My name is Joy Westerman and I’m a Brooklyn-based writer, project manager specializing in academic research, and amateur arts-and-crafts teacher. Currently I work full-time in the Psychiatry Department at NYU School of Medicine, where I help manage a 20-site clinical trial and work collaboratively with clients, stakeholders, and other research professionals across the nation. Prior to NYU I held a similar position at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where I served as point person for multiple clinical research studies and coordinated focus groups and interview sessions for hundreds of patients.
While employed full-time at Memorial, I also worked part-time for the sex science and education brand DrZhana. As the brand’s project manager, my responsibilities included producing events, handling internal and external communications, and managing and training new employees. However, I didn’t start out in management—for my first three years at DrZ, I held the title lead content producer. In this writing and research-centered position, I spent my days combing through the latest academic journal articles on human and animal (and robot!) sexuality and distilling what I’d learned into digestible copy for a mainstream audience. The serialized newsletter, blog-, and social media posts I developed dramatically raised DrZhana’s profile, and the style I introduced—intimate, cerebral, wise—quickly became a signature of the brand.
Although I eventually transitioned away from my content producer role at DrZhana, I nonetheless continued to pursue paid writing and editing opportunities. After ending my tenure at DrZ and at Memorial, I started a freelance manuscript consulting business. Clients of mine have successfully completed novels, comic memoirs, and PhD dissertations; I pride myself on getting people to refine and publish manuscripts they have been struggling with for years. As part of my freelance business, I also take on short-term writing gigs. In the past I have served as a writing tutor, a TA in a college-level English class, and an editor of high school students’ college admissions essays.
Along with my writer and project manager hats, I also wear… an artist’s beret. I am a skilled sewer with over 15 years of experience, and of late have been offering one-on-one lessons on machine use and maintenance. In tandem with these private classes, I facilitate group craft workshops wherein makers of all levels bring a project of their choosing, or simply learn from me the basics of sewing and embroidery. Originally a sporadic, invite-only event, these workshops now take place every other month and serve as a place for folks to network and collaborate with other artists and collectors.
Given my professional (i.e., salaried!) project management expertise, and the fact that integral to my art practice is teaching, I am looking for weekend work as a project manager for an art school, artist’s space, or art residency program. I am also open to sewing and embroidery commissions, and of course to additional freelance editing and consulting gigs. If you’d like to view my portfolio, sign up for a lesson/workshop, or hire me for any art/writing/project management-related opportunities, please get in touch at joy.westerman@gmail.com.
Joy Westerman ~ 2020
Copyright Joy Westerman, 2020