Elissa regularly writes product spotlights and bar/restaurant reviews for Alcoholmanac, a local Milwaukee magazine. She has written graduate school presentations on gender issues in linguistics, mental health evaluations, student recommendations and evaluations of student writing, descriptions of winning writing contest entries, and a guest author introduction. She selects and edits narrative nonfiction for Third Coast Magazine. Additionally, she has completed a short story collection and is at work on a novel.
Elissa is interested in all things food-related-- vegetarian/vegan/organic cooking and baking, local products and restaurants, food justice, and gardening. She regularly volunteers at her local food co-op. Elissa also enjoys reading and spending time with her three cats.
Beloit is a four-year liberal arts college. I took a writing-intensive curriculum that included coursework primarily in the social sciences, women's studies, and creative writing.
Areas of study included diagnosis and treatment of major mental illness with an emphasis on client-centered therapy. I completed a year-long field placement on an inpatient psychiatric unit in Chicago.
Areas of study included: fiction writing with a secondary emphasis on playwriting, composition and creative writing pedagogy, literature, and linguistics.
Elissa regularly contributes product spotlights and bar/restaurant reviews for Alcoholmanac, a local Milwaukee magazine focused on drink and nightlife culture. She recommends specific wine, beer, and spirits, synthesizing a panel's tasting notes as well as providing product company background.
Elissa taught composition for three years at Western Michigan University, where she won the All-University Graduate Teaching Effectiveness award. She also completed graduate-level coursework in rhetoric/composition pedagogy and creative writing pedagogy, during which she developed a teaching philosophy, artist statement, syllabus, course description, lesson plans, and class handouts.
Elissa is the nonfiction editor of Third Coast, a national literary journal. She reads and evaluates submissions, requests revisions, and communicates with writers regarding the status of their submissions.
Additionally, Elissa serves as the judge for Montcalm Community College's creative writing contest. This year, she helped read and evaluate MFA fiction applications for Western Michigan University.
Elissa regularly contributes product reviews to Alcoholmanac, a Milwaukee drink and nightlife magazine. Reviews include company descriptions as well as tasting notes and recommendations.