Mikola De Roo has over 20 years of experience in communications, marketing, editorial, and advocacy roles in the nonprofit and publishing sectors. They are currently the Vice President of Advocacy Communications and Marketing at Housing Works, a nonprofit that addresses homelessness and HIV/AIDS. Previously, they held communications and editorial roles at McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson Education, and Bedford/St. Martin's. De Roo has also volunteered extensively with literacy and HIV/AIDS organizations. They hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and a BA in English from Carleton College.

1. Mikola De Roo
118 Union Street #5A, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Cell: 347-243-2968 • H: 718-625-7057 • O: 347-473-7436 • mikimoto7@yahoo.com • jeangreyphoenix72@gmail.com
Professional Experience Responsibilities Select Clients and Projects
Housing Works
Vice President, Advocacy
Communications &
Marketing
Jan. 2014–present, New York, NY
Housing Works is a non-profit
service organization whose mission is
to end the dual crises of
homelessness and AIDS. The
Advocacy Department supports that
mission via traditional government
lobbying, legislative visits, civil
disobedience and protests, and
impact litigation.
Awards: Housing Works
Community Values “Code
Green” Awards, Dec. 2014 &
April 2015
• Envision, execute & monitor integrated, results-driven
communications strategy for Advocacy Dept.
• Manage Advocacy Communications & Marketing FY
budgets, work plans & schedules
• Attract media across channels (PR & multimedia
press, eblasts, video, social media & blog)
• Hire and manage internal staff, as well as editorial,
production design & video vendors
• Launch & amplify brand for HW end-of-AIDS
advocacy campaign: AIDS-FREE Campaign
• Lead World AIDS Day & End AIDS NY partnerships
and coalitions
• Grow site traffic and subscribers; oversee content
strategy for website and AIDS Issues Update blog
• Create branded event digital & print deliverables
(AIDS-FREE campaign; World AIDS Day 2014)
• Increase staff & client advocacy engagement
• Work strategically with Marketing & Development
Branding & Messaging: Visual identity
and brand strategy for advocacy campaign
to end AIDS: AIDS-FREE Campaign –
in NY, the U.S. & globally; Visual identity
and branding for campaigns & events
Branded digital content: Manage
Advocacy website, Twitter account &
Facebook page • Oversee e-blasts and
event landing pages • Oversee weekly
blogs for AIDS Issues Update & Staff
News items • Manage photo & video
programs • Create and give advocacy
presentations (internal & external)
Branded print deliverables: petitions &
sign-on letters, posters, one-pagers, fact
sheets, postcards, brochures, postcards, t-
shirts, banners, buttons, bags
Press: AP • WCBS • NY Times (6.29.14;
11.17.14) • Buzzfeed (3.7.14; 7.21.14) •
MSNBC • Capital NY • City & State op-
ed • Gay City News (op-ed & feature) •
Newsweek • TW Cable (Capital Tonight,
10.14.14, 10.28.14, 1.13.15 & 2.26.15) • Times
Union • Capitol Pressroom/WCNY
McGraw-Hill Higher
Education
Senior Development Editor
at Large/Product Manager
Social Sciences, Humanities &
Communication
Dec. 2009–Jan. 2014,
New York, NY
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is an
international publisher of digital
learning solutions, textbooks, and other
educational material.
• Managed, developed and edited college educational
programs—digital, print & media products
• 2012 (0+1 Year) sales >$20M
• Planned and executed content strategy, messaging &
branding for all products
• Managed project budgets and schedules
• Provided authors with editorial direction
• Hired and managed editorial and production vendors,
subject-matter experts & freelancers
• Managed and mentored junior staff and interns
• Ensured integration of print and digital products
• Managed video program development and production
• Conducted market research, competition & content
review analyses
• Formulated and implemented market-seeding plans
• Negotiated supplement contracts & permissions
• Wrote sales copy and other promotional material
• Supervised designs & media supplement creation
• Attended conferences, focus groups & symposia
Digital: Interactive ebooks for all titles •
Inkling tablet ebooks • SmartBook
adaptive ebooks • Speech Prep app (iPad
& Android) • Connect products (in history,
interpersonal communication, introductory
communication, public speaking) •
LearnSmart adaptive learning resources •
Video & audio programs for products •
scenario-based Critical Mission activities
Titles: The Art of Public Speaking, 11/e,
Lucas • Interpersonal Communication,
2/e, Floyd • Traditions & Encounters,
5e, Bentley/Ziegler • Speak Well,
O’Brien • Communication Matters, 2/e,
Floyd • Public Speaking Matters, Floyd
Messaging, Market Development & Sales:
National Sales Meeting sessions • Focus
groups & symposia • Exhibitor booth and
events at academic conferences • Market-
seeding campaigns: updating of top targets;
top target-based surveys and reviews, Board
of Advisors work, WebExes, messaging and
design surveys, class-testing campaigns,
email campaigns, follow-up calls • Strategy
planning with product teams and sales force
EmcArts Inc.
Communications Manager
Oct. 2007–Nov. 2009,
New York, NY
EmcArts is a non-profit arts
management consulting firm offering
transformative programs for
organizational change.
• Developed company messaging, marketing strategies &
PR campaigns, online & print, to support new business
development & company branding
• Developed, wrote, and edited all client deliverables—
strategic plans, innovation roadmaps, reports,
program evaluations (with a particular emphasis on
arts education programs and multimedia program
development), white papers & comparative studies
Business Development & Branding:
Re-design and total re-vamp of EmcArts
website content • foundational work for
EmcArts blog • Monthly e-blasts &
newsletters • Innovation Lab branding
campaign • social media strategy
Clients: Whitney Museum • Doris Duke
Charitable Foundation • Carnegie Hall •
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation • James
Irvine Foundation • Corporation for Public
Broadcasting • Misnomer Dance Theater •
Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour

2. De Roo/-2-
Pearson Education
Senior Editor
May 2004–Oct. 2007,
New York, NY
Pearson Education is an
international publisher of digital and
print educational tools.
Awards: 2006 Longman Summit
Award, Development Editor of
the Year • Writing for Life, DJ
Henry, 2008 Textbook Excellence
Award, Text & Academic Authors
Association
• Managed, developed, and edited English college texts,
including budgets and schedules
• 1st-year sales, 2007–08 >$11M
• Provided authors with editorial direction
• Conducted competition analyses, market research &
content review analyses
• Hired and managed junior staff and freelancers
• Executed market-seeding campaigns & focus groups
• Negotiated all permissions & supplement contracts
• Made on-campus presentations to close business
• Wrote and edited marketing collateral
• Supervised designs, resources & media programs
• Attended sales and academic conferences
Titles: Writing for Life, Henry • Living
Literature, Brereton • Masters of British
Literature, Damrosch et al. • The Writer’s
Handbook [VangoBooks], DiYanni/ Hoy •
The Longman Anthology of World Literature,
Compact Ed., Damrosch et al. • The
Longman Anthology of British Literature, Third
Ed., Damrosch et al. • The New Century
Handbook,4/e, Hult/Huckin (Full & Brief) •
Latino Boom, Christie/ Gonzalez • Poetic
Form, Caplan.
Digital: Companion websites for all titles
Messaging, Market Development & Sales:
National Sales Meetings • Annual academic
conferences • First edition market-seeding
campaigns • Spring 2007 sales presentation
closed 1000+ units of takeaway business
Freelance Content
Development/Writer
& Editor
1996–present, New York, NY
Serves on various projects as:
• Branding & Messaging Strategist
• Content Strategist
• Writer
• Editor
• Copywriter
• Copy Editor
• Proofreader
• Indexer
Clients: Zagat (2005–2012) • Brand Girl
blog & Kwas Inc (branding consultant,
blogger, 2009–2013) • Macmillan/First
Second Books (comics textbook for trade
publisher)• Celia Kutcher website (health
counselor & nutritionist) • Pathways
Publishing (K-12 education publisher) •
ECPweb.com (IT publisher) • Seven
Stories Press & Writers and Readers (trade
publishers) • Children of China Pediatrics
Foundation (non-profit) • Woofs 'n'
Whiskers (animal day care and boarding) •
Individual authors
Bedford/St. Martin's
(Macmillan)
Senior Editor
Dec. 2002–April 2004
Editor
July 2000–Dec. 2002,
New York, NY
Macmillan is a publishing company
specializing in humanities college
textbooks.
• Managed, developed, and edited English
(composition, literature, developmental English) and
film college texts, including budgets and schedules
• Developed, edited, and maintained budgets and
schedules for all ancillaries (print and new media)
• Provided authors with editorial guidance
• Hired and managed junior staff and freelancers
• Negotiated contracts for supplements & text and art
permissions
• Presented titles at sales and academic conferences
• Designed and implemented marketing strategies
• Wrote and edited sales briefs, catalog and jacket copy,
brochures, and other promotional material
• Supervised book and brochure designs
Titles: Patterns for College Writing, 9/e,
Kirszner/Mandell • The Film Experience,
Corrigan/White • The Bedford Introduction to
Drama, 5/e, Jacobus (Full & Compact) • A
World of Ideas, 6/e, Jacobus • Writing First,
2/e, Kirszner/Mandell • The Presence of
Others, 4/e, Lunsford/Ruszkiewicz
Digital: Companion websites for all titles •
The St. Martin's Custom Reader, Lynn Bloom
& Louise Smith
(customreader.bedfordstmartins.com)
Messaging and Market Development:
Bi-annual National Sales Meeting
presentations • Focus groups for The Film
Experience • On-campus visits at least twice
yearly
Seven Stories Press
Senior Editor
May 1997–Aug. 1998
Associate Editor
Aug. 1996–May 1997,
New York, NY
Seven Stories Press is an independent
trade publisher.
• Edited fiction and nonfiction acquisitions
• Managed budgets and schedules
• Evaluated manuscripts for acquisitions
• Wrote press releases and catalog and jacket copy
• Compiled sales materials
• Coordinated promotional and publicity campaigns
• Fact-checked manuscripts
• Trained and supervised junior staff and interns
Titles: Censored: The Year's Top 25 Censored
News Stories, 1997–2004 Eds., Peter Phillips
• Trips: How Hallucinogens Work in Your Brain,
Cheryl Pellerin • The Zinn Reader, Howard
Zinn • The Voice of Hope, Aung San Suu Kyi
& Alan Clements • No More, Marguerite
Duras • Night, Again, Linh Dinh • Healing
Your Body Naturally, Gary Null • The
Postpartum Effect, Arlene Huysman • Complete
Guide to Sensible Eating, Gary Null • Slut!,
Leora Tanenbaum
GS Sharpe
Communications
Editorial Assistant
Jan. 1995–April 1996,
New York, NY
GS Sharpe Communications is a
medical book packager.
• Wrote, edited, researched, fact-checked, copy edited
and proofread medical health book manuscripts
• Responsible for general office management
Titles: Reader's Digest Guide to Medical Cures
and Treatments (1996) • Foods that Harm,
Foods that Heal (1997)
Software Tools & Digital Platforms: MS Office Suite • Adobe Creative Suite • blogging & CMS tools (Wordpress,
Expression Engine) • Twitter, Facebook & other social media • Salesforce.com • Hubspot • Basecamp • web analytics

3. De Roo/-3-
Leadership, Fundraising, Volunteering, Teaching, & Other Related Experience
McGraw-Hill Groups,
Achievements &
Publications
Dec. 2009–Jan.2014,
New York, NY
• McGraw-Hill Education/HSSL Mobile-Optimization SWAT Team, 2013
• McGraw-Hill Higher Education Digital Content Task Force, 2011–2012
• McGraw-Hill Mentoring Program, 2012
• McGraw-Hill It Gets Better video, Fall 2011
• Harvey Milk School/McGraw-Hill Shadow Day facilitation
• Publications: WINSpirations, biannual MGH corporate magazine
(Article PDFs).
• Follow the Sun Leadership conference
• Employee Resource Groups: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender
(GLBT) • Women’s Initiative for Networking and Success (WINS)
Braking AIDS Ride
Volunteer
Spring/Summer 2008–present,
New York, NY
Braking AIDS Ride (formerly Braking
the Cycle/BTC) is a long-distance
HIV/AIDS bike-ride fundraiser.
• 2012–present: Fundraising and training for Braking AIDS Ride, an
annual fundraiser event to benefit Housing Works; 2008–2010: Previous
ride beneficiary was NYC LGBT Community Center
• 2014: $10,000+ (200+% of goal) • 2013: $15,000 (150% of goal) •
Collectively raised over $63,000 for 2008–present • Top 2008 fundraiser
• Braking the Cycle It Gets Better video, Fall 2010
• Rider Recruitment Committee: 2009–2010; 2013–present
• Training Ride Leader: 2009 & 2010
Read Ahead
Reading Mentor
2002–2007; 2009–2014, NY, NY
• Read to and mentored one grade-school student per school year, on a
weekly basis, via Reading Mentors program, a non-profit literacy
program geared to at-risk elementary school students
Mediabistro.com
Instructor
Aug. 2007–Aug. 2008, NY, NY
• Taught lecture-format adult courses in proofreading, grammar &
punctuation
Univ. of Michigan
Graduate Student Instructor
1998–2000, Ann Arbor, MI
• 1998–1999: Graded papers and exams for English Department courses
• 1999–2000: Taught English composition and creative writing
South High School
H.S. Student Teacher
Fall 1994, Minneapolis, MN
• Developed and taught English Department courses in literature and
creative writing with an oral presentation component to a diverse
student population
Publications, Awards & Education
Publications & Awards PUBLICATIONS: Housing Works Advocacy website & weekly blog • Personal blog: The
Blue Streak • WINSpirations, MGH corporate magazine • “Airport Bar,” WV Magazine of
the Emerging Writer, Vol. 1, No. 2
AWARDS: Housing Works “Code Green” Awards, Dec. 2014 & April 2015 • Read Ahead
Outstanding Volunteer Service Award, 2014 • Textbook Excellence Award, 2008, Text &
Academic Authors Association • Pearson Summit Award, Editor of the Year, 2006 • Univ. of
Michigan Tyson Award for Fiction, 2000 • Univ. of Michigan Colby Fellow, 1998–2000
Univ. of Michigan
M.F.A., Creative Writing
(Fiction)
1998–2000, Ann Arbor, MI
Colby Fellowship • Tyson Award for Fiction • M.F.A. Thesis: Talk Amongst Yourselves
and Other Stories • Studied with Charles Baxter, Eileen Pollack & Nicholas Delbanco
Carleton College
B.A., English
1990–1994, Northfield, MN
Magna cum laude • Phi Beta Kappa • B.A. Thesis • High school teaching certification
(English) • Editor-in-Chief, iT Magazine (literary magazine) • Proficiency in French