Vanessa Richardson
 
Professional/Personal Overview
  My motto: "Dry" topics don't have to be dull. My areas of expertise and interest: Personal finance, healthcare, environmental issues and small-business management. They’re far from boring to cover -- recent articles had me tagging along with a Secret Service agent hunting down identity theft gangs online, and getting my "investing fortune" read by a Chinese palm reader/computer consultant.
* I was a staff writer for Self, Money and Red Herring magazines. Now as a San Francisco-based freelancer, I write for print and Web publications including Bankrate, Dow Jones MarketWatch, Edutopia, Harvard Management Update, MSNBC.com, Self and Women's Health.
* On the Internet side, I was Editor of Quicken.com, a Web site covering finance and small business topics for 2.5 million users.
* In the radio arena, I was a freelance producer for "Forum", a critically-acclaimed public-affairs program on San Francisco's NPR affiliate.
* I also do copywriting for nonprofit organizations.
Contact Info
  Vanessa Richardson
690 Fifth Street
Suite 216
San Francisco, CA 94107
USA

Tel: 415-543-3195
E-Mail: vanessa@richardsonwriting.com
Website: http://www.mediabistro.com/vanessarichardson
mediabistro.com Questions
 

What book is on your nightstand right now?
"Zola" by Frederick Brown. A biography of great French writer Emile Zola. He used his newspaper skills to write novels about class structure and money in 19thC. Paris. Besides writing the "greatest newspaper article in history" (J'accuse' in the Dreyfus Affair), he also had a big hand in shaping Impressionist art -- he was best friends with Cezanne, palled around with the other greats, and championed their work in his writing. It's hard to think of a writer today with the influence he had.

What's the best job you've ever had?
Bartending in the U.S. Virgin Islands right out of college gave me some great skills -- I learned how to cater to my clients' needs, I picked up a lot of great stories and dialogue from people sitting on the barstools, and I can still make a damn good strawberry daquiri.

In ten years, I want to be:
Still writing about topics that are of great interest and great importance.

Work Samples
 
Health and Medicine  
(Edutopia, 10/1/2007)
Schools are replacing heavy-duty chemical cleaners with eco-friendly products to make their kids and teachers healthier.
(Edutopia, 4/1/2007)
For this magazine geared towards educators and printed by the George Lucas Education Foundation, I wrote about how teachers can benefit a quick midday nap. even if they don't get milk and graham crackers afterwards.
Personal Finance  
(Bankrate.com, 7/2/2007)
More universities, both public and private, are trying to become less expensive -- and more attractive -- by experimenting with ways to offset rising costs and mounting debt.
(PC World, 2/23/2007)
Filing taxes are not fun, but a review of this year's Web-based tax-prep services finds that they're at least easier than ever to complete.
(MSNBC.com, 1/4/2007)
A review of legislation on the Democratic-controlled Congress' agenda that may affect consumers' wallets.
(MSNBC, 8/18/2006)
The "latte factor" states that by skipping the daily $3 coffee run, you can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars, a year. But if don’t drink that much coffee and are still short on savings, what do you do? Two women explain how they gave up their daily luxuries -- and improved their lives.
(MSNBC.com, 7/15/2006)
Seven ways small donors can make the maximum impact with their charitable contributions.
(MSNBC.com, 6/16/2006)
Young bloggers open up their wallets online -- and they invite you to critique and improve their financial habits.
(MSNBC.com, 3/15/2006)
Tips for teaching tweens and teens about fiscal responsibility
(MSNBC.com, 2/10/2006)
Because they're facing stagnating incomes, housing prices out of reach and mounting credit-card debt and student loans, it's unlikely that Generations X and Y will surpass or even equal their parents' standards of living.
(CBS MarketWatch, 1/21/2003)
Yes, there are some legitimate ways to press tax writeoffs to the limit. This article explores the various shades of gray, as well as red flags that draw IRS attention.
Business Management  
(AdvisorMax.com, 1/1/2008)
The largest generation of Americans ever born is now planning for retirement. That’s good news for financial advisors, but you have a lot of work ahead of you in helping them understand what they’re up against.
(Prosper Magazine, 11/1/2007)
Who has the most important role in the wine industry? Arguably it is the label designer, the person in charge of creating eye-catching designs that stand out among the increasing number of wine bottles on the shelf.
(DrBicuspid.com, 10/30/2007)
Dentists need to better arm themselves against patient lawsuits. What's the best defense?
(DrBiscuspid.com, 10/22/2007)
Dental-practice consultant William Blatchford boasts that his clients gross between $2 to $3 million annually, even when working with staffs of five or fewer. How do they do it?
(AdvisorMax, 8/1/2007)
If done right, conferences can be career boosters -- how you can come away from your next one with more than a tan and a tax write-off.
(San Francisco Business Times, 4/20/2007)
Credit unions are taking on big banks in the small-business market by promising lower fees and better customer service.
(AdvisorMax, 3/15/2007)
For this subscription-only website geared toward financial advisors, I wrote about how financial advisors can use outsourcing to better serve their clients -- and their profits.
(AdvisorMax.com, 1/1/2007)
Advice from financial advisors about how a mix of technology and the personal touch keeps remote-client relationships going strong.
(AdvisorMax, 12/1/2006)
This article offers financial advisors tips for holding on to good clients – and getting rid of bad ones.
(Red Herring, 6/1/2000)
The tech industry is still considered a man's world but female entrepreneurs are learning how to become lean, mean, pitching machines.
Technology  
(Edutopia, 12/1/2007)
Feeling brain-drained? Using an electromagnetic "thinking cap" to give your head a jump start may not be too far off in the future.
(Technologies for Worship, 6/15/2006)
How the IT department at New York's Trinity Church transformed itself from a server room with dangling wires and archaic equipment into an award-winning operation that handles all technology for the parish and its 175 high-profile tenants.
(Ashoka, 1/1/2006)
For Ashoka's "Changemakers" journal focusing on social entrepreneurs making a difference, a profile of retired CEO Lynn Fritz, who is using his logistics technology skills to help international nonprofits improve their disaster relief efforts.
(MSNBC.com, 12/29/2005)
Federal agencies are requiring all financial institutions to beef up their Internet security measures by the end of 2006, but banks are debating what methods are both cost-effective and consumer-friendly.
(Identity Theft 911, 12/1/2003)
For home computer users concerned about identity theft, this article describes the security issues they need to face and also offers tips, safeguards and software products for better PC protection.
(Identity Theft 911, 9/1/2003)
Is high-tech scanning of fingers and eyeballs the perfect weapon against identity theft? This article explains why biometric technology may be the logical solution for stemming the growth of this crime.
(Red Herring , 12/14/1999)
Members of The IndUS Entrepreneurs are playing a powerful role in shaping today's technology.
Too Quirky to Categorize  
(CBS MarketWatch, 11/22/2002)
900,000 Americans are expected to enter the "RV Nation" this year. And historically, where RV sales goes, the economy follows.
(Red Herring, 9/15/2000)
Y.C. Sun is a computer consultant who has more influence in his moonlighting job -- as a fortune-teller advising tech execs and venture capitalists how and when to do business.
Environmental Issues  
(Prosper Magazine, 8/1/2007)
Local municipalities try to rake in the costs of recycling yard waste.
(Better Nutrition, 6/16/2006)
Six ways to "e-cycle" your old electronics.