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Laura turns in the most professional and polished copy, and is one of the brightest self-starters with a nose for sniffing out info and sources. She keeps our editorial team posted on progress, hits deadlines, and…is an asset to our operation, and no doubt would serve a comparably critical role in any program or newsroom.
Chris Faraone
Laura has been an absolute professional to collaborate with. The articles she contributed – whether assigned….or on a topic she pitched – [were] crafted with intelligence, integrity, and reflecting curiosity about & interest in our community.
Margaret Michniewicz
Laura is a solid researcher and writer, uses her own resources to come up with excellent story ideas, and delivers top-quality work in a timely manner. She can write with expertise and insight on a wide range of topics, including environmental issues.
Tom Benner
Laura is every editor’s ideal writer. Her work is sharp, strong, and focused.
Emily Ladau
Laura taught an excellent op-ed writing workshop for our members that was informative and engaging. She was adept at teaching the course so that people with a range of education levels could participate.
Shaya French
Laura is a knowledgeable and accomplished journalist. She wowed our audience of professional communicators with her unique insights into pitching and received resounding praise for her wisdom and personable demeanor. She was delightful to work with.
Carlin Twedt
Laura is an excellent writer and interviewer who works efficiently and conscientiously. Highly recommended!
Neil Andrews
Laura Kiesel has been a valuable contributor to the Harvard Health Blog. Her posts provide thoughtful narrative, valuable information, and context that captures the chronic illness experience.
Nancy Ferrari
Laura is a resourceful and excellent journalist, writer and blogger who supported my client, a leading national healthcare organization, by writing original contributions regularly for our column in the Huffington Post. She is highly-responsive and receptive to feedback and was adept at helping to select appropriate subjects and identify primary sources for interviews. It was a pleasure to work with her!
Justin Wilson
Buzz
The Take with Sue O'Connell
I am often a featured speaker at conferences, seminars and classes about many of the topics I report and blog on–whether that be the intersection between chronic illness and socioeconomic status, the impact of the opioid epidemic on families, the therapeutic qualities of writing, or as a journalist giving voice to what potential stories interest me to report on and blind spots in the media.
Coaching
I offer manuscript consultation through the premiere writing school of the Boston area, Grub Street, where I am also a faculty member who teaches courses in journalism, memoir and personal essay writing. Additionally, I work as an independent contractor through word of mouth and have helped people in ordering and improving their poetry chapbooks, select what publications and journals are most suited for their themes and styles, and in refining their writing and storytelling skills. I take a strengths-based approach and adapt my coaching method to hone and strengthen the unique style and aesthetic of each individual writer and speaker I work with rather than impose my style or will on them. Students I have coached or consulted with have gone on to achieve notable successes, whether becoming a Moth champion or having their work accepted at reputable literary journals and online outlets.
I much appreciated Laura’s expert knowledge in all areas of memoir creation. She helped me go forward with… my work in a supportive manner.
William Levine
Journalism
What Are Marine Heatwaves? Are They Getting Stronger?
Rodenticides are killing animals way up the food chain
Why “greening” cities can make gentrification worse — and often doesn’t help the environment either
Biography
I’m a journalist, essayist, poet and novelist (basically, a WRITER of almost all trades), as well as an environmental advocate, public speaker, teacher/educator, and writing coach/consultant.
I’ve written for many well-renowned media outlets including The Atlantic, Politico, The Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, Salon, Al-Jazeera, the Washington Post, Vice, Vox, Ozy, Treehugger, Medium’s Human Parts, the New York Daily News, Quartz, Science, Inside Climate News, Earth Island Journal, and more. From 2013 until 2015, I was an award-winning reporter and columnist for the financial news website The Street, where my climate and energy reporting earned me a fellowship with the Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Journalism. From 2017 to 2019, I was a columnist with Harvard Health blog, a publication of Harvard Medical School–chronicling life with disability. I am also the recipient of a 2020/2021 Unicorn Grant from the Media Democracy Fund.
I have a B.A. in English and journalism and a Master’s degree in natural resources management and policy. I often combine my two degrees by reporting on environmental issues as a journalist and offering editorial consulting to environmental nonprofits, including
past clients such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, Valor Water Analytics, and the Green Education Foundation.
I am currently working on a non-fiction book expanding on my reporting on the impacts of rodenticides (rat poisons) on the environment and public health. I am represented by Sarah Khalil of Calligraph Literary Agency.
My first collection of poetry, Swallowing the Stem of Adam’s Apple, was published by Unsolicited Press in 2021.
I am a faculty member at Grub Street, the premiere writing school of the Boston metro area. There, I instruct workshops in creative nonfiction–including memoir, personal essay, and literary journalism.