"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." -- Marilyn Monroe
EDITING | DESIGN WORK
Darby has worked as an editor by profession for nearly 20 years; she began as an editor/creator of the Modern Teen Magazine, a magazine that featured student-written material from the youth at the Martha's Table Teen Program in Washington, DC. From there, she was hired as a writer/editor for the District Department of Transportation, where she worked for four years editing correspondence, pamphlets, booklets, memos, and other important material stemming from the Office of the Director. She then served as the public affairs specialist for the D.C. Department of Corrections, where she regularly edited the bi-monthly newsletter, all official printed materials, press releases, open letters, the website content and more. Darby also previously worked as an editor for The Scholar's Journal, a quarterly e-newlsetter produced by the Board of Directors of the non-profit scholarship organization, The Tripod Foundation. She is now the deputy director of Strategic Communications for The Council of State Governments Justice Center, but in previous roles at the nonprofit, she helped manage editorial priorities for the organization and served as lead editor for some of its most complex projects for eight years.
Darby began designing printed materials in 2006 while working with Modern Teen Magazine. Since then, she has gone on to create several brochures, booklets, pamphlets, flyers, etc. for two District government agencies and a national nonprofit organization. In 2012, she took on the role of agency photographer for the D.C. Department of Corrections and has used those increasing skills in her outside photography as well.
Below you can view samples of work that she has edited or designed.
EDITING SAMPLES
This self-help book by Nia K. N. Jackson was edited by Darby in 2019. It highlights Nia's journey through her personal transformation while empowering others to do the same.
This 160 page discussion paper was edited by Darby for the CSG Justice Center. The paper identifies key questions and issues every policymaker should consider when seeking to help people leaving prison and jail connect to needed mental health and substance use treatment & highlights examples of local practices and legislative/ administrative actions. Darby managed the content through multiple stages of production & conducted high level editing to improve organization, clarity, and impact.
Darby created the D.C. Department of Corrections first magazine-style recruitment book in Spring 2016. The 32-page booklet featured content about the background/history of the jail, inmate services & programs, diversity in the staff, and more. Darby compiled the content, edited, designed, and took photos for the project.
The D.C. Department of Corrections' bi-monthly newsletter was created by Darby in November 2012. Part of her duties as Public Affairs Specialist were to maintain the newsletter, edit it, design it, and write articles for it.
This 28 page slide-show presentation included extensive creative marketing and PR ideas for the H&M brand. It was a final graduate school project, written and designed by Cora Atkinson. Darby edited the presentation for grammar consistency, accuracy, and overall content. The project received a grade of 98 out of 100.
This 12 page assessment included recommendations for improvement and reflections for future managers. It was part of an MBA class assignment, written by MBA recipient, Amanda (Harvey) Ware. Darby edited the paper for grammar consistency, transitions, and overall content. The paper received an A.
This 15 page research paper explored how Starbucks could compete with the many national brands and local coffee shops attempting to take its place in the coffee market. It was a Media Relations graduate school assignment and received an A. Darby edited the paper for grammar consistency, transitions, and overall content.
This 48 page manuscript was edited by Darby for Chereace Richards. Chereace is an entrepreneur and motivational speaker who wanted to write a book using her experiences to help motivate even more women to lead an inspired life. Darby edited the manuscript for grammar consistency, readibility, arrangement of chapters and overall content.
DESIGN SAMPLES
The Council of State Governments Justice Center
As senior managing editor, Darby normally coordinates with designers. But occasionally, she creates designs on her own as well using Adobe Creative Suite software. These materials include the organization's first annual report, interstitials and posters for events, flyers/one pagers, and promotional content.
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DC DOC Branding
As part of Darby's duties as the Public Affairs Specialist for the D.C. Department of Corrections, she worked with the agency Public Information Officer to develop and design materials to represent the agency to its external partners. These materials included a magazine-style recruitment book, feedback cards, brochures, fact sheets, one pagers, and give-aways.
DC DOC Video Visitation
When Darby joined the Office of Government and Public Affairs of the DC DOC, one of her first tasks was to begin to update the branding for the agency. Part of this branding included creating flyers, fact sheets, banners, posters, etc for the newly formed Video Visitation Center (VVC). Since then, she has designed over 20 pieces of printed material for the VVC.
Honor Guard Ceremony -- May 2013
Darby served as the DC DOC agency photographer during the annual Honor Guard ceremony during Correctional Employees Week in May 2013. There, she took several pictures of the honor guards representing the District, Maryland, Virginia, and Pa jurisdictions. To the left are a few samples of those photos.
Scenic Photography
The photography bug bit Darby fairly hard as she began to travel more, and she soon realized that she had an eye for photography she was previously unaware of. This sample of photos showcases some of the perspectives she has shown through her camera lens.
DDOT Annual Report
As a writer/editor with the District Department of Transportation from 2008 to 2012, Darby had the opportunity to work on several special projects within the agency. One such project was the commissioning, developing, writing, editing, and designing of the 2009 Annual Report. Her initial drafted designs for the report were used to help create the final product, in cooperation with a contracted designer.