Meet a Member: Michele Turk
Michele Turk is a go-getter. When she sees a need she is willing to step up and help solve the problem. After being a long-time member of the Connecticut Press Club, she saw the need to revitalize the local affiliate and its association with NFPW. She is working to energize the affiliate and is planning activities to be more visible in the area. Networking is important for professional communicators and she is working to help fill the void in Connecticut. If you know of anyone in the area who might be interested in joining, contact our newest affiliate leader, Michele Turk.
Michele Turk
Name: Michele Turk
City and State: Cos Cob, Conn.
Affiliate and any leadership positions: President, Connecticut Press Club
Years a member of NFPW: I joined the Connecticut Press Club when I moved here 15 years ago, but I am a new member of NFPW.
Tell us a little about you.
Since landing my first job as a junior editor at American Health magazine (a Reader’s Digest publication), I’ve published articles on a wide range of topics, including medicine, education, parenting and business. Initially, my work appeared mostly in national consumer magazines, and later, I wrote articles and blogged for similar websites. Two years ago I co-edited a book, “Ink Stained,” a collection of essays by my classmates in the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Class of 1992, and I published “Blood, Sweat and Tears: An Oral History of the American Red Cross” in 2006. I also worked as an adjunct professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University for four years.
As the founder of A Bloc of Writers, Inc., I oversee a team of writers who provide writing, editing and tutoring services ranging from blog posts to books. I view the company as a culmination and combination of all of the skills I have acquired over the past 20+ years. I work from my home, where I live with my husband, Russ, and our two teenagers and a dog. They keep me pretty busy so I don’t have many hobbies outside of writing, and trying to stay fit at 50, although I joke that my idea of exercise is reading fast.
Any career advice you would give?
Michele Turk enjoying some time with her children.
Anyone working in journalism over the past two decades has witnessed unprecedented changes in the industry, and we’ve all had to learn to adapt to the realties of the digital age. Despite all of the emphasis on STEM learning and careers, there will always be jobs for people who love to read, write and edit, so if that’s what you love to do, as I do, don’t become a scientist or engineer because you think that’s where the jobs will be. If you learn and hone a skill, whether it’s writing and editing or develop some other area of expertise, and you work hard, your career will fall into place.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I’d like to be able to cook — not just follow a recipe, but open the fridge and whip up something spectacular, meals that everyone in my family would enjoy. No matter how hard I try, that’s probably not going to happen.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Italy.
What book are you reading?
I always have several going at once….I just came back from vacation, where I read a novel called “The Accident” by Chris Pavone. It’s a thriller – not a genre I typically read – about the publishing world. I am also making my way through the late David Carr’s memoir, “Night of the Gun.”
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I’ve lived in a Connecticut suburb of New York City for 15 years, the Washington D.C. area for six years and I spent seven years in New York City, so I think people are sometimes surprised when they learn that I grew up in a small farming town in New Jersey whose claim to fame is the “blueberry capital of the world.” My family still lives there, and I am heading there to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday.
Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?
I just took over as president of the Connecticut Press Club, an affiliate that has not been active for a year or so. I look forward to meeting and getting to know fellow writers, and I consider it an honor and a challenge to try to revive the chapter. I aim to bring in a younger, more diverse membership with a variety of backgrounds, including writers, editors, authors, bloggers. Since there is no New York affiliate at this time, I’d like to try to include colleagues in neighboring Westchester County, NY. I’m thrilled to have the support and resources of the NFPW to guide me, and to be a part of the national organization.
Way to follow you on a website, twitter, Facebook, etc.
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=151009562&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
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