Suzanne honed her writing skills as a co-instructor for a graduate level writing course at the University of Vermont (“Scholarly Personal Narrative”) in 2005. She further developed communications skills when she spent four years writing and publishing the monthly Healthy UBC newsletter for the staff and faculty of the University of British Columbia, in her role as Health Promotions Coordinator. The subscription rate started with just over 500 people when she began in 2009, and when she left in 2013, the subscription rate had risen to over 3, 000 people.
North Island College: Writer/Editor (on call)
More recently she has been working as an on call Writer/Editor at North Island College which means she writes web content and feature stories. Here are some examples of her work at North Island College:
- “Supports Key to First Year Success, say NIC Alum.” North Island College, October 19, 2021.
- “NIC Orange Shirt Day.” North Island College, September 2021.
- “NIC Honours Campbell River Faculty Member Linda Jay.” North Island College, July 2021.
University of Victoria: Project Coordinator for ePortfolios research
In her work at the University of Victoria, she is the Project Coordinator on a research project focused on the use of digital portfolios (or ePortfolios) for student learning. This project includes both data collection and analysis, as well as the development of resources for students and faculty. Once again, Suzanne has applied her communications expertise to the project, developing educational videos and other web content for UVic’s TeachAnywhere and LearnAnywhere websites.
Freelance Writing
In her “spare time,” she freelance writes and does communications consulting for small businesses and non-profit organizations. Here’s a few samples:
- “How to Help Employees During a Layoff.” Benefits Canada Magazine, July 2012.
- “Six Tips for a Healthy Reorganization.” Benefits Canada Magazine, July 2012.
- “The Diggers: The Second Coming.” Gripped Magazine, November 2011.
- “City Cruisin’ on Retro Wheels.” Georgia Straight. June 2010.
Social Media
For many years, Suzanne has been involved in social media marketing work. For example, from 2009-2013, coordinating UBC Thrive, she helped to develop posts for UBC’s Twitter and Facebook accounts that were run throughout the month of October. As part of her work for North Island College, as the lead on Orange Shirt Day initiatives in both 2020 and 2021, she developed a social media campaign featuring Indigenous voices and allies. She’s also enjoyed training others to develop better social media:
- Offered multiple workshops for the Economic Development offices on social media for small business owners in both Campbell River and Port Alberni;
- Coordinated a full-day training for the communications and marketing team at Broadstreet Properties and Seymour Development in Campbell River.
Web Development
As part of her work in post-secondary institutions, Suzanne has regularly written web content such as:
Developing communications solutions for small businesses has also inspired her. Here’s an example of a WordPress website developed for a client:
Suzanne Jolly Consulting 