About Claire
Editing is a collaborative activity, one that is often conversational and encouraging. Most of us need a hand at some point in the revision process, and I thrive when I am supporting writers.
Freelance editing highlights
Member of the Editorial Freelancer's Association (www.the-efa.org)
Content specialty is education, but I work with other social science topics, too
Clients include Ph.D. and Ed.D. candidates from Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Grand Valley State University, and University of Louisiana at Monroe; faculty from Grand Valley State University and Valparaiso University; and public policy consultants (names kept confidential on request)
Teaching Career highlights
High school English Language Arts teacher (AP Language and Composition)
Endorsement in 2019, Teaching English as a Second Language, Grand Valley State University
Michigan State University Extension Specialist (focus on community development, facilitation, and local government)
Published author in peer-reviewed academic journals
As Claire Layman: Journal of Extension
As Claire Bode: American Meteorological Society and Town Planning Review
Writer/Analyst for the Michigan Senate
Author of white papers on a range of subjects, including insurance credit scoring and agricultural biofuels
Specialized in education, natural resource, and agriculture policy
I grew up in Metro Detroit, majored in English at University of Michigan, got a Master's in Teaching from Boston University, and went back to my hometown to teach high school English for nine years. Since then I've gradually migrated to West Michigan, with a long and lovely stopover in East Lansing, where I brought up my kids, worked for the State of Michigan as a legislative analyst, and then landed at MSU Extension as a public policy educator. Now I live in the Eastown neighborhood of Grand Rapids with my piano tuner husband, some of his kids, our cat Magic, and lots of backyard birds. I love to cook Indian food, hike in the Adirondack mountains, learn about editing, and meet new people.
The banner photos on this site are ones I've taken with my iPhone, most of them around Grand Rapids. The photo on the homepage banner is of repurposed printer's plates taken at the amazing St Louis City Museum.
