life sure is funny.
I never meant to be a UX writer or a strategist of anything.
I was going to wander along the Seine, and compose questionable prose from my Parisian terrace. But wait! I did compose questionable prose from my Parisian terrace. For three whole years on a client assignment, in fact. After hours, of course.
I also dreamed of serving as the lay-writer for a nerdy science publication. That hasn't happened (yet). But I have interviewed scientists, researchers, and laboratorians for clients like Mayo Medical Laboratories, 3M, and Medtronic to explain emerging treatments and new technologies to patients and HCPs.
Content + Healing = Content healing??
My career path hasn't been paved exclusively with content audits and online deliverables. Before joining Brain Traffic in 2005, I covered the Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene for a weekly paper called Pulse, and contributed stories to Utne Reader, City Pages, Midwest Home, and Request Magazine.
In 2014 I took a massive leap of faith, embarking on a journey I consider my life’s calling: I began building a holistic healing practice, through which I offer group classes and private sessions in meditation, sound therapy, DNA activation … and a host of other healing modalities.
I’m licensed and certified as a Vibrational Sound Therapy practitioner by the Vibrational Sound Association. I’m a HeartMath Institute AddHeart facilitator, and a Mindful Schools Educator. I’ve participated in the first level of training of the MindUP mindfulness-for-kids curriculum. I’m a Spring Forest Qigong group practice leader, and I was a regular contributer to the Science & Magic virtual learning platform. Before Covid sent us packing, I was a proud team member of the George Wellbeing Program, in partnership with the YMCA.
I’m constantly delighted by how seamlessly the practices of content creation and holistic healing seem to integrate and cross-pollenate. I learn countless lessons every day from each. And I wholeheartedly believe these complementary perspectives help me offer a more authentic, intuitive, and grounded experience to the clients and students with whom I’m so blessed to collaborate!
Snapped (then tweaked) this photo of my former stomping grounds along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, Downtown Minneapolis.
A little outdoor sound therapy for the masses: Playing my crystal singing bowls for World Singing Bowl Day at Bde Maka Ska Lake. Photo credit: Kate Gustafson (@k.gustafson)