staff, and executive-level officials.
Marketing and Proposal Communications Specialist, 2003, Atteloir, Inc.
- Searched for business opportunities via the Federal Business Opportunities database, attended pre-proposal conferences, and wrote and submitted proposals for two winning bids.
Marketing and Web Writing
Entertainment Content Intern, The Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, 2002
- Intern for The Washington Post’s Entertainment Guide (now called the “Going Out Guide”).
- Produced content for online publication, including a special feature on cooking classes. Researched over 50 area cooking classes and compiled descriptions and pertinent information into a comprehensive article on and guide to taking a cooking class.
Marketing Intern, 2000 to 2002, Collegiate Funding Services (CFS)
- Developed marketing and informative material for the company website.
- Researched and composed Refinancing for the Real World, the chief marketing piece distributed by national sales directors.