Communications & Content Strategist

I’m a professional writer and communications consultant who creates marketing and lifestyle content. Industry-wise, I’ve covered arenas from health, education, travel, and lifestyle to supplements and prescriptions.

On the editorial side, I know my way around a style manual and put my MFA in creative writing to use authoring articles on culture/health, and editing books and zines.

Find out more about my services.

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Client Testimonials

  • "We enlisted Gretchen's help on a project with a legal client who needed web content and a white paper for their marketing campaigns. Even though the information was highly technical and specialized, Gretchen onboarded quickly and efficiently. She worked seamlessly with our design team and subject matter experts to deliver technical, precise and competitive materials with dynamic and accurate messaging. I'd welcome the chance to work with her again!"

    Willie Diaz, CCO & Founder, WDIAZ DESIGN

  • "Gretchen not only contributed great writing for our fundraising materials, she also helped us with our strategy. She was skilled at asking the right questions, understood that we needed to differentiate ourselves from other organizations and transformed our internal materials and case studies into a compelling organizational story with a powerful call to action. We were thrilled to receive a massive donation of $50K and her materials were a huge part of the informational package to help us secure our largest grants so far! We're grateful for her help and would recommend her to other nonprofits and foundations who need inspirational storytelling."

    Gayatri Mathur, Founder and CEO, Soondra Foundation

  • "As the CEO of an indigenous, women-led think tank, I was asked to contribute an article to a nonprofit journal about my views on my vision for a "future economy" and how my background contributed to that issue. Because I was uncertain about how to translate my ideas to an external audience unfamiliar with our work, I asked Gretchen for help breaking down my organizational (and personal) story. She worked closely with our team, doing research, and asking incisive questions that dug deeply into the core of our work. From there, she created a detailed outline and compelling narrative arc for the article. I'm so grateful for Gretchen's help—her curiosity, strategic thinking, and respectful approach helped us to convey our vision—and led to me getting a book deal!"

    Vanessa Roanhorse, Chief Executive Officer, Roanhorse Consulting

  • "I worked with Gretchen on a self-published artist book, Yonder Me, 2024. I found that her talent and expertise extended beyond mere editing. She took the time and effort to delve deeply into the stakes of my project—and to understand my perspective as an Asian-American woman exploring multiple artistic identities and nationalities in a visual memoir. She tapped into my needs as an artist and non-native writer, to not flatten my voice, but push the language into something personal and distinctive. This is just one clear example of why Gretchen's editorial ability augments the quality of any communications project."

    Nadine Nakanishi, Artist

Work

I’ve worked as an editor at Time Out Chicago, got my MFA from Northwestern University, and founded a literary blog. These days, I write and manage content and work to improve editorial processes. My hybrid marketing & publishing background gave me a great foundation for helping organizations find their most authentic narrative. Want to work together? Check out my copy or editorial clips, and get in touch.

Contact

I’m available for freelance content work and creative consulting. To get in touch, email me at gretchen.kalwinski@gmail.com or fill out my contact form.