I’m a bilingual cross-cultural English editor. And I’m passionate about clear communication and plain language.
Of all my testimonials, this is my favorite:
I appreciate not only Ema’s editing skills but the kind and gracious way that she uses those skills.
Sarah Black, Founder, Athru Communications
When you work with me, you will get someone who
- understands the challenges of communicating across cultures and languages
- aims to meet your needs
- treats you and your work with respect (I’m very nice 🙂 )
- has a keen mind for logic and consistency
- keeps to the deadline (and often submits work ahead of time)
- works carefully and thoroughly
- combines editing skills and experience in the social sciences
- has a master’s degree in international affairs and a bachelor’s in psychology, both from top US institutions
I’d love to help you get your message across.
Get in touch to discuss whether we might be a good fit for your scholarly or international development writing project!
How I got here…
I’m a plurilingual third culture kid who grew up between two countries and has lived in five (seven, if you count studying abroad as a student 😊).
I’m fascinated with communication across borders because I know what it’s like to try to transpose thoughts from one culture or language to another.
I love reading your ideas, thoughts, and insights. And I want to help you get your great ideas out into the world.
I hope that I can be of service to you.
I believe in equity and justice; I stand against hate and discrimination. I value integrity and seek to create respectful and safe working relationships with clients, colleagues, and others.
Editing experience
With over 15 years of professional experience, including over six years of editing, I’ve worked with multi-language authors through
- scholarly editing (abstracts, articles, policy reviews, research reports, etc.) for the social sciences
- content editing and writing for international development
- training professionals on writing, editing, and communication
Favorite subjects
Socioeconomic development (human rights, social development, public health, sexual & reproductive health rights, migrants, youth and child development, poverty reduction)
Social sciences (public health, psychology, education, political science, general economics, history, sociology, etc.)
Third culture kids, cross-cultural kids, multilingualism, parenting
Edited for…
Centre for Economic Policy Research and VoxEU.org
Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore
Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research
TASC, The Graduate Institute
United Nations agencies & international organizations
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- UN Development Programme (UNDP)
- UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
Private sector (biotech, healthcare, training)
See my editing services.
Academic, professional & training credentials
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University (USA) in Economic and Political Development
☘ Professional societies
- Intermediate Member, Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (UK)
- Member, Plain Language Association International
- Member, ACES: The Society for Editing (US)
☘ Courses, webinars & events (highlights)
Copy-editing 2: Headway [Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP)]
Plain English for Editors [CIEP]
Design for Readability [Editors Canada webinar]
Editing in a Multilingual World [ACES: The Society for Editing webinar]
Inclusive Language [ACES: The Society for Editing webinar]
Proofreading and Copyediting with The Chicago Manual of Style [Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA)]
Writing for the Sciences [Stanford University via Coursera]
Access for All: Plain Language Is a Civil Right [PLAIN conference]
Clear Writing for Europe 2021 [European Commission conference]
Plain Language 2022 [Japan Plain English and Language Consortium conference]
Plain English for Editors [CIEP course]
Plain Language Online Training [US National Institutes of Health course]
Accessible Publishing Summit 2022: User Perspectives [NNELS Canada webinar]
Accessible Word Documents [DAISY Learning]
Creating accessible PDFs, by Margaret Hunter, Daisy Editorial [CIEP2022 session]
Inclusive Design Principles, by Henny Swan [2021 Inclusive Design 24 webinar]
Human Rights and Health [Human Rights Education Association]
An Introduction to Global Health [University of Copenhagen via Coursera]
Language Prejudice and the Documentation of Minoritized Varieties of English [Oxford English Dictionary webinar]
Questionnaire Design for Social Surveys [University of Michigan via Coursera]
Latest reports & thoughts about work
Contact me
I look forward to being of service! Please contact me via the form below or email info@theclarityeditor.com to discuss your needs and my services. I will get back to you as soon as I can during my working hours.