Herta Feely

Herta Burbach Feely is an award-winning writer, editor, and child safety activist. She co-founded Safe Kids Worldwide.

Early life

Feely was born to German immigrants in Yugoslavia, and grew up in Germany and the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.[1] She attended Brentwood High School in Brentwood, Missouri and graduated from Parkway High School in Chesterfield, MO,[2] then earned a B.A. in Latin American History and a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of California-Berkeley, and a M.A. in Writing from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.[3][4] Feely has lived and worked in the Washington D.C. area since 1982.[4]

Safe Kids

In 1986, Feely was working as a public relations consultant for the television documentary The Children's War, about the work of the Children's National Medical Center; a New York Times review called it "a plea for children's accident prevention".[5] Feely and surgeon Dr. Martin R. Eichelberger collaborated on multiple projects for the hospital's trauma center, including the National Children's Accident Prevention Campaign, before developing the concept of a dedicated national nonprofit. They launched the National Safe Kids Campaign in September 1987 with five years of funding from Johnson & Johnson. United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop served as its chairman for its first thirteen years (honorary during his Surgeon General tenure).[6][7][8][9]

Feely served as the Safe Kids executive director for its first six years.[8] She appeared before the United States Congress[10] and was extensively quoted in national media about the Safe Kids efforts to prevent children's accidental injuries, from campaigns for bicycle helmets, to prevention of burns, to safe playground equipment, to child safety seats to many other issues.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

In 2005, the National Safe Kids Campaign officially became Safe Kids Worldwide, with 21 affiliates in different countries.[9] Feely returned to work for Safe Kids Worldwide from 2006 to 2007.[8]

Editing

In 2006 Feely launched Chrysalis Editorial Services as a sole proprietorship offering manuscript critique, writing coaching, ghostwriting, copy or line editing, book proposal advice and support, and agent support and services. Authors she has helped include Jan Cigliano, Tobias Lanz, Melvin R. Adams, and Cynthia Tocci.[3][18][19][20]

Writing

Feely's memoirs and short stories have been published in literary magazines including The Sun, Lullwater Review, Provincetown Magazine, Potomac Review, and The Griffin, and the anthology Enhanced Gravity.[3]

In 2006, Feely received an Artist Fellowship from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities for her novel in progress, The Trials of Serra Blue.[21] Later that year the completed novel won the annual James Jones Literary Society First Novel Fellowship of $10,000, out of 594 applicants.[4]

Feely's The Wall: A Memoir, won the 2010 American Independent Writers Award for Best Personal Essay.[22]

In 2010, she co-edited Confessions: Fact or Fiction? (ISBN 978-1609106096), an anthology mixing memoirs with short fiction, and published it via Chrysalis Editorial. Confessions made a St. Louis best-sellers list,[23] and was a finalist for USA Book News best anthology of 2011.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Herta’s Work", Chrysalis Editorial Services. Retrieved Jan 11, 2012.
  2. ↑ Newsletter of the Brentwood Alumni Association, August 2008, Volume 5, No. 2. Retrieved Jan 12, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Herta B. Feely - Bio", Chrysalis Editorial Services. Retrieved Jan 11, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "Herta Feely named recipient of Jones First Novel Fellowship, James Jones Literary Society Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 2, Summer 2006. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  5. ↑ "OUR CHILDREN'S WAR", by John Corry, August 27, 1985, New York Times
  6. ↑ "Push is on to keep kids safe", The Milwaukee Journal, page 3D, January 25, 1988. Retrieved from Google News Jan 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Remarks by C. Everett Koop at press conference in honor of 'National Children's Accident Prevention Week,' Washington, DC", C. Everett Koop, June 10, 1986. Online at National Institutes of Health. Retrieved Jan 12, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 "Our Founders", Safe Kids USA official site. Retrieved Jan 12, 2012.
  9. 1 2 "History", Safe Kids USA official site. Retrieved Jan 12, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Child safety protection: hearing before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Competitiveness of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, first session, on H.R. 965, a bill to provide for toy safety and for other purposes, February 24, 1993, Volume 4" Retrieved from Google Books Jan 12, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Safety helmets touted for nation's bicyclists", Associated Press in The Spokesman-Review, May 15, 1989, page A3. Retrieved from Google News Jan 12, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Cyclists Urged to Use Their Heads and Wear a Helmet", Dear Abby, Ellensburg Daily Record, Oct 13, 1990, page 2. Retrieved from Google News Jan 12, 2012.
  13. ↑ "How To Prevent Burns", by Mary Jo Kochakian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 18, 1990, page 4D.
  14. ↑ "Making Playgrounds Safe", by Catherine O'Neill, The Washington Post, Sep 10, 1991, page z.22.
  15. ↑ "Safety seats have a proven track record" by Mary Jo Kochakian, Hartford Courant, Feb 11, 1992, Page D.1.
  16. ↑ "Heed not only play set but what's under it", New York Times news service, The Milwaukee Journal, Jul 3, 1993. Retrieved from Google News Jan 12, 2012.
  17. ↑ ""Kids!" by Diane Hales, Working Mother magazine, March 1994. Retrieved from Google Books Jan 12, 2012.
  18. ↑ Showplace of America: Cleveland's Euclid Avenue, 1850-1910, by Jan Cigliano, Foreword. Retrieved Jan 13, 2010 from Google Books.
  19. ↑ "Services: Literary Agent", Chrysalis Editorial Services. Retrieved Jan 13, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Services: Manuscript Critique/Assessment", Chrysalis Editorial Services. Retrieved Jan 13, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Mayor Recognizes DC Arts Grant Recipients", DC Arts press release, November 02, 2005. Retrieved Jan 12, 2012.
  22. ↑ "2010 American Independent Writing Prizes Announced", by Beryl Lieff Benderly, American Independent Writers, July 2, 2010. Retrieved Jan 12, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Best-sellers from The New York Times for the week ending June 25 and best-sellers from area bookstores", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 10, 2011.
  24. ↑ "USA BOOK NEWS ANNOUNCES WINNERS AND FINALISTS OF THE USA “BEST BOOKS 2011” AWARDS", USA Book News. Retrieved Jan 12, 2012.

External links

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