Copywriter. Content Editor. Storyteller. Branding. marketing. advertising. influencer whitelisting.
From the big apple to the nation’s capital.
I’ve helped tell the story for small businesses and government agencies, Fortune 200 companies and even your local politician. No task is too big—or too small—don’t worry, I can handle them all! From fashion and beauty, to restaurants, finance and software… I’ve got your brand and copy covered.
Capital One: Retail Brand Partnerships
Fetch by The Dodo
AvePoint
Capital One: CreditWise & Personal Loans
HelloFresh
Cellebrite
Distractify
The Scoop
Dr. Nassif Skincare
My Subscription Addiction
Merriam-Webster The Usage
LePrix
Dept. of Health & Human Services
Saks Fifth Avenue
Google/Zagat Survey
Victoria's Secret
Macy's
Political & Linkedin Bios
Mr. hoppy golighty’s breakfast(s) @ tiffany’s
areas of expertise
copywriting.
Because size doesn’t always matter—sometimes brevity is your best friend. Let me describe your products, services and solutions in as few words as possible. I’ll make sure they make a huge, lasting impact.
branding & voice.
Once you’ve identified your target audience, it’s imperative you consistently communicate using a voice that’s empathetic, engaging, relatable—and totally unforgettable.
blogging.
But, sometimes size DOES matter. Like, if you’re trying on a pair of Christian Louboutin heels—or you just need to tell a story. The devil is in the details—and not always in Prada.
an imagination is a priceless gift
making Childhood dreams…
In grade school, I’d stay up late to write plays, songs and short stories starring whimsical characters full of personality, magic and flair. Decades later, I uncovered those fairy dust-covered notebooks to discover that deep-down inside I’m still that witty, creative child who believes in unicorns, frilly ballgowns and the spellbinding powers of the written word.
my reality.
Upon entering high school, I kicked my fairy tales and unicorns to the curb and became obsessed with fashion writing in NYC. While some girls dreamed of becoming a high-powered lawyer or a doctor, I wanted to play dress-up in the fashion closet of my favorite magazine, Cosmopolitan, live the “Sex and the City” lifestyle and meet Candace Bushnell.
My dreams became reality—and this is my story.
Just kidding.
I still have those unicorns.
There was Something about mary—in nyc (2012)
Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Mary always dreamed of living in New York City and working at Cosmopolitan Magazine. Post-college, and after weeks of whining to her father, he told her to fill up two (wheel-less) suitcases, grab her brick-sized Cingular Wireless cell phone, handed her $250 in cash and dropped her off at Baltimore City's Greyhound Bus station. She gladly accepted the challenge and hopped on the bus towards the city, her new home. After arriving in NYC on a sweltering June morning without a place to live, friends or a job, she drug her suitcases around Times Square and begged for a waitressing gig. Every door slammed in her face, telling her she needed "New York City waitressing experience" before they'd hire her. Sweaty, but not yet defeated, she grabbed a copy of the Village Voice and found a cheap, hostel-style living space in the West Village for $200/week. Since she had worked as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory in DC, she was convinced she'd snag a restaurant or bar gig and would quickly make enough cash to find a real apartment. She just needed a few more days...
The hostel was booked solid, so they sent her away. Crying and scared, she drug her suitcases to a bench on the West Side Highway and called her dad to tell him that she didn't have a place to stay for the night. Luckily, he already had a plan in place and sent her to her JWT Ad Exec cousin's house in northern New Jersey. For five weeks, she slept on a kid's daybed in her cousin's basement (that was crawling with spiders) and commuted back and forth to her new waitressing job in Hoboken.
While working at Maxwell's Tavern on Washington, she met one of her lifelong best friends and she happened to be looking for an apartment! Via the Village Voice (again), they found a duplex on West 73rd Street, directly across from the storied Dakota Building. They moved into their new abode on September 1st, 2001.
Following 9/11, Mary lost her waitressing job, but not her spirit. After all, she still hadn't walked through the doors of Cosmopolitan Magazine. A few weeks later, she landed a job at the hottest new restaurant in NYC -- Blue Fin at the W Hotel. Since it was the biggest celeb haunt of the moment, she waited on everyone from Puff Daddy, to Brandy, and Beyonce, to Jessica Simpson. Since the W Hotel hosted lots of New York Fashion Week events, she also waited on multiple designers and editors. And that's when her dream became reality—she waited on a table full of Cosmopolitan Magazine Editors and did something that could've gotten her fired—she begged them to take a chance on a girl who quit her easy life in DC to become a writer in NYC.
Cosmopolitan Magazine awarded her with a Fashion Accessories internship! She was overjoyed to assist the Fashion Director with product tracking and requests, page layouts, reviews and photo shoots. It was an absolute dream come true!
Following her internship, she landed a job as an Editorial Assistant in First for Women Magazine’s beauty department. Making a salary that couldn’t even cover rent, she waited tables every weekend for four years straight to remain in Manhattan.
This position quickly introduced her to the glam world of high-priced editor gifts (that might’ve made it to eBay), open-bar parties, lounge and club openings, celebrity-laden events, mortgage-priced handbags and gold-plated meals at the “in” restaurants of the moment—on $25,000 a year. She’s still not sure how she survived.
Mary lived life in the fast lane on pennies, yearned for a new challenge and made a jump to fashion and beauty public relations, where she had the honor of working with esteemed clients such as John Frieda, Bobbi Brown and New York Fashion Week. Life on the other side was eye-opening, but sometimes exhausting, and she dreamed of becoming the next Candace Bushnell (really, who didn’t?). After expressing a desire to go back to writing, many doors began to open and she was quickly referred to editors of magazines, books and websites for freelance writing gigs.
The famed Zagat Survey was her favorite freelance assignment. Reviewing and writing blurbs about some of her favorite spots in NYC was both a challenge and a thrill—she always looked forward to Zagat season.
In August, 2007, she escaped PR and went to work as an Advertising Copywriter for Macy’s Home Store. She credits this career move as bringing her back to sanity and putting more of a dent in her wallet. After successfully promoting and elevating the Macy’s Home Store brand, the Creative Director approached her—stating that her talents remained untapped in the Home Store—and moved her in to the more glamorous and creative world of Special Projects. This position thrilled her to no end. It was so exciting to write about events like the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Macy’s Culinary Counsel Chef Demonstrations and even the local fashion shows!
After a year of juggling Special Projects, an old coworker from the very same team approached her about writing for Victoria’s Secret. As one who never turns down a challenge—or an opportunity—she agreed to leave her safe haven of fulltime employment and job security to become a freelance contractor as Victoria’s Secret’s sole Marketing Copywriter. She mastered the art of making everyone and everything sound SEXY, while learning from some of the best in the business.
While the world of supermodel-induced anorexia seemed to keep the rest of her team in tact (the team that starves together, strives together) she realized in order to move forward in the world of fashion and beauty, she must jump ship for wider pastures—the world wide web. She accepted a copywriting position at Saks Fifth Avenue where she’s currently an on-staff scribe. Aside from owning her weekdays between the hours of 8:30 and 5:30, Saks also owns her bank account because, with discounts like these, who can afford to say no to a closet full of handbags?
Remember the old woman who lived in a shoe? One day Mary will be the middle-aged woman who lived in a house created out of leather handbags once she can no longer afford her rent!
During her free time, she can also be found pining over Birkins on the Upper East Side; window shopping at Bergdorf’s like Holly Golightly; eating Thai food—anywhere decent; tripping over her feet while staring at suits on Park Avenue during lunch; teaching herself photography; running through Central Park whenever the weather, or her knees, allows her to; sipping on $26 martinis at The Carlyle Hotel; clowning up her face at Sephora; attempting to walk in 5” platforms, even though she’s already over 5’10” and has a bunion the size of Texas; obsessively texting everyone, including her mini-me sister and little brother, because face-to-face communication is so 1995; celebrity-spotting on the streets and then almost getting squashed by a cab because she fell off the curb; teaching herself German; and just taking in the sights and sounds of New York City.