Lisa Stockwell '80
Santa Rosa, California, United States
Lisa Stockwell
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After working in PR and advertising agencies, I started my own freelance writing business at the age of 28. I've enjoyed a rich and fulfilling career as my business has taken a number of different twists and turns—always allowing me to focus on the writing work I love. See more at www.lisastockwell.com.
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I attribute my stellar education in English literature and essay writing at Westover to my eventual career in writing. When in school, I never imagined myself becoming a writer, perhaps because it seemed too lofty a goal. I intended to be a teacher. But after taking a year off college to live in Europe and writing every day about my experiences, I realized my real passion involved the written word and I had to figure out a career that allowed me to write.
Over the past 40 years, I've had a lot of different experiences, starting in a small PR firm and then working for several years in a national advertising agency (their San Francisco office). I moved from there to a small corporate communications agency and left there at 28 to open my own freelance writing business. I started by working with Fortune 500 companies writing annual reports, newsletters, speeches and brochures. After 8 years of that I developed a home improvement magazine with a friend and published that for 5 years, working as the executive editor. I took a little time off to spend more time with my 3 young children and then began writing articles for Sunset Magazine, which led to contracts to write 9 books for them. When their book division closed, I went back to copywriting and have been primarily writing for healthcare clients since 2010.
What I love about my career now is that it forces me to keep on top of all the latest developments in digital marketing and social media. I'm still learning so much. As a freelancer I also have the freedom to take on the clients I want and work when I want. I'm hoping I can work as long as my brain keeps functioning!
While you may not want to work as a freelancer, I can certainly help you navigate the PR and advertising worlds as I work with agencies as well as directly with clients.
See more at www.lisastockwell.com.
