About
Leita Hermanson
Writer, poet
Leita is a writer and poet, currently laboring on the novel Loving Ophelia, a project she reads for astute critique at her local writers group. She sometimes writes by the name Ann London, in honor of her Jewish grandmother, Annette, who died long before she was born, and her great grandmother, Helen Louden, who drove a Ford Mustang into her eighties and lived to be ninety six. In 2012, the poet Marge Piercy selected Leita to participate with eleven other poets at a juried poetry workshop in Wellfleet, Mass.
Leita has owned several businesses, the first, which commenced in Seattle as a communications firm with an office at the historic terminal building at Boeing Field. Among other jobs, she has worked as a technical writer, data storyteller, a reporter, a high-tech marketing director, and as a manager at Nordstrom after serving briefly in the US Air Force, where bland green was the new black, and she had to downplay her glamor tendencies. She also studied method acting for five years in Seattle, which helped her to overcome her shyness, and prompted her to learn the art of laughing her guts out at improvisational skits. She once got to fly in a P-51 Mustang, traveling at 300 mph over the Mojave Desert, where she asked the pilot to perform every aerobatic move on the list.
- More than twenty years professional writing experience
- Newsroom writing, The Daily Herald, Everett
- Founder of the popular newsletter, Upside Downtown’s Sparks for Innovation newsletter
Board positions & volunteer work:
- Board member, Write On The River
- Editor, Annual Success Summit Guide, IRIS
- Communications, Imagine South Wenatchee
- Public Relations Director, Downtown Everett Action Committee
- Board member, Snohomish County Arts Council
- PR director for Fresh Paint Arts Festival
- Public relations, Everett 4th of July committee
- Communications, Brenda Stonecipher successful city council campaign
- Speaker, Snohomish County Superior Court Juror Appreciation program, downtown restaurant guide.
- Writer, Allied Arts Council
- Writer, Children’s Hospital Light Up a Child s Life Auction in Seattle
Education & Awards
- Bachelors of Arts, Humanities, summa cum laude, Washington State University
- Bachelors of Arts, English, 3.9, Central Washington University
- Studied method acting at The Lee Strasberg Acting Workshop, Seattle, WA. Improv.
- Award-winning writer, awards include a Washington Press Association Award among others.
Accomplishments:
Founder, Upside Down, a marketing communications company. Clients included Bucher Aerospace, Prime Pacific Bank, Glacier Northwest, Puget Sound Trucklines and others. I worked to help industrial companies create marketing strategies and promotions; from concept to finished piece; to solve problems, increase exposure and increase sales.
Founder, Word Dynamics, Seattle at the age of 25, from a small corner office in the terminal building at Boeing Field.
“A plethora of new ideas, an asset to her community, Crossfield lives her life with determination and zeal and is an innovative thinker, craftsman of words, with an honest desire to change our world. She was called upon by the Superior Court Judges of Snohomish County to make speeches to jurors. She balances all this while raising her son and supporting the many other people who depend on her.”
Pioneered the Industrial Strength Advertising program for clients in heavy industry which resulted in costs savings for clients, and my firm being featured in the Puget Sound Business Journal and other media.
On the high-tech side, launched the marketing/PR department for a growing software development firm focused on the wireless automated data capture industry (bar-coding); developed the marketing plan and strategy; created the overall look and design of all marketing pieces; produced a direct mail campaign targeted toward strategic business partners which garnered a 13% response rate; plus established budgets and schedules for all advertising, PR, trade show, and marketing functions.
Created a program called Sales Catalyst Coaching for Trans America Auto Glass, a division of Speedy Auto Glass, to revamp their sales process and re-invent their proposals, presentations and marketing pieces.
Developed an industry review for a national wire manufacturer which resulted in the firm being featured in local and national media.
Created a PR strategy which resulted in a local clothing manufacturer being featured on King 5 Evening Magazine and in key national media.
Multi- award-winning manager at Nordstrom, received the company’s highest honor Customer Service All-Star and numerous awards for exceeding sales goals and for creating innovative promotions.
Active community volunteer for more than twenty years, beginning in high school where I served as editor of my high school newspaper, was Miss Selah, an ambassador for the Apple Juice Capital of the World.
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