Miriam Axel-Lute
miriam at nhi dot org
Home Office: 518-431-8392
Editor, Shelterforce magazine and Associate Director, National Housing Institute: 2010present.
Consultant and Freelance Writer and Editor: 19992010.
As a freelancer, I did numerous writing and research projects (policy reports, technical assistance material, briefing papers, internal research memos, newsletter articles) for organizations including: National Housing Institute, PolicyLink, Living Cities, NACEDA, the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, the Honest Weight Food Co-op, and the Independent Press Association.
My freelance journalism has appeared in Babble.com, Metroland, City Limits, E Magazine, Planners Network, Real Money (now Real Green), and Shelterforce. For more details, see my clips page, or send me a request for hard-copy clips.
I also did wide range of copyediting projects for publishers, institutions, and individuals: academic books and journals, trade books, reports, Web sites, proposals, and more.
News Editor, Metroland: August 2003May 2006.
At this newsweekly, I was responsible for the news and lead-feature sections. This included editorial planning; writing features, news, service-oriented articles, and arts pieces; editing all parts of the paper; and managing two staff writers, freelancers, and interns. I also began my ongoing biweekly column, Looking Up, which won a first-place 2006 Altweekly Award.
Project Director, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board: June 2002July 2003.
As part of the senior staff of this nonprofit, I handled all the communications needs of the office, including writing, editing, and distributing an e-mail newsletter for supporters and press; writing news updates and co-op profiles; webmastering and some grantwriting.
Managing Editor, Shelterforce: March 2000March 2002.
I managed the entire editorial and production process for this national community development magazine. This involved keeping track of developments and trends in the field; writing frequent feature articles; editing all parts of the magazine; and coordinating outside writers, staff, designers, printers, and advertisers to bring each issue together. I also served on the EPAs taskforce on smart growth and affordable housing.
Assistant Publisher, Shelterforce: September 1998March 2000.
Editorial Assistant, Shelterforce: June 1997September 1998.
Education:
Mediabistro: Fact-finding seminar, Summer 2002; Copyediting seminar, Winter 2003; Humor Writing for Journalists, Winter 2003; Online copyediting class, Winter 2007.
Pratt Institute, Graduate School for Planning and the Environment: classes in urban planning, 1998-2000.
Oberlin College: BA in environmental studies and biochemistry, 1997.
Related Experience:
Served as a judge for the 2004 Pennsylvania Press Association Awards.
Founded the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards.
