After graduating from Bryn Mawr College magna cum laude with honors in History of Art, I attended NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, ran a gallery in New York City specializing in fine prints and drawings, and then catalogued the collection of one of the country’s leading collectors of books with original art. Meanwhile, I combined my love of art with my interest in psychology, earning a master’s degree in Psychology (with a specialization in psychiatric art therapy) from Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia. Upon returning to New York, I went into private practice as a therapist and was soon invited to work with one of the country’s preeminent psychoanalysts on her now-famous book on separation and individuation. It was that experience that convinced me that at heart I was a writer.

I began my writing career as a technical medical writer at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, then made a sharp right toward journalism. For nearly a decade, I was senior editor/psychology director at Self and an award-winning journalist whose articles—including ground-breaking features on women and AIDS, cosmetic surgery, and the double-standard of aging—appeared in over 20 consumer magazines, among them Vogue, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Self, Ladies Home Journal, New Woman, New York Magazine, Reader’s Digest, American Health, and Psychology Today.

When The Estee Lauder Companies called in 1991, I put on a new hat as a copywriter for Clinique. In addition to creating the famous line, “Beauty isn’t about looking young, but looking good,” I conceived, wrote, and supervised production of a quarterly newsletter for the company’s Consultants (sales associates); produced a wide array of materials designed to educate consumers and Consultants about Clinique’s unique philosophy and products; and wrote the national advertising for more than 75 countries worldwide.

Today I head my own shop as an independent creative consultant and copywriter, providing marketing direction, branding, taglines, advertising and website copy to a variety of consumer product companies and ad agencies, including 3M, Bath & Body Works, Biotherm USA (L’Oréal), Chanel, Fusion Brands, Johnson & Johnson, Omnicon Group, MD Skincare, Parfums Givenchy, Procter & Gamble, and The Estee Lauder Companies, among others.

Most recently I’ve returned to two old loves—light verse and lyric writing. My poems have been featured in Light Quarterly, Alimentum, Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, The Classical Outlook, womensvoicesforchange.org, and anthologized in More Women’s Wicked Wit. And then there’s my most wickedly funny creation to date, CUTS: An Uplifting Musical, a parody revue that skewers our national obsession with looking young and beautiful, and recently played to sold-out houses at The York Theatre in New York. Read more about it here.

I live on New York’s Upper West Side with a wonderful husband and two crazy cats.