On the move from the age of 8 months, I lived in 4 cities and 10 houses by the time I was 6. Not surprisingly, I became a professional mover, first as a dancer and then as a choreographer, performer and teacher in New York, Amsterdam and elsewhere. Fascinated by how and what we choose to see, hear and attend to, my path eventually led out of dance studios and onto the street for site-specific explorations of neighborhoods, environments and histories, engaging audiences as co-creators and participants (see www.lisebrennercreative.com).

The other side of my professional life has been about being paid to write and/or build organizational systems. My day job while running my dance company (Lise Brenner Company, NYC) was as a product liability paralegal at Pfizer, where I spent most of my time translating between medical researchers and physicians, lawyers and business people. Over my portfolio career I have also co-founded an arts service organization, produced 2 dance showcase series (in NYC and Amsterdam) and parlayed re-writing the employee handbook into a position as Director of Operations at New Leaders. Along the way I’ve written everything from white papers to grants to donor materials to compliance policy and worked on staff or contract at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Pratt Institute, League of American Orchestras, Oxfam Novib and Episcopal Relief and Development, among others. A favorite assignment was as adjunct professor teaching writing about dance at Long Island University.

As a writing mentor to individuals my focus is on helping experts decode their knowledge to explore and leverage the full landscape of what they have to say. I have supported professionals in social justice, non-profit and corporate; worked with craftspeople and small business owners, healers and artists; edited academic journal articles, theses and dissertations, often for non-native English speakers publishing in English. I especially love coaching dancers, athletes and musicians as I am intimately acquainted with the challenges of translating body knowledge and experience into words.

A meditator for over 30 years, I am a certified Presenter for The 3 Doors: Transforming Lives through Meditation, a program developed by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche based on the ancient Bon teachings of Tibet. I draw on the basic 3 Doors practices of body, breath and awareness in my work with writing clients.