About me!
I’m Anisa Bear, a plain language coach, editor, and writer. I help nutrition professionals connect with their audience, creating more clients and more impact.
I’m adventurous and outdoorsy, so if we hang out, you’ll hear about what you see here: hiking, camping, beaches, exploration, and oh yeah, my young and frisky malamutes, Oakum and Revy.
I love exploring nature, and I can help you navigate the jargon and science your audience finds overwhelming and turn it into content they easily understand.
Want to learn how I went from dedicated elephant trainer to seasoned communicator? Buckle up!
The location: The Smithsonian’s National Zoo
The job: Smithsonian Intern
The discovery: Volunteer hours in the Elephant Barn
I’d just traveled across the U.S. with my mom and my eight-month-old Siberian husky and moved in with a nice couple near Rock Creek Park for a summer in Washington, D.C. I was in between the first and second years of my master’s in agriculture management. Yes, that’s correct – I was molding the experience to what I wanted – getting an agricultural MBA and tweaking it to a zoo career. I thought I’d start as a zookeeper and work my way up to curator. That’s a manager in the zoo biz.
I started by interviewing the elephant manager for an article in the zoo’s membership newsletter. I loved getting behind the scenes in the elephant barn and during the interview, I learned that I could volunteer on the weekends. While I had an amazing experience writing, managing the media, and planning visits for political visitors that summer, I knew I’d found what I wanted to be when I grew up. An elephant trainer.
The location: Wildlife Safari
The job: Elephant trainer
The discovery: Maybe that communications training at the National Zoo wasn’t so far away from what I was always meant to do?
I finished my master’s degree and landed an elephant trainer job. I. Was. Thrilled!!!
But guess what – while learning to work with the elephants, I ended up talking to guests. A lot. Announcing shows, selling elephant ride tickets, answering questions, you name it, I was spending a lot of my time talking about elephants. Then my manager said, “Hey, let’s be regular contributors to the Elephant Manager Association’s journal. Anisa – can you write the articles and updates?” Of course I can!
While I was connecting with our guests, I was also learning how to communicate with Tiki -she’s the one in the pic with the big ears! Turns out simple, clear, concise directions are the best way to talk to elephants. If you jabber at them, you start to sound like the adults in Charlie Brown cartoons.
The locations: An airport, Wildlife Safari (again), A pump station manufacturer, Roller derby leagues, AgeStrong Fitness, and Salem Center 50+
The jobs: USDA Detector Dog Officer, Spokesperson, Business Manager, Fitness Trainer
The discovery: No matter what I do, communication is somehow involved!
Luggage inspector for the U.S. Department of Agriculture?
Educating travelers about what they could bring into the country
Spokesperson for a wildlife park?
Writing, talking, talking, writing, tv, radio, tourism conferences, tours, overnight group stays… did I mention talking?
Business manager for a pump station manufacturer?
Steep learning curve to start, then teaching customers what we did, how we did it, and the process for working with us
Personal trainer, group fitness coach, and roller derby coach?
Explaining and demonstrating exercises to clients, helping motivate them on their fitness journeys (I loved working with seniors on mobility!), and teaching women how to hit like a locomotive on the roller derby track
After breaking both legs, one in February 2013 and the other 11 months later, I figured it was time to take my organizational and communications skills back to the government. After you break your legs, great health insurance becomes a priority!
The location: Oregon State Hospital
The jobs: Psychiatry project coordinator and internal communications writer and editor, with some tour guiding thrown in
The discovery: Government agencies sure like big words, jargon, acronyms, and being generally hard to understand!
This is when I took all my communication lessons and married them to plain language to create simple, effective communication. I loved creating messages that everyone from the janitor to the psychiatrist could understand. I even got to demystify Medicaid for patients! Oh yeah – I also got back to my tour roots, showing the hospital to students, nurses, doctors, and community members.
The location: St Louis!
The job: Communication project manager
The discovery: I loved working with dietitians and sharing the deets on agriculture and where our food comes from!
While I lamented moving to the hot, muggy, and buggy Midwest, I loved working with a group of dietitians who were busy teaching their fellow dietitians and audience about modern agriculture. I jumped right in, planning events, creating materials, and writing newsletters and other content. I also had my first global experiences, working with colleagues from Germany, Brazil, and Italy. I planned events at Davos, the World Economic Forum’s annual event as well as United Nations Food System Dialogues and participated in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
The location: Oregon!
The job: Content writer and editor
The discovery: Plain language is my jam!
Muggy, buggy St. Louis was too much for this Pacific Nortwest gal! I missed the mountains and the coast.
Every day, I translate rules and law into content everyday Oregonians can understand the first time they read it.
I know you care deeply about health literacy.
Complete transparency here, and maybe a little TMI. I’ve lived with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) since I was a teenager. There’s so much more information available now then there was when I started researching it.
Heck, I’m dating myself here, but the Internet wasn’t even a thing then. I did my own version of elimination diets, which I know now weren’t quite right. It meant I had to become an expert in deciphering food labels, tracking symptoms, and experimenting with advice that sometimes worked and sometimes…
didn’t.
More than a decade into my struggle I finally got to see a dietitian. While she was a nice person, it turned out her specialty was working with cancer patients. She didn’t know anything about FODMAPS.
Sigh.
I only saw her once. Over the years I’ve been on the receiving end of nutrition guidance that ranged from incredibly helpful to completely confusing. Through it all, I learned that clear, practical advice is worth its weight in gold (or at least in easily digestible meals).
My personal experience means I get the challenge of translating complex nutritional science into something people can understand and use. I know firsthand that clients don’t want a deep dive into gut microbiota research when they’re just trying to figure out if they can survive that spicy burrito and refried beans for lunch without regretting it. They need plain, straightforward advice they can trust—and that’s exactly what I help you deliver.
After years of decoding my own health journey, I’m here to help you cut through the jargon and connect with your clients in a way that truly resonates. Because if I can make sense of my own complicated gut most days, I can help you simplify your message.
