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

DUNS: 791468296

CAGE: 4RLP4

Contracting Vehicles: SF-182; IDIQ

NAICS CODE | 611430 | Prof'l and Mgmt Development Training

UEI: ETZBVF818YN7

Core Competencies

Michelle Baker, PhD, the Conservation Writing Pro, trains environmental scientists to write with greater clarity. She is the author of Writing in the Environmental Sciences: A Seven-Step Guide (Cambridge UP, 2017).

·Teach writing, argumentation, and critical thinking skills to environmental scientists who work in regulatory contexts such as the ESA, Magnuson–Stevens Act, MBTA, and NEPA.

·Deliver course content in engaging and innovative ways that encourage participants to apply new knowledge to known problems and thus innovate best practices.

·Design instructional content and course curricula for technical writers in highly complicated subject matter and regulatory environments.

·Address organizational writing challenges ranging from critical thinking skills to fulfilling plain language requirements through academic, theoretical, and practical experience.

·Incorporate plain language principles even in highly technical, complex documents.


Past Performance

·Critical Writing / Critical Thinking: Led by 6 instructors, this course teaches environmental scientists to think critically about their document structure and articulate their arguments clearly while providing in-person feedback to course participants. Michelle acts as one of the course designers and as the instructor lead. Delivered yearly to DOI and its subsidiaries as well as EPA, NOAA, and USGS since 2007 at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV. Contact: Linda Lufkin, Course Leader, USFWS, linda_lufkin@fws.gov, 304 876 7484

·Argument for Scientists: Participants learn to articulate logically and clearly the argument strategies employed in government and scientific writing that constitute the basis for decision-making to aid policy-makers and constituents in understanding how the science informs the policy. Delivered to NOAA, NWRS, and USFWS field offices periodically since 2015. Contact: Michelle Bogardus, Maui nui & Hawai’i Island Team Manager, michelle_bogardus@fws.gov, 808 792 947

·Writing Science with Clarity: Offers environmental scientists who work at the intersection of science and regulatory policy a seven-step process, each with its own strategies and tools. Delivered to DOI and its subsidiaries, NOAA, and USGS 2–6 x/yr since 2015 in person and online. Contact: Christine Ogura, Chief of Staff, NWRS, Christine_ogura@fws.gov, 571 326 9908

·Keys to Effective Editing: Helps managers streamline the review process; provide meaningful feedback to their colleagues; and master the strong, clear writing that is necessary in scientific and regulatory contexts. Delivered to DOI and its subsidiaries, NOAA, and USGS since 2017 1–2 x/yr since 2017 in person and online. Contact: Bridget Fahey, Div. Chief, Conservation & Classification, USFWS, bridget_fahey@fws.gov, 703 358 2163

                                   

Differentiators

 Michelle goes far beyond the typical industry focus on business communications and plain language to deliver writing training that delves deeply into the critical thinking and argument strategies required to articulate clear, convincing, regulatory positions backed by scientific evidence in support of an agency’s mission. These strategies are informed by Michelle’s graduate education in rhetoric and composition, her experience teaching at the college level, but most importantly by her experience helping agency leaders resolve writing challenges in regulatory contexts including the ESA, Magnuson–Stevens Act, MBTA, and NEPA.