Client List and References

Recent List of Clients

California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, UC San Diego
National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, UC San Diego
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC San Diego
Sustainability Initiative, UC San Diego
University Communications and Public Affairs, UC San Diego
Alumni Association, UC San Diego (@UCSD, the alumni magazine)
Emma Willard School, Troy, NY (Emma, the alumnae magazine)
Practical Horseman magazine
Exterminating Angel Press

References

"Stephanie is one of the finest writers I know. Superb at grant and proposal development, and conceptualizing and communicating complex scientific and technical topics to specialized and general audiences."
Shawn Strande
Director, Administrative Information Systems, University of San Diego

"I just read the article in "Emma" magazine on whether Emma Willard School should have gone co-ed in the 1970s - I was waiting for a quiet moment to focus; they get rarer by the week. It was beautifully written - my, you have the gift!"
Hester Campbell
Classmate from the 1973 graduating class of Emma Willard School, Troy NY

"I have worked with Stephanie for many years in a variety of workplace settings. I met her almost 20 years ago. At that time, I was the vice chair for education in the Department of Biology at UC San Diego. The science departments in partnership with the supercomputer center had created a work group to respond to an educational challenge posed by the Intel Corporation. Stephanie was writing the proposal. Her intelligent and probing questions allowed us to understand each other's goals and differences in thinking and ultimately allowed us to create a cohesive vision, which was funded in full -- $3M in equipment across the 12 funded projects (ours was one). She facilitated a group process and environment that helped the group make successful decisions. Stephanie’s proposal was successful because she did not just present the information and our thoughts; she actually communicated our vision. Stephanie understands how readers go about reading! Readers do not simply read; they interpret, and Stephanie deeply understands this. She has an amazing ability to eloquently and effectively communicate complex projects. She listens closely, asks thoughtful questions, and, with a remarkable ease, becomes a trusted partner. She is smart, creative, inquisitive, and dependable. Her ability to convey complicated and complex issues clearly and engagingly is superb."
Gabriele Wienhausen
Associate dean, Division of Biological Sciences, UC San Diego

"Without the dedicated, skillful writing that Stephanie provided, Calit2's proposal and five-year review would have been very difficult to produce. She is a great partner when you need to produce a complex document with a wide variety of disciplines involved--particularly if you have a deadline!"
Larry Smarr
Director, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, and Harry E. Gruber professor, Computer Science and Engineering, UC San Diego

"I have always found Stephanie a pleasure to work with - highly efficient, organized and talented. Over the years we have collaborated on grants, papers and project documents. The end product has always left me completely satisfied. I recommend her most highly."
Philip E. Bourne
Professor of Pharmacology, UC San Diego, and principal, SciVee

"I can't recommend this energetic woman highly enough. She is a dream to work with, always meets deadlines, and leaves little for an editor to do but marvel at his or her good luck!"
Merry Maisel
President, Sherwood Associates

"I’ve worked with Stephanie in several capacities, as a colleague and editor, and recognize that she’s one of those rare writers who can effectively communicate technical and scientific information to diverse audiences, irrespective of their backgrounds or expertise. She’s been a highly successful principal writer and editor of technical proposals targeted to federal funding agencies for high-performance computing and computational science. Stephanie’s also been called on to write feature articles related to the same topic for general circulation publications and magazines. If you’re in need of such services, Stephanie is the right person to contact."
Warren Froelich
Director of communications, San Diego Supercomputer Center, UC San Diego

"Stephanie Sides has a superb way with words and has spent much of her career 'translating' technical stories into language for lay and expert readers alike. She is a great reporter and interviewer, and she understands the importance of conveying the human side of any story, even on scientific topics where the personal angle is not immediately obvious. I am also impressed with Stephanie's editing skills and especially her ability to make the tiny fixes and suggestions that can add up to a big improvement in the final version of an article, short story, or news release. In addition to being a great writer and editor, Stephanie has the gift of being able to do both at a lightning pace! I consider myself a fast writer, but she puts me to shame, and the end product is a work that many writers would take twice as long to produce. In short, Stephanie is a well-rounded writer who can tackle almost any subject, interview experts at any level, write for the desired audience, meet deadlines, and produce content at the level required by top-notch national and international publications. I cannot recommend her more highly."
Doug Ramsey
Former senior editor, Newsweek; former Far East correspondent, The Economist; long-time TV anchor, executive producer, and managing editor (Financial News Network, NBC, CNBC, and KUSI); and current director of communications, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, UC San Diego

"Stephanie has excellent writing skills in addition to outstanding organizational abilities. While she was at SDSC and Calit2, she coordinated a number of large-scale technical proposals and contributed significant value to all parts of the process. She is a delight to work with."
Fran Berman
Vice president, Research, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; former director, San Diego Supercomputer Center, and former professor, Computer Science and Engineering, UC San Diego

"I've worked with Stephanie in her role as a marketing communications director at UCSD, where she demonstrated her abilities to strategically position, promote, brand, publicize, and document. She organized teams of artists, web developers and printers; worked with faculty, staff and student groups; managed budgets; and, produced text for articles, signage, posters, and grants. The most important quality one can have, as a marketeer and freelance writer, is to listen to what the client wants, but give him what he needs. And, Stephanie can do that!"
Maxine D. Brown
Associate director, Electronic Visualization Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago

"I appreciate Stephanie's advice. I admire her writing style and appreciated the editing she did on my articles when she was at SDSC. I suppose some authors hate being edited, but I enjoy it. I love the 'Ah-ha!' when an editor's wording tweak makes a problem paragraph click into place. I study such things to figure out why the change worked and why my wording didn't. Editor comments are gold."
David Nadeau
Visualization expert, San Diego Supercomputer Center, UC San Diego

"The work you did was beautiful. Thank you. It has been such a pleasure to work with you. You helped me pull out a lot of things that were stuck in my head. You're a surgeon, basket weaver, and communication therapist. You/we really impressed our lead science star. Always a good feeling. And, more importantly, you created a solid awareness that our project is more than an NSF proposal. There is some real responsibility to deliver. Which is a HUGE relief to me!"
(The author preferred to remain anonymous; her comments were in reference to a 10-page summary of a proposal related to ecosystems-based management I wrote for her in August 2009 under a very tight deadline. My work with her is ongoing.)

"This is, in its final form, the best looking, most persuasive proposal I have ever seen. It has an undeniable force to it. Like all landings in my airplane, I assume the worst will occur until my wheels are on the ground. Just this once, I am going to be 100% optimistic."
Testimonial from a co-principal investigator from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC San Diego, on a recent grant I wrote to NIH; he, a frequent member of NIH peer-review panels and a frequently cited chemist nationally, chose to remain anonymous because the award process was pending.

"Judging by your website, your business looks terrific--one you are extremely good at! Will spend some time looking at it and will certainly consider it if I have funding for writing. Really greatly appreciate all your wonderful work on so many projects for so many years--you will never be replaced!"
Eric Frost, associate professor, Department of Geological Sciences, San Diego State University