At GWRITES, provide strategic communications services to help organizations and leaders communicate with clarity, impact, and authenticity. I partner with nonprofits, tech companies, and mission-driven organizations to craft messaging that resonates with your audiences, strengthens your brand, and supports your goals
Whether you’re refreshing your brand, creating content, or navigating complex communications challenges, GWRITES provides strategic guidance and hands-on support every step of the way.
What I Offer
GWRITES supports mission-driven organizations and purposeful companies with storytelling, communications strategy, and marketing services.
Communications
Communications strategy and implementation
Content
Research, writing and editing support
Planning
Social media development and implementation
Engagement
Public relations writing and media relations
1. Brand Messaging & Strategy
Your organization has a story worth telling. I help you define or refine your messaging platform, including mission, vision, values, and key audience narratives. The result: messaging that is clear, consistent, and aligned with your purpose.
2. Speechwriting & Executive Communications
I craft speeches, presentations, and talking points that help executives engage, inspire, and connect. My clients have delivered speeches at conferences, award ceremonies, and high-profile events with confidence and impact.
3. Fractional Communications Leadership
Need short-term communications leadership or mentorship? I serve as a fractional communications director, providing guidance, team coaching, and strategic direction during transitions, projects, or events.
4. Content Strategy & Copywriting
Words matter. I write accessible, audience-focused content for:
Blogs and thought leadership
Email campaigns and newsletters
Social media content
Internal communications
5. Crisis & Sensitive Communications
When challenging situations arise, I provide clear, practical guidance on how to communicate with tact, transparency, and empathy, helping you protect your reputation and navigate complexity gracefully.
Testimonials
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Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA
Bringing Stories to Life for Nonprofits
“As someone dedicated to supporting the work of those devoted to the nonprofit path, Genie is extraordinary: she understands the nonprofit world, she crafts meaningful language, and she sees what is essential and make it shine. I always knew what I did every day mattered, but I didn’t know how to tell my story to others until Genie brought invaluable insight to my work. Genie is patient and brilliant, a combination that makes magic for those with whom she works. And she’s incredibly fun to boot. I recommend Genie whenever I can.”
Julia Sparenberg, Marketing and Communications Manager
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River City Drumbeat, Miami FL and San Francisco CA
Shaping Our Social Media Voice
“Genie was instrumental in shaping the social media voice and content strategy for our independent film as we pivoted from the film festival circuit to virtual outreach during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a delight to work with her and very helpful for us and our film team.
Marlon Johnson and Anne Flatté, Directors
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AI4ALL, Oakland, CA
Distilling Our Impact with Clarity
“Genie was incredibly skilled at distilling our impact and work into a meaningful and flexible messaging framework that can grow with our organization. Her deep knowledge of nonprofits/mission-driven organizations and her strategic approach were reflected in both the work she produced and the process. Through the process, Genie communicated proactively and was always willing to answer questions, incorporate feedback, or discuss new approaches to the work to fit with our schedule, resources, and needs. It was truly a pleasure working with Genie!”
Tess Posner, CEO
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Upwork, Santa Clara, CA
Distilling Our Impact with Clarity
“Even though we had just met, Genie captured my voice and story beautifully for a speech we worked on together. I’m grateful for her help and support, and recommend her work.”
Zoë Harte, Chief People Officer
How I Work
I start by listening carefully to understand your goals, challenges, and audience. From there, I craft messaging and content that is:
Authentic and inclusive
Strategically aligned with your objectives
Clear, compelling, and memorable
Every engagement is tailored to your organization’s needs, ensuring solutions that are practical, actionable, and sustainable.
The women of the #MeToo movement are seizing their moment
A year after sparking the #MeToo movement by publicly accusing Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, actress Mira Sorvino is opening up about what’s next for her: eradicating sexual misconduct in the workplace.
“We are going to change this culture brick by brick,” she told “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski at the Know Your Value conference in San Francisco on Saturday. “Our children are not going to grow up into this same rape culture that we did. We are fighting it and we are going to end it,” Sorvino added.
“It’s a very serious decision,” Harris told “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski during an onstage conversation at the Know Your Value conference in San Francisco. “Over the holiday, I will make that decision with my family.” Harris, whose husband joined her in the audience, said she is keenly aware of the challenges a barrier-breaking campaign will entail. “Let’s be honest. It’s going to be ugly,” Harris said. “When you break things, it is painful. And you get cut. And you bleed.”
When I talk to colleagues in nonprofits, one of their top critiques about the sector is inevitably that we all feel like we run from meeting to meeting all day long. It’s the way many nonprofit teams collaborate — gathering around a conference table to reach consensus, share progress, and plan new strategies. Given that marcom folks are involved in almost every aspect of an organization’s work and operations, that makes meeting overload even worse for our teams and ourselves.
Six steps toward building a great nonprofit marcom team
I’ve worked on all kinds of nonprofit marketing and communications teams during my career, from a tiny staff of two to a 16-person communications crew spread across an entire floor. No matter how big or how small, the best nonprofit communications teams all shared the same commitment and similar skill sets.
You don’t get that kind of team by accident. It takes careful consideration and planning to find the people you need to serve the organization you already are …and the one you’re hoping to become. Here are some things to consider and questions to ask as you build the ideal marketing and communications team at your nonprofit.
Remembering how to smile: Feeding souls, one portrait at a time
Making someone beautiful for a moment, helping them see themselves through the eye of a camera, doesn’t give anyone the down payment on a new apartment, or erase years of abuse, or take away alcohol or drug addiction.
Before we started taking portraits that day, the development director for the organization we were serving talked about how their staff could provide a blanket for someone who needed it, or shelter, or food. “But what you are doing here,” he said, “is feeding their souls.”
Editorial Shorthand Fails Our Debates on Public Health
The word “ban” is a loaded one, virtually guaranteed to inflame readers’ passions on an issue. By defaulting to shorthand descriptions of policies designed to make people healthier, journalists and their editors help to shape public opinion. If articles like those cited above (and the hundreds of others just like them) used more accurate and nuanced language, it’s likely readers would consider these measures in a more balanced, thoughtful way.
How Can Philanthropy Advance Martin Luther King’s Goals? 13 Leaders Weigh In
Philanthropy is built on capitalism, and that’s what keeps it alive. In 2017, foundations awarded nearly $67 billion, a 6 percent increase from 2016. Those dollars came from profits earned decades ago, and endowments grow because of investments— those endowments themselves directly benefiting from today’s capitalism. If we don’t consider the impact of racism and inequity in the very communities we serve, then those grants can perpetuate the system that oppresses people of color, rather than providing them the support necessary to reach economic parity.
When people of all identities and backgrounds work together to build AI systems, the results better reflect society at large. Diverse perspectives yield more innovative, human-centered, and ethical products and systems.
Current and Former AnitaB.org CEOs Chat About the Future
“One, it’s about the women. The organization is about creating a place where they can thrive. The second is that we’re in this together. And the third is that you are part of a larger ecosystem, and it is together that we can, and will, change the world.”
