Jackie taught English with Montgomery County Public Schools for 9 years, and then dove into freelance writing in 2001. She wrote extensively for publications including The Washington Post, Woman's Day, Costco Connection, and other major outlets. Her writing career came to a screeching halt in 2012 when Crohn's Disease, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (P.O.T.S.), and Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos hEDS, got the best of her and she became fully disabled. Osteoporosis eventually got a grip as well. A colon perforation and septic shock almost took her life on May 22, 2021, and she was flown to Baltimore for emergency surgery that saved her life. She’s made dramatic improvements during her lengthy and ongoing recovery. She continues to grapple with disabilities but is feeling better than she has in years. She contacted a few former editors, and they welcomed her pitches. Her first national comeback article appeared in Costco Connection and more soon followed in The Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, and AARP. She is making the most of her second chance at life and getting back into serious journalism. What she had thought was her ending, was really another beginning.

Summit 2024 Session: Opening Remarks & The 2024 Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award Winners 

Session Day/Time: Wednesday, September 25, 2024, 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM EST

Access Session

Summit 2024 Session: Day 2 Opening Remarks: "By the Book": How a Journalist Survived Sepsis and Became an Advocate (CE Session)

Session Day/Time: Thursday, September 26, 2024, 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM EST

Access Session