My professional background combines 10+ years of experience in copywriting, branding, content strategy, corporate communications, research and university teaching. I support clients with smart, strategic storytelling that deepens their connections and expands their reach.Current and past clients: ibex, University of Waterloo, Materne Canada, Axonify, Carleton University, Bonfire, ThinkData Works, InFlight, Streetwise and others.Check out danistock.com for more info.

I crafted clear and compelling content and copy for clients across industries, including global tech and CPG companies.

I developed corporate internal and external communications products and strategies for a labour union of over 13,000 public sector employees.Responsibilities included communicating with and managing relationships with Association members, elected officials, staff, media, the provincial government, the general public and other stakeholders.

My doctoral dissertation connects new media studies, rhetoric and health to explore how social media spaces shape narratives of illness.I was fortunate enough to have my doctoral research funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. My work is published in the Canadian Journal of Communication and on scholarly websites. I've presented my findings at several international conferences.Abstract: While there is a great deal of scholarship, particularly within health studies, arguing for the value of social media in supporting and empowering patients, there are relatively few explorations that critically evaluate these spaces from the perspective of new media theory. My research complicates the celebratory rhetoric of so-called Health 2.0 by analyzing the affordances and constraints, social practices, and political economy of digital participatory health culture to understand how constructions of illness in these spaces sometimes replicate offline power structures. In identifying the dangerous philosophical legacy of liberal humanism within real-world and online articulations of patient care, I put forward a posthumanist approach for contemporary healthcare. Successfully defended July 2015.

Courses: ENGL 108M: Youth and Adolescence, ENGL 108D: Digital Lives, ENGL 108H: Isolation and AlienationI instructed first-year English courses that engaged students in developing skills as critical thinkers and academic writers, as well as analyzing course themes in a range of literary and digital texts.My teaching employed various strategies that were sensitive to diverse learning styles and levels of English proficiency. I regularly assessed learning through cumulative, scaffolded formal and informal writing assignments and thoroughly evaluated student oral and written participation, providing individualized feedback and additional in-person support. In each course, I delivered weekly writing, composition, and grammar workshops on effective written communication strategies.

I conceptualized and implemented a variety of programming to support digital media research among students and faculty at UW, including research talks, digital media skills workshops, film series, and student project exhibits. In addition, I maintained the lab’s digital media presence by managing the website, blog, and social media activity. I designed marketing materials, using MS Office and Adobe Photoshop software.I have assisted in the coordination of projects involving community partnerships with the local technology sector, as well as education, arts, and culture organizations like CAFKA, TEDxWaterloo, SoOnCon, NIGHT\SHIFT, and the City of Kitchener.As a research assistant, I regularly proofread, copy edited, and formatted various scholarly journal articles, as well as a book manuscript (Necromedia by Marcel O’Gorman, University of Minnesota Press, 2015). I helped to complete a large-scale SSHRC Insight Grant application, involving six international collaborators.http://criticalmedia.uwaterloo.ca/crimelab

Course: ENGL 210F Genres of Business CommunicationI provided learning support for one section of the online course, which involved monitoring and responding to discussion board conversations, attending to individual students’ questions and concerns, evaluating submitted work, and providing individual feedback on discussion contributions and assignments.

Course: SPCOM 223 Public SpeakingI independently delivered one section of the course using a variety of multimedia approaches geared toward teaching strategies for effective oral communication and extemporaneous public speaking. My classroom management approach established a collegial and respectful dynamic that encouraged student involvement and confidence during public speaking assignments. In addition, I worked one-on-one to provide extra support to students, including multilingual speakers.

My job involved designing, writing, editing, and formatting documentation for database software using a content management system. I customized oral and written communication of a technical nature to audiences of clients, experts, and laypersons.I created documents that integrated technical writing with graphs, charts, diagrams, etc. to explain technical instructions in clear language. I regularly coordinated with subject matter experts, readers, and reviewers to ensure all content was up-to-date, used reliable sources, and contained accurate information.