Conservation Writing Pro
Conservation Writing Pro
Communicate your conservation message with clarity!

DUNS: 791468296

CAGE: 4RLP4

Contracting Vehicles: SF-182; IDIQ

NAICS CODE | 54161 | Management Consulting Services

UEI: ETZBVF818YN7















Core Competencies

Michelle Baker, PhD, the Conservation Writing Pro, provides consultation, facilitation, and team leadership services to help environmental scientific agencies guide their staff in communicating their regulatory positions with greater clarity. She is the author of Writing in the Environmental Sciences: A Seven-Step Guide (Cambridge UP, 2017).

·PhD in English Language & Literature from the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, including coursework in rhetoric, argument style & structure, voice, and composition pedagogy

·10+ years college teaching experience

·15+ federal writing training experience

·Guidance development for Species Status Assessment (SSA) Reports and Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs)

·Review and teaching experience of style manuals including Council of Science Editors, Government Publications Office, and plain language

Past Performance

·2017-2018. USFWS, Species Status Assessment Writing Assistance Group Team Lead. Worked with an expert group with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to identify challenges and review case studies. Led the development of writing guidance for a new Endangered Species document called Species Status Assessment Reports. Project resulted in a 200+ page Writing Promptbook with 40+ examples/case studies. Caitlin Snyder, Chief, Branch of Domestic Listing, USFWS.

·February 2016. Facilitator, USFWS, Habitat Conservation Plans. Facilitated an expert group with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as they developed the writing guidance for Habitat Conservation Plans. Set objectives, aligned action steps with objectives, set a reasonable timeline for action steps, and obtained answers from senior leadership including solicitors regarding outstanding items. This facilitation experience capped more than a decade’s worth of efforts to complete a project that had been attempted unsuccessfully many times. The setting of and sticking to objectives proved key to keeping the work on track. Trish Adams, National Habitat Planning Conservation Coordinator, USFWS.

·2007–ongoing. Critical Writing and Critical Thinking. Course offering at the National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV, for Department of the Interior personnel. Initially hired as a consultant with subject matter expertise. Subsequently worked with multiple instructor teams and course coordinators to redesign the course per student feedback and management directives. As the course continues to evolve, I now serve as the instructor lead, prepping them to give personal feedback to course participants and deliver modules with confidence. Course Leader, DOI.

Differentiators

Michelle employs a variety of methods in her consultation and facilitation practice. While she brings a wealth of education and experience to your organization, her most important task as a facilitator is to listen. She listens deeply to organization members and stakeholders at all levels to determine the writing challenges people face and their possible sources. She works together with you and your team to discover solutions and the best ways to implement them.