Trainer

I have more than 5 years of experience as a university lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Aruba, teaching classes on political development, human rights, and interdisciplinary approaches to research. I have also developed and delivered a range of different in-person and online courses, tailored to organizations’ needs. Over the past 5 years, I have most often provided customized training on different types of content writing, personal marketing, and results-based reporting, for clients such as UN Women, Internet Society and the Centre for Lifelong Learning.

“Where Jen shines is when she teaches. She’s empathetic and understanding but still able to guide students with the authority and confidence needed to learn. If you’re looking for a trainer on storytelling, speech writing, or how to craft compelling arguments – Jen is a must! I will happily and always recommend Jen – she’s an incredible person to work with and invaluable to an organization’s bottom line.”

—Lia Kiessling, Senior Director of Community Mobilization, Internet Society (and former Senior Director of Strategic Communications at Internet Society)

Stories about my training:

Firoza’s* anonymized photo and story were included in a recent photo exhibition of Afghan women. Photo: UN Women/Sayed Habib Bidell

Read this story about the impact of my training for UN Women with Afghan women in 2023/2024.

Reporting & blogging for engaged citizens workshop series (in English & Spanish)

Uncategorized

Through the University of Aruba’s Lifelong Learning Centre, I’m offering a 6-week course on reporting and blogging, from 14 March-25 April 2018.

Have you ever wanted to learn how to write clear, concise and informative stories? Whether you want to blog to express your opinions, or do the kind of objective reporting you read in international media, this series of six workshops will equip you with the tools you need to both write and pitch your own stories to media, or self-publish them online. The series will begin by touching on the phenomenon of ‘fake news’ and how engaged citizens need to be critical in their news consumption. It will detail different types of stories, how to achieve objectivity, balance in reporting, as well as how to find story ideas.

Through practical exercises and assignments, participants will learn how to ask targeted questions and hone their interviewing skills, as well as the ideal formula behind how to structure a news story. The workshops will equally discuss how to incorporate diversity, context and analysis in reporting, as well as how to express opinions effectively through persuasive writing, evidence, style and structure. You’ll get the chance to pitch and write your own news story, feature and/or blog and have them critiqued as your final assignment.

Find out more

This course will also be offered in Spanish, from 9 May- 13 June 2018. Find out more (en español).

Noticias, reportajes y blogs para una cuidadanía comprometida

¿Alguna vez usted quiso aprender a escribir historias claras, concisas e informativas? Si desea publicar sus opiniones en un blog o hacer el tipo de informes objetivos que se leen en los medios internacionales, esta serie de seis talleres le proporcionará las herramientas que usted necesita para escribir y presentar sus propias historias a los medios, o para auto-publicarlas en línea en su propio blog.

La serie comenzará abordando el fenómeno de “noticias falsas” y cómo las y los ciudadanos comprometidos deben ser consumidores críticos de noticias. Detallará diferentes tipos de historias, cómo lograr la objetividad y el equilibrio en el periodismo, así como ideas e inspiración para encontrar temas. A través de ejercicios prácticos y tareas, usted aprenderá cómo hacer preguntas específicas y afinar sus habilidades para entrevistar, así como la fórmula ideal detrás de cómo estructurar una noticia. Los talleres discutirán igualmente cómo incorporar la diversidad, el contexto y el análisis en los artículos. Analizarán, además, cómo se pueden expresar opiniones de manera efectiva a través de redacción persuasiva, evidencia, estilo y estructura. Usted tendrá la oportunidad de escribir su propia historia o blog y criticarla como su tarea final.

Copywriter

Do you need lively, precise and action-inspiring content?

My services:

When you hire me, you get: SEO-friendly, keyword-rich texts for your website or blog; creative and compelling words for books or scripts; fresh and strategic copy for reports, social media, videos, media outreach, etc. Whether for media, an international organization, a non-profit, or a business of any size, I can help craft and draft your message!

I write:

Content for your website
Press releases
Blog posts
Social media posts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
Articles (including advertorials, op-eds, contributed copy)
Newsletters
Flyers and brochures
Radio or video scripts
Substantive reports
White papers
Annual reports
Case studies
Speeches
Letters
Email blasts

If you need help writing any kind of content, contact me now!

My experience:

I have more than 20 years of experience as a writer:

more than 12 years writing feature stories, news articles and scripts for various media (1995-2007);
more than 10 years writing exclusively for the United Nations (2006-2016);
more than 8 years writing academic essays and papers (1995-2002, 2004, 2006);
more than 1 year writing fiction (2016-present)

“Jennifer worked in the development of case studies and impact stories as a consultant for the Internet Society. She always gets to the heart of the story, depicting the impact complex issues have on people. She follows up with every single source to confirm information, and her language skills make her an asset to work with global issues and audiences. Jennifer is the best at working on a schedule, always delivering excellency. She’s one of the best consultants I’ve ever worked with.”

—João Paulo de Vasconcelos Aguiar, Project Lead and Communications Expert at the Internet Society

“Jen is a great writer who gives a compelling narrative voice to all her stories and is always keen to emphasize the human angle. … Jen is a reliable, flexible professional who will always go the extra mile to deliver top quality services, and she is an absolute pleasure to work with.”

—Carlotta Aiello, Print Production and Branding Specialist, Communications and Advocacy, UN Women

“Jen Ross is multilingual, meticulous, knowledgeable, creative and a brilliant writer. I got to know her when she was an undergraduate and have followed her career ever since. … I recommend her with enthusiasm. She’s an exceptional talent.”

—Catherine McKercher, Professor Emeritus, Carleton University

Author

I loved writing since grade school, but thought it would be impossible to make a living writing fiction. So I studied journalism, the next-best thing. After a long and fruitful career in media and with the UN, I finally dared to chase my dream, taking more than a year off to passionately hash out my first novel, a contemporary feminist young adult collection of interconnecting short stories from around the world, a number of which have already been published in literary magazines, along with my poetry:

My publications:

My poem “I the peregrine” appears in DarkWinter Literary Magazine, January 2026.

Three of my poems appear in The Caribbean Writer, Volume 38. December 2024. Pp. 96-100. One of these poems, “A New World Order”, was awarded the The Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize for a new or emerging writer.

My creative non-fiction story, Come back to tell me, based on my retelling of my grandmother’s experience, was published in Issue #69 of New Myths, December 2024.

My poem “Los sentidos de mi patria chilena” appears in Azahares Literary Magazine, 2024. Pp. 46-47.

My two poems by Jen Ross Laguna, appear in Aloka Magazine, 13 February 2024.

Three of my hybrid prose poems/flash fiction pieces were published as a suite, Fragments of my father, in Defenestrationism, December 2023. My suite was a finalist in the Defenestrationism Flash Suite contest 2024, and selected through voting as a “Fan Favorite”.

My short story, Macho Mama, appears in the Latin American Literary Review, Vol. 50, Issue 101, October 2023.

My poem, Seasonal flow, appears in the Woods Reader, Vol. 6, Issue 2, Fall 2023.

My short story, Toy soldiers, appears in LatineLit, Summer 2023.

My short story, Before she can begin, appears in Mslexia Magazine, Issue 98. June 2023.

My short story, Pageant Queen, appears in the Arlington Literary Journal, Issue 170. January 2023.

My short story, Bloody shame, appears in Isele Magazine, January 2023.

My poem, The penny pinchers, appears in Last Stanza Poetry Journal, Issue 11. January 2023.

My poem, Reluctant bride, appears in descant, Vol. 61. 2022.

My poem, Not quite exile, appears in the other side of hope, Vol 2. Issue 2. Winter 2022.

My short story, Correction, appears in the Evocations Review, Issue 3.2. Fall 2022.

My short story, Wed, appears in the Global Youth Review, Issue IV. Summer 2022. Pp. 32-45.

My poem, The Mongolian Patch, appears in Better Than Starbucks. August 2022.

My flash fiction story, Leaving Aleppo, appears in The Pine Cone Review, Issue 4. June 2022.

My novellette, The Chasquis, a time travel romance set in Incan Peru, was published in the Everlast anthology by Dragon Soul Press. March 2022.

Three of my poems were published in the Culture & Identity anthology, Volume 1. The Poet Magazine. February 2022.

My awards or recognitions:

My poem “A New World Order” won the Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize by The Caribbean Writer and will be published in its Volume 38 edition in December 2024.
Three of my creative non-fiction/poetry hybrid pieces published as the “Fragments of my father” suite were finalists in the Defenestrationism Flash Suite contest 2024, and selected through voting as a “Fan Favorite”.
My short story, “Silent Protest” received an Honourable Mention in the International Human Rights Art Festival Creators of Justice 2022 Award.
My poem, “The things Dad left behind” was longlisted for the Plough 2022 Poetry Prize.
My short story, “The Chasquis” received an Honourable Mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest for the 2nd quarter 2022.
My unpublished debut novel, Girls Engaged, was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition 2017.

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