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— Moe Ross —
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 Moe Ross, an author and founder of Miographies, has been deeply listening and telling the stories of our lives for over thirty years. She and the Miographies team believe, with all their hearts, that of all the gifts we can give to each other, the most meaningful and long lasting is the gift of our story.
Moe combines her professional background as a university instructor, therapist, communications trainer, creative writer and artist. She and her team have written and produced the stories of people from all walks of life - from immigrants, professional athletes, aging Playboy Bunnies, Iranian refugees, Holocaust survivors, corporate executives, grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers and fathers. She has written corporate histories, as well as the stories of families who have moved America and impacted our world.
Moe lectures nationwide, teaches creative writing, professional interviewing and assists people from all walks of life in clarifying their core values and the lessons learned in life. Moe completed her undergraduate work at the University of Illinois and holds a Masters Degree in Education from Washington State University.
She is known as a “keeper of the stories”. In September of 2003 she herself began a new chapter of her own story when she suddenly experienced significant eyesight loss. This journey has taken her to a new level of listening and knowing that many of life’s questions are answered with stories. Moe is a master at extracting the bitter and the sweet of a life... the hope and despair... weaving and writing a story to reveal the true essence of a person. Moe travels the inner and outer worlds with ease. She and her team are seasoned, experienced and have relentless passion about their work.
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— The Miographies Team —
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 Lisa Almgren Jacobsen, Creative Director, began her love affair with paper, color, scissors and words as a very young child; she still describes the scent of Crayolas as “intoxicating.” This obsession with the printed word on paper spans over thirty years in publishing, including work as an Editor and Art Director for some of the country’s largest trade publications. With Hewlett-Packard as a client, she won a national award for Publication Design in 1991.
Lisa has an intuitive gift for creating visual layouts that enhance the Miographies’ prose. She handles all aspects of the production from the written manuscript to a one-of-a-kind visual art piece. She works closely with each client to ensure that your story is a lasting treasure, just the way you want it. And then, Lisa works with our hand picked team of old-world craftsmen to create your Miography.
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 Linda Scharaga, Editor, M.A in Education from Michigan State University. After teaching for thirty-two years, Linda joined the Miographies team with a love for the written word, research, and family history. An avid reader, Linda appreciates sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and choosing the "right" word or phrase to tell the client's story. For many years she has challenged the Miographies team to pay attention to the grammar rules that sometimes are challenging for the creative mind. With each Miography, she brings a strong skill set and her heart. She loves this work and truly puts her heart and soul into each chosen word, each sentence, and each manuscript.
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 Aleli Estrada Scerba is an observer, a listener and a narrator. With a deep love for literature coupled with the inspiration of personal and immigrant stories, Aleli joins Miographies as an Interviewer, Writer and Researcher.
Aleli is a communications professional whose career spans senior-level executive recruiting, corporate training & development and investor relations. She was also an adjunct instructor at the School of Communications at Northwestern University and Columbia College in Chicago. She volunteers at various not-for-profit organizations including the Asian American Coalition, NAYON enrichment program, and the Chicago Chapter of the Posse Foundation. One of the most rewarding volunteer projects took place very early on as an interviewer and writer highlighting successful women entrepreneurs for two editions of Chicago’s Women in Business Yellow Pages.
Aleli received her M.S. in Communications from Northwestern University, and B.S. in Business Administration & Economics from the University of Illinois. She has travelled extensively, lived in the Philippines and Germany and now resides in Chicago with her family.
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Cathy Wilson joins the Miography team with a B.A. degree in English and History from Washington University in St. Louis, two Master of Arts degrees from the University of Michigan and National-Louis University, and twenty-five years as a public school teacher and administrator. She has been writing most of her life and is passionate about the power of story. Her specific interest is in helping Miography clients to choose the essential stories and understanding how one defining moment leads to another.
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Betty Contino, unaware, embraced the concept of Miographies early on in life: what does our life stand for... will we be remembered and, if so, how and for what reason? “Interviewing is a way of life for me .I started as a child – in the neighborhood, moving through school, career, civic and community involvement and the ever present needs of family and friends. Most of my time is spent listening to what people want to do, the impact they want to have, their desires and dreams, all of the things that define them.” Hence, Betty’s love of Miographies, where your word, your story, “what makes you tick” is written and recorded for future generations.
Betty has written ad copy for TV commercials, all types of communications internal and external for publicly traded and privately held companies (press releases, stockholder publications, employee handbooks, promotional/incentive programs, company newsletters, etc..), designed and executed programs to build morale, improve management/labor relationships and bolster bottom line. She has authored numerous fundraising programs, spiritual studies and seminars, and written motivational and inspirational columns. Her 40+ year career has revolved around listening and responding to people. “Tending bar and taking food orders in my parents’ tavern paved the way.” Betty earned her B.A. in Business from the College of Notre Dame, where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees.
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Nancy Robinson Shelton, B.S., J.D. lives and works primarily in Melbourne, Australia. She joined the Miographies Team after commissioning a Miography for her mother’s 80th birthday. When her mother received her final Miography, Nancy recalls how her mother cried tears of quiet joy, exclaiming in wonder at her own amazing life as she turned each page before finally declaring: "This is the best birthday ever--I feel like I've been reborn!" After experiencing the priceless value of Miographies through her mother’s eyes, Nancy knew that she would revel in helping others translate their own journey to written word. Her practical writing training has been honed in her varied work as a journalist, an aide to a U. S. Senator, an Appeals Court attorney, a litigation attorney and a marketing consultant, among her other ventures. Nancy earned her undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Illinois.
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Jennifer Myers developed a love for Miographies in its’ early stages when she traveled to New York to assist Moe Ross with three days of interviewing. She found the process enlivening and inspiring, and since, has cradled the magic she saw created in the interviews all the way to the finished product. Jen continued assisting and working with Miographies through out its years of development. She obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Ohio State University, majoring in Modern Dance and Choreography and for the next ten years performed and choreographed in Chicago and through out the Mid West, eventually beginning her own company, Structure. What she couldn’t express on stage, she took to the page and written word. Soon to be a published poet and author, she is known to write on napkins and never leaves home with out her journal. In case of fire, she would attempt to save her blue bin of journals, after first saving her favorite cat Sidney. Jen has been applauded for her ability to get to the heart of the matter with each person she interviews. Her writing ability, combined with her sincere interest in the power of story make her a cherished member of the Miographies team on North America's west coast and Europe.
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Chris Wheaton, a published author, has over twenty years of experience interviewing and writing the stories of people’s lives from all walks of life. He was Editor-in-Chief of the North Central Chronicle and received his Juris Doctorate Degree from I.I.T. Chicago, Kent College of Law in 1990. In addition to being on the Miographies team, he writes biographies for attorneys, documenting the value of a life, and is currently writing a novel.
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Amy Lively Jensen, Interviewer and Writer, has twenty-five years of writing and public relations experience in the healthcare industry. She achieved five national awards for excellence in this field. She has also taught at the University of Cincinnati. Her Master’s Degree in Communications from Morehead State University included a semester of study at the University of London, which ignited her fervor for international travel. Her passion in writing Miographies involves expressing clients’ personalities with words; if it doesn’t capture their character, she isn’t satisfied.
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Linda Jesse, Administrative Assistant and Management Information Specialist. Linda joined the Miographies team with a background in small business and hotel management. The process of creating your Miography requires transcription, data collection and at times, historical research. Linda handles all the administrative details for the Miographies team and is, what we call, a life saver!
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Robert (Rob) Freund, Photographer, joined the Miographies team with twenty-six years of professional photography, printing and graphic arts experience in the second largest printing company in the world. His parents sparked his passion for photography when he was a young boy. He had a camera and a darkroom before he learned to drive.
Rob has traveled extensively, visually capturing beauty and essence. He can assist clients in the restoration of their current photographs, as well as provide assistance with choosing the visual images that will enhance your Miography and in creating updated, current photographs.
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And a chosen group of the world’s
most gifted bookbinders, leather tanners,
paper makers, silk weavers and cloth makers.
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