Get Started With Coaching In Just 3 Easy Steps!
Look through our coaches below, and choose one who will best fit your needs.
Sign up for an hour-long coaching session. Sessions are $80 for non-members and $55 for members.
Once you sign up you will receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link for your scheduled day and time.
Lastly, send up to 20 pages of your work to hello@detroitwritingroom.com at least 2 days before your appointment so your coach can take a look! Specify your coach in the email subject. In the body of the email, you can share your questions or if you’re looking for specific feedback.
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Meet the Team
Stephanie Steinberg
Detroit Writing Room Founder and CEO
Stephanie Steinberg is a lifelong Detroiter and grammar enthusiast who only edits with purple pens. She’s been a journalist for over 15 years and held her first editor-in-chief title at the University of Michigan student newspaper The Michigan Daily. Stephanie has written for countless publications, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, USA Today, CNN.com, Huffington Post and more. She spent several years in Washington D.C. as a health and money editor at U.S. News & World Report, where she remains a contributing editor today. In D.C., she fell in love with a fellow Wolverine (see Coach Jake Serwer below) and decided to move home with him to cover Detroit’s comeback as a features reporter for The Detroit News. She then became the managing editor of SEEN Magazine, telling the stories of the people and places that define Metro Detroit. Stephanie is the editor of the book “In the Name of Editorial Freedom: 125 Years at The Michigan Daily” (University of Michigan Press). She founded the DWR’s nonprofit arm Coaching Detroit Forward to give Detroit students opportunities to learn from our coaches and gain mentors. She despises the Oxford comma and loves curling up with a coffee and her Goldendoodle Magglio to dive into a good book.
Sign up with Stephanie for: Nonfiction, journalism, website copy, social media, press releases, cover letters, professional bios, copy editing and book marketing
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All coaching sessions are currently virtual.
Bill Vlasic
Partner and Writing Coach
Bill Vlasic is a Detroit journalist whose love of newspaper reporting took him from a small Boston weekly to a decade as the Detroit bureau chief of The New York Times. At the Times, he wrote dozens of page one stories and led the paper’s coverage of the American auto industry through a period of bankruptcies, government bailouts and deadly safety problems. In 2013, he was on the Times team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for a series on high-tech global manufacturing. Before joining the Times, Bill spent 17 years as a reporter for The Detroit News, where he covered city hall, Michigan business and the ever-changing fortunes of the Big Three automakers. His investigative work and feature writing earned multiple awards for the paper, including the Gerald Loeb award for excellence in financial journalism. He also has worked for Business Week magazine and newspapers in New York and Massachusetts, and written two acclaimed books — “Taken For a Ride,” a national bestseller about the ill-fated merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, and “Once Upon A Car,” a Michigan Notable Book recounting the epic collapse and comeback of Detroit’s car companies. A Michigan native and graduate of Boston University and Columbia University, Bill is an avid runner, biker and hiker, loves music, sports and movies, and is always looking for next great book to read.
Sign up with Bill for: Nonfiction, book proposals and copy editing
Krishnan Anantharaman
Writing Coach
Krishnan Anantharaman is an editing specialist with more than 30 years of experience in the news industry. He spent most of his career at The Wall Street Journal, where he was a copy editor, slot editor and assistant foreign editor. After arriving in Detroit in 2000, he managed The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition, the Journal’s award-winning educational publication for high schools, and later directed coverage of Detroit and Michigan. He has also worked as an editor for the fact-checking organization PolitiFact and for Automotive News, where he steered the paper’s prize-winning coverage of the General Motors ignition-switch crisis and helped forge a partnership to sustain scholastic journalism in Detroit. He is currently a story editor for the education news site Chalkbeat. Krishnan has a journalism degree from Northwestern and a master’s in strategic communication from Michigan State. He enjoys cycling and loves the smell of newspaper ink in the morning.
Sign up with Krishnan for: News and feature writing, copy editing, line editing, headline writing and publication design
Laura Berman
Writing Coach
Laura Berman is a journalist with a lifetime of professional writing experience and a passion for seeing what’s next. As a three-times-a-week columnist for the Detroit News, she earned a reputation for insightful storytelling and an ability to turn mundane first drafts into pointed prose. Her full-length features have appeared in many national publications, including Newsweek, Time, Parenting and Glamour. While her career has taken her from Bosnia to Moscow to London and Palm Beach, she’s learned there’s no place like home. Now working on a book about the transformation of a single square mile in Detroit, Laura lives with her columnist/editor husband, their daughter Lina and a small-but-mighty goldendoodle.
Sign up with Laura for: Nonfiction, book proposals, personal essays, op-ed pieces, career advice, obit writing and family histories
Ashley Calhoun
Grant Writing Coach
Ashley Calhoun truly enjoys fundraising, and she is deeply involved in social, political and artistic organizations throughout Metro Detroit. As a board member for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, she leads an educational program for young nonprofit development professionals. Ashley currently works at InsideOut Literary Arts and is invested in empowering people through their desire to support and strengthen their communities. She has previously worked for CultureSource, United Way for Southeastern Michigan and Michigan Primary Care Association. She received her degree in art history from Tufts University. She can't wait to help you find support for your project!
Sign up with Ashley for: Grant writing
Melinda Clynes
Grant Writing Coach
Melinda Clynes is sparked by learning, compelled by mission-driven work and always has many plates in the air. She has worked as a freelance writer, marketing consultant and project manager in a variety of nonprofit, corporate and media environments in Metro Detroit for more than 25 years. Items in her communications portfolio include web content; development materials, including grants; brochures; bios; annual reports; and direct mail and promotional projects. She also writes features for local and national publications, including Model D, Next City, Crain’s Detroit Business, Rapid Growth and HOUR Detroit. From 2012-2018, she was editor of Michigan Nightlight, an online source of news and innovative solutions for those who care about Michigan kids. When not working, Melinda likes dancing at music festivals, riding her circa-1974 Schwinn Suburban (rescued from her parent’s garage days before it was headed to the curb), sampling heavily hopped beer and hanging upside down from aerial apparatuses.
Sign up with Melinda for: Grant writing, newsletters, website copy, professional bios and copy editing
Chelsie Dzbanski
Social Media Coach
Chelsie is a digital content creator, social media marketer and local Detroiter with a passion for helping busy business owners crush their goals on social media and beyond. With a degree in fashion marketing and management from the Art Institute of Michigan, Chelsie kicked off her career in the fashion/beauty industry where she helped entrepreneurs and startups expand their brands online and build a digital presence. Most recently, she spent four years at SEEN Magazine as the Social + Digital Manager where she curated multiple social platforms and developed engaging digital content for seenthemagazine.com. Chelsie is known for crushing it on Instagram after building the SEEN Magazine following to 20K+ and for increasing website views month-to-month with killer content. When she’s not testing out the latest social media trend or being “that person” who takes photos of her food before she eats, you can find Chelsie supporting local businesses, enjoying a boozy brunch with friends or nose deep in home decor content on Pinterest.
Sign up with Chelsie for: Social media curation, organic social growth strategy, digital content strategy, Facebook ads and social media setup.
Chelsie is available to hire for select social media management projects. Inquire here.
Ron Fournier
Writing Coach
Ron Fournier is the former publisher and editor of Crain’s Detroit Business and now serves as president at Truscott Rossman. As president, Ron helps guide and manage the direction of the firm, including leveraging media, policy-maker and business relationships in Detroit and Washington D.C. Prior to joining Crain’s in September 2016, Ron was an award-winning editor and political writer in Washington, where he served as a columnist for The Atlantic, editor-in-chief of the National Journal, and Washington Bureau Chief for the Associated Press during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
He also served as a 2005 fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, where he co-wrote the New York Times best-seller “Applebee’s America.” Before returning to Detroit in the fall of 2016, Fournier published a parenting memoir, “Love That Boy: What Two Presidents, Eight Road Trips, and My Son Taught Me About a Parent’s Expectations.” It debuted No. 10 on Amazon.com and was a New York Times bestseller.
A Detroit native, he began his family and career in Arkansas, covering then-governor Clinton before moving to Washington in 1993. Ron holds the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award for coverage of the 2000 presidential election and he is a four-time winner of the prestigious White House Correspondents’ Association Merriman Smith Memorial Award.
Sign up with Ron for: Speech writing, book proposals and nonfiction
Profit from Ron’s coaching sessions will be donated to the Autism Alliance of Michigan.
Felecia Henderson
Writing Coach
As assistant managing editor at The Detroit News, Felecia Henderson led a department of journalists responsible for cross-platform reporting of entertainment and lifestyle news. Henderson was hired at The News in 1989, working as a copy editor, page designer and section editor. In 1999, she joined the Detroit Free Press as an assistant features editor. Two years later, Henderson returned to The News as features editor. She was promoted to assistant managing editor in 2007 and worked in that role until 2019. Her career includes stints at the former Cincinnati Post and the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky. Her editing, design and leadership skills have been recognized by the Michigan APME, National Association of Black Journalists, Detroit Society of Professional Journalists, Michigan Press Association and the Society of News Design. She also has served as a two-time Pulitzer Prize nominating juror. The Louisville native earned a bachelor's degree in Radio-TV and Journalism from Murray State University and a master’s degree in Organization Development from Bowling Green State University. The veteran journalist now is a diversity consultant and Table Stakes Coordinator for the California-based Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.
In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music, reading biographies and promoting her son Grant Henderson’s company Greatness The One, a brand dedicated to inspiring young leaders to Be Great through product and design.
Sign up with Felecia for: Copy editing, nonfiction, website content, press releases and social media
Walter T. Middlebrook
Writing Coach
Walter T. Middlebrook, a former assistant managing editor at The Detroit News who led an award-winning metro news desk and investigations team, is the Foster Professor of Practice at The Pennsylvania State University. A senior editor and newsroom manager, his four-decade career also includes editing and working with staff and freelance writers producing stories and special sections in opinion, features, fashion, entertainment, news and business for such publications as The New York Times, Newsday/New York Newsday, USA Today and the St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press. He was among the staff at Newsday that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for spot news.
Middlebrook, who also has taught at Michigan State University, Hofstra University and at the Maynard Institute Editing Program for Minority Journalists, was named a Lifetime Achievement award-winner from the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He sits on the boards of the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation and the Daily Collegian at The Pennsylvania State University and the Board of Student Publications at the University of Michigan. He is a lifetime member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. A graduate of Boston University, the Memphis, Tenn., native is an Eagle Scout.
Sign up with Walter for: Copy editing, cover letters and resumes/career guidance, nonfiction, op-ed pieces, fiction, newsletters, press releases and obit writing or eulogies
Sacred Overstreet-Amos
Photography Coach
Sacred Overstreet-Amos is a Metro Detroit-based photographer who’s been capturing people and events for nearly a decade. She’s passionate about her craft and loves to take photos that inspire people young and old. Sacred graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in communications. She is also a United States Air Force Veteran. After the Air Force, she decided to pursue her passion and founded Moon Reflections Photography — a full-service photography company that specializes in high school senior portraits, business headshots as well as commercial and freelance photography. Sacred’s work has been featured in online and print publications, including SEEN Magazine, The Michigan Chronicle, The Huffington Post, Ebony.com and Rolling Out Magazine, among others. Sacred offers workshops on digital photography and camera basics, where students learn everything from understanding shutter speed to ISO. When she’s not shooting photos, she’s at home with her family, striving to create some amazing little humans who follow their passion.
Sign up with Sacred for: Camera basics, digital photography and photo editing
Neal Rubin
Writing Coach
Neal Rubin is a columnist and reporter with The Detroit News, which insists on capitalizing the T in The even though it’s awkward. He also writes the nationally syndicated comic strip “Gil Thorp.” A sportswriter at earlier stops in Colorado and Nevada, he was a feature writer and columnist at the Detroit Free Press before being lured away by the News in 2000. His work has also appeared in numerous other publications including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly and the in-flight magazines of at least three defunct airlines. He is considered one of the city’s preeminent storytellers and, sadly, one of its worst golfers. While he has helped shape multiple manuscripts for friends, he has no plans to write a book of his own, much to the consternation of his children; they assume that if Dad would only get off his rump, the family could live in a big house on the beach like his friends Elmore and Mitch.
Sign up with Neal for: Fiction, nonfiction, website copy, cover letters, professional bios, comics, copy editing, personal essays, op-ed pieces, obit writing and eulogies
Sydnee Thompson
Editing Coach
Sydnee Thompson is a Metro Detroit-based editor who specializes in copy editing and developmental editing for fiction and journalism projects. She began her career as a Dow Jones News Fund editing intern at The New York Times in 2014, and has since edited at award-winning media organizations such as the Detroit News, Hour Detroit, BuzzFeed News and Morning Brew. She is passionate about helping writers tell a great story that is both engaging and accessible, so she offers a collaborative editing style that seeks to empower her clients to lean into their strengths while they also learn to take their craft to the next level. Sydnee has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Wayne State University and has offered freelance editing services to both individuals and corporations through her own LLC, Thompson Editorial Services, since 2020.
Sydnee is available for editing projects, including book manuscripts, journalism and more.
Jeff Waraniak
Writing Coach
Jeff Waraniak is a writer and editor in Detroit who specializes in magazines and web writing. After graduating with an English/creative writing major at the University of Michigan, he spent several years as an associate editor at Hour Detroit magazine and 5280 magazine in Denver, Colorado. In addition to magazines, he’s also contributed to book projects for National Geographic, anthologies like The Detroit Neighborhood Guidebook, and websites like Thrillist and Model D media. He served as a communications officer at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan where he wrote about the organization's grantmaking activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs. He’s also taught writing at the University of Michigan’s New England Literature Program (NELP). He’s won several awards for his feature stories and more from the Society of Professional Journalists of Detroit. When not in front of a computer, he likes cycling, mountain biking, swimming and donuts. The first three things are mostly just excuses for donuts.
Sign up with Jeff for: Nonfiction, essays, poetry, academic writing, creative brainstorming and medical writing
Magglio
Chief Morale Officer
Magglio can’t help you with your writing, but he can cheer you up if you’re suffering from writer’s block. Yes, he’s named after the baseball player who hit one of the most memorable walk-off home runs in Detroit Tigers history. He enjoys lounging in comfortable spots (watch out — he may steal your seat on the couch), treats and more treats. Follow the adventures of this English Teddy Bear Goldendoodle at @magglio_ordoglio on Instagram.
Kate Abbey-Lambertz
Writing Coach
Kate Abbey-Lambertz is a writer who fell in love with journalism while covering Detroit as a reporter and editor after a stint in indie book publishing. In the last eight years, she has focused on stories about how urban policy affects daily lives — and Detroiters’ unique solutions to tackle the city’s challenges. She got her editing start at age 10 while lending a young person’s perspective to a Detroit reference book series, and has a range of experience spanning more than a decade in journalism, criticism, PR, social media, content strategy and creative writing. She currently serves as the editorial director of Detour Detroit, shaping the voice of a local news outlet designed to grow community and help readers access journalism that connects them to their city. She previously launched the Detroit vertical at HuffPost and covered housing and cities as a national reporter for the media company. Her writing has appeared in Hour Magazine and the Detroit Free Press. In 2014, she managed a reading series with Ugly Duckling Presse that invited national poets and publishers to an Eastern Market letterpress. For 15 years, she has also worked as a coach and tutor for writers of all ages. She’s passionate about helping writers find their voice and connect with their audiences, whether refining a small business’ web copy or helping authors develop personal essays. When she’s not on deadline, you can find Kate biking to Historic Fort Wayne to play a neighborhood soccer game, baking the perfect loaf of ciabatta or accidentally spending hours exploring the Library of Congress’ historic photo archive.
Sign up with Kate for: Print and email newsletters, essays, copy editing, content strategy, website copy, social media writing, news and feature writing, cover letters, resumes and press releases
Elizabeth Ann Atkins
Writing Coach
Elizabeth Ann Atkins gets really excited about verbs and totally turned off by periods and commas placed on the wrong side of quotation marks. She’s happiest when writing her fiction and nonfiction books, as well as ghostwriting projects for clients across America. Some of her best memories as an English major at the University of Michigan happened during all-nighters in the computer center with her sister, Catherine M. Greenspan, while they chugged coffee and nibbled snacks. They still do that, decades later, as business partners while running their company, Two Sisters Writing & Publishing. Since 2016, they’ve written and published dozens of books, including their mother’s memoir. Elizabeth has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and loves to help aspiring writers. She is an inspiring, high-energy speaker who has taught writing at Wayne State University, Oakland University, Wayne County Community College District and at national conferences.
She created her “PowerJournal” workbook to show how to use journaling for self-discovery and empowerment. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” featured Elizabeth as a guest to celebrate her 100-pound weight loss and lifestyle as a health and fitness enthusiast. Elizabeth co-hosts the award-winning “MI Healthy Mind,” a weekly TV show that aims to shatter stigmas around mental illness. A former Fox 2 Detroit News writer and Detroit News reporter, she has been a guest on Montel, NPR, Good Morning America Sunday, The CBS Evening News and other national TV shows. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The San Diego Tribune, Essence, Ebony, HOUR Detroit, HOUR Home, BET.com, Ms. and BLAC Detroit.
Sign up with Elizabeth for: Fiction, memoir and publishing advice
Justin Brouckaert
Writing Coach
Born and raised in Metro Detroit, Justin Brouckaert lived in Columbia, South Carolina and Hoboken, New Jersey before moving back home in 2020. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Saginaw Valley State University and an MFA from the University of South Carolina, where he was a James Dickey Fellow in Fiction. As a literary agent at Aevitas Creative Management, Justin represents journalists, novelists, memoirists, academics, humorists and thought leaders in business and tech. As a Detroit Writing Room coach, he hopes to help make the publishing world less opaque and more accessible to clients, whether they’re still drafting their first novel, getting ready to query agents or simply looking for feedback on how to best plot their writing careers. In his free time, Justin likes to write experimental fiction, tour the state’s great breweries, play rec league soccer & basketball, and scare his dogs by cheering too loudly for his beloved Detroit Pistons.
Sign up with Justin for: Fiction, memoir, book proposals, query letter feedback, sample page feedback, publishing advice
Disclaimer: As a coach, Justin cannot be queried or pitched for representation. He can only offer constructive advice and feedback per the Writing Room guidelines.
Kendra Charboneau
Writing Coach
Kendra Charboneau is a writer-turned-HR-professional and Michigander at heart. She spent her youth filling notebooks with poems and musings before attending the University of Michigan to study English and Spanish. There she spent time as a Michigan Daily copy editor and peer writing tutor, setting her up for her future as a DWR coach. After college, she started a job as a corporate communications editor for a Fortune 500 company, where she currently works in HR training and recruiting. Though she now lives in St. Louis, MO, with her husband and their three cats, she keeps close ties to her beloved mitten state.
Sign up with Kendra for: Poetry, personal essays, fiction, nonfiction, copy editing, cover letters and resumes
Phil Dean
Career Coach
Phil Dean is a lifelong Michigander and enjoys guiding people on their career journeys. Phil has worked as a human resources professional since 2011. He loves helping job seekers perfect their cover letters, resumes and interview answers, so they land the job of their dreams. He's a 2012 graduate from University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he double majored in Human Resource Management and Management. He was named one of 50 University of Michigan-Dearborn “Difference Makers” in 2011 and was given the distinct honor of being the student commencement speaker at his graduation. Phil is currently pursuing his MBA at Wayne State University. In his free time, Phil enjoys singing and rooting for the Red Wings, Tigers and Michigan Wolverines.
Sign up with Phil for: Resume writing, cover letter writing, interview skills and public speaking
Dorothy Hernandez
Writing Coach
Dorothy Hernandez is a Chicago native who moved to Detroit for a boy. The boy is gone, but everything worked out because Dorothy found new loves, including a new boy and the city itself. She's wanted to be a journalist since she was in third grade and has worked at newspapers, including The Detroit News and Chicago Tribune's RedEye edition, as well as magazines, including SEEN Magazine. Dorothy is currently an assistant city editor at the Chicago Sun-Times. She previously served as a digital editor at WDET Radio as well as managing editor of Model D and associate editorial director of Issue Media Group. She also freelances for a variety of publications including NPR, Midwest Living magazine, Thrillist and Eater. In 2018, she was named one of four fellows in WDET and Feet in 2 World's food journalism fellowship where she told the stories of immigrant chefs and communities of color through the lens of food. When she's not writing, you can find her doing Filipino pop-up dinners around town, binge-watching TV shows (her favorites include "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Game of Thrones") and checking out new restaurants.
Sign up with Dorothy for: Copy editing, marketing and communications, press releases, website copy, email newsletters, social media strategy and content creation, food writing and photography
Tim Leonard
Screenwriting Coach
Tim Leonard has been writing film and television scripts for the past 15 years. He understands how the industry works and how to take an idea from script to screen. Tim has experience pitching shows to MTV and E Entertainment. He's also worked closely with Bill Myers, the former president at Starz and was credited as an associate producer on the film “Freaky Deaky” directed by Charles Matthau. Tim spent time on the FX Show “Justified” and learned a great deal from the show runner Graham Yost. He has been writing movie scripts for over a decade and enjoys the challenge and creative aspects of writing for the screen. He is the grandson of Elmore Leonard, and son of Peter Leonard, who collectively have published over 52 novels.
Sign up with Tim for: Script writing, television screenwriting, log line and concept development
Erin Kirkland
Photography Coach
Erin is a photographer and writer and a born and raised Michigander. She graduated from the University of Michigan where she studied English and creative writing, but learned how to be a photojournalist at the student-run Michigan Daily. Before joining the freelance world, Erin worked as a newspaper photographer — although her love for photography stretches beyond journalism. As a freelancer she’s worked for organizations such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, ESPN and Rolling Stone. If she’s not working, she’s probably baking, falling asleep on the couch by 9 p.m. or working in her cut flower garden.
Sign up with Erin for: Camera basics, digital photography and photo editing
Amy Nielander
Children’s Book Coach
Amy Nielander is a College for Creative Studies alumni and children’s picture book author-illustrator. After studying the craft of writing and illustrating picture books for seven years, her first wordless picture book, “The Ladybug Race,” exhibited at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. After her book was published by PomegranateKids, she received a Bronze Medal Book Award in the Children's Picture Books All Ages Category by Independent Publisher. In 2020, she was selected by the Muskegon Museum of Art as one of the 20 Michigan Illustrators to participate in the “20 for 20: Celebrating Michigan Illustrators” exhibit. Amy loves visiting schools and sharing her picture book making process with children. Her second picture book, “Grama’s Hug,” was released in 2020 and published by Page Street Kids. As a Detroit Writing Room coach, she is eager to help her clients complete projects as well as navigate the traditional publishing submission process. When she is not working on picture books, she enjoys traveling with her family, going on walks with her Havanese and creating new characters monthly on her blog for families.
Sign up with Amy for: Traditional publishing submission consulting, picture book manuscript critique, picture book dummy critique, query letter writing and critique, literary agent submission consulting.
She’s also available to design custom PowerPoint presentations for school visits or book talk events. Inquire here for design services.
Zak Rosen
Podcast Coach
Zak Rosen is a Detroit-based story maker. With his wife, he created and hosts the podcast, “Pregnant Pause with Zak and Shira,” which chronicles their decision to bring a child into this strange world of ours. Zak is the co-host of Slate’s parenting show, “Mom and Dad are Fighting.” He’s also the producer/editor of “How to Survive the End of the World.” His radio features have been heard on NPR, CBC, BBC, PRI, APM, Deutsche Welle and Radio Helsinki. He was a staff producer on NPR/PRX's “State of the Re:Union” and before that, a co-founding producer of WDET's “Detroit Today.” He facilitates workshops and consults with museums, high schools, universities, and community organizations on various story-based projects. He's also a counselor at Radio Campfire, a live listening event series.
Sign up with Zak for: Podcasting and audio storytelling
Jake Serwer
Public Relations Coach
Jake Serwer is the founder and CEO of Espresso Public Relations LLC, a PR firm representing Detroit entrepreneurs and businesses. His career started in the TV industry — kicking off with his own music TV show at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). After getting a master’s in sports business from Georgetown University, he was a producer for Bloomberg News and Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. Jake then served as the business development executive at the National Press Club in D.C., where he managed its in-house broadcast studio and organized events for Fortune 500 CEOs, political candidates, authors, influencers and celebrities — he even bonded with George Clooney. Jake holds the distinguished title of husband of Detroit Writing Room founder Stephanie Steinberg. He enjoys helping with events and coaching members and the community on PR practices.
Sign up with Jake for: Press releases, email newsletters and social media
Delphia Simmons
Writing Coach
Delphia Simmons is a bibliophile and a serial learner. For most of her life she’s lived in Detroit, where she and her spouse are empty nesters with a daughter, two sons and six grandchildren. One of the vacated bedrooms was quickly turned into a home office with built-in floor to ceiling bookshelves. She credits her life-long love of books and reading for her love and deep appreciation of writing and writers. After graduating from Madonna University where she studied business, she proceeded to work in the human services/development sector where she learned to marry the two. She is the founder of Thrive Detroit Street Newspaper, business plan course facilitator and board chair of Build Institute, and the Chief Strategy and Learning Officer at COTS: Creating Opportunities To Succeed (formerly Coalition On Temporary Shelter).
Sign up with Delphia for: Business plans and business decks
Amanda Walsh
Branding and Website Development Coach
Amanda Walsh owns The Launch Hive Creative and specializes in branding and website. After receiving an associate degree as a pharmacy technician and a bachelor’s degree in health administration, Amanda found her true calling. She works with all types of small business owners to help them stand out online through branding and website design.
Sign up with Amanda for: Squarespace website design, graphics, social media curation and brand curation
Click HERE to view her services.
Robert Yoon
Writing Coach
Robert Yoon is a political journalist and the Howard R. Marsh Visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Michigan. As CNN’s Director of Political Research, he covered five presidential campaign cycles and helped prepare eight different moderators for 30 presidential debates. His contributions to CNN’s coverage have earned him two Emmy Awards, five total Emmy nominations, a Peabody Award and two National Headliner Awards. In 2016, he was named by Mediaite as one of the most influential people in the news media. He is the host and creator of “The J Word,” a journalism-themed public affairs talk radio program. He is a former political speechwriter and serves as a judge for the annual National Press Club Awards. Robert is also a frequent winner of the office Oscars pool and a tireless advocate of all-day breakfast and all-night diners.
Sign up with Robert for: News and feature writing (print and broadcast), political communications, speeches, op-eds, personal statements, cover letters and copy editing
Visit newyorkwritingroom.com to see our New York-based coaches!
Want to join our team as a coach? Send your resume and recent work to stephanie@detroitwritingroom.com