Marylee Sauder – Strategic Writing and Communications

I’m Marylee, an accomplished writer, editor and strategic communicator with decades of experience.

My passion lies in partnering with clients to get straight to the heart of your story with strategic messaging and clean, crisp writing that achieves results.

Want to get to know me? Learn more here.

I bring a strong newspaper background to everything I do, having worked in newspapers as a reporter and later an editor for a total of nine years.

I have worked as a contractor since 2013 with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), one of the country’s largest public power companies. I have been entrusted with high-profile assignments such as providing communications support for the agency’s Integrated Resource Plan. I also have helped plan and write agency annual reports and sustainability reports, internal and external articles, and more.

As a corporate contractor, I have provided full communications support for clients ranging from one of the country’s largest aerospace and aeronautics corporations, to chemical producers, to a large American railroad. I have written sustainability reports and white papers, internal and external articles, speeches and a wide array of environmental communications.

I also have worked extensively with hospitals and healthcare systems, providing communications services such as speeches for executives, key messaging and materials about health system mergers and expansions, and the full gamut of internal and external communications.

Your organization’s communications
don’t have to be boring.

My goal is to provide communications that move the needle with your target audience. I will tell your story in creative, effective ways. I’ll develop messaging, articles, materials that achieve results – from helping strengthen your brand to educating people about the important work you do.

I thrive in a fast-paced environment, and I’m ready to jump into any communications situation you have.

Let’s Get Started

Who I Am

Strategic thinker whose communications ideas and implementation have achieved results for organizations large and small
Perceptive communicator who listens carefully and crafts strong, effective messaging that moves the needle with target audiences
Experienced writer and editor who has built a reputation for delivering well-written products on-time and on-budget
Valued team member whose project management skills include developing communications plans, keeping projects on schedule, and collecting and coordinating input to ensure all team members are on the same page
Personable professional whose rapport with all stakeholders moves projects along smoothly

Strategic Planning & Messaging

I’ll collaborate with you and your team to evaluate communications needs, then will deliver nuanced communications plans and messaging to reach the appropriate audiences and achieve your desired outcomes.

Example: For annual reports and sustainability reports, I have worked with managers and editors to shape messaging based on the organization’s goals; built initial content outlines; and collaborated with internal and external communications teams to ensure messaging is aligned across all platforms.

Writing

I love to tell stories. Even technical topics deserve that same love and attention. I will write compelling articles and materials, work with your staff on edits and revisions, work with your creative team to ensure they have what they need for design, and work with your legal team and stats team to ensure the alignment of facts and figures.

Example: When writing a federal agency’s annual report, the work entailed hours of interviews with subject matter experts and people outside the organization who were positively impacted by my client’s work. I wrote almost two dozen stories, handled the review process for those stories, collaborated with the creative design team during layout, and worked closely with statistics specialists to ensure accuracy of all numbers used.

Community Relations

I have extensive community relations experience and will work with you and your team to develop outreach strategies. I will provide writing, public relations materials and special events support that help your organization strengthen partnerships in your community.

Example: I worked on large Space Day events for a leading aerospace company, including writing a speech given by astronaut John Glenn; writing public relations materials and educational collaterals used at the events; and providing in-person support at the events.

Editing

I am a meticulous editor who will help improve your organization’s stories, reports and other materials through nuanced content editing as well as copy editing.

Example: In editing the 2025 draft of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Integrated Resource Plan, I collaborated with the technical writer to help simplify language and shape messaging.

Areas of Focus

Corporate

As a corporate contractor, I have provided full communications support for clients ranging from one of the country’s largest aerospace and aeronautics corporations, to chemical producers, to a large American railroad. I have extensive experience working with scientists and engineers to translate complex technical information into interesting, easy-to-understand articles, websites, reports and other materials. I am comfortable representing corporate teams in interviews and meetings with executives, staff, customers, government officials and community members.

Aeronautics and aerospace expertise
As a long-time contractor for Lockheed Martin, I supported communications at the corporate, business unit and company levels. My work included:

Internal and external communications
Articles for customer and industry publications
Executive columns
White papers
Sustainability reports
Space Day program outreach materials

Environmental communications
One particular area of focus was environmental communications, where I worked closely with the corporation’s Environmental, Safety & Health (ESH) communications staff on a wide range of materials that helped employees, government officials, stakeholders and the public understand the corporation’s environmental work. My assignments included:

ESH annual reports, performance reports and state of the business reports
ESH webpages
Executive newsletter columns
Communications for the corporation’s Target Zero initiative
Community newsletters for environmental remediation projects
Educational materials

Energy

I have worked as a communications contractor with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), one of the country’s largest public power companies, since 2013. I have supported large strategic projects, including integrated resource plans, federal advisory council reporting, annual reports, sustainability reports and much more. I also write regularly for TVA’s internal newsletters and its external website.

Integrated Resource Plan communications
I provided comprehensive communications support for TVA’s 2019 and 2025/2026 Integrated Resource Plans, both intensive multi-year planning projects to determine how TVA will meet future power demand for the 10 million people in its seven-state service area. My work has helped the agency communicate technical information in easy-to-understand ways for government officials, stakeholders and the general public. That work has included:

Strategic planning and message development
Writing key deliverables, including the IRP Overview handout, FAQs and fact sheets
Working closely with creative teams on design for the IRP website and collateral materials
Supporting monthly IRP Working Group stakeholder meetings, then creating internal meeting minutes and concise public summaries for the IRP website
Writing materials for and providing in-person support at public meetings
Editing the 2025 draft IRP and Environmental Impact Statement in ways that helped shape messaging and ensure consistency

Communications work on TVA reports
As an active writing contractor with TVA, my assignments have included writing the agency’s first Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) report and providing extensive content editing for its first carbon report. I also have participated in nearly every aspect of developing a handful of TVA annual reports and sustainability reports. That work included:

Strategic planning and developing the initial content outline
Creating and helping maintain the editorial schedule
Conducting dozens of interviews, both internal and external
Writing engaging copy that highlighted projects and people important in telling TVA’s story
Handling the copy review process
Collaborating with graphic designers on the printed report and website designs
Coordinating with TVA statistics specialists to ensure the accuracy of all numbers used

Communications work for TVA’s Federal Advisory Councils 
I have supported TVA’s two federal advisory councils, including producing comprehensive meeting minutes posted on TVA’s website.

Healthcare

A seasoned healthcare writer, I have worked closely with health systems’ internal and external communications departments on a full array of communications. I am comfortable in any situation – from interviewing patients, to working with physicians on stories about new research breakthroughs, to writing messaging and key speeches for leadership.

Communications for a growing health system
I provided six years of communications support for a fast-growing health system in the Philadelphia area. During that time, I was entrusted with writing:

Monthly employee messages from the president and CEO
Key messaging and materials about the health system’s purchase of five local hospitals
Materials for the flagship hospital’s 150th anniversary
Newsletters, brochures and press releases
Nominations that led to numerous awards for the health system and its physicians and employees
Articles the health system sent to local, statewide and industry publications

Other healthcare writing and project management support
I have provided strategic communications, project management and writing support for other hospitals and healthcare systems as well. In addition to the work mentioned above, that work has included writing:

Development communications
Annual reports
Educational kiosks
Hospital histories
Performance excellence applications, including Baldrige and the Foster G. McGaw Prize

Portfolio

Take Their Word For It

Still need to hear more? Read their full testimonials here.

It has been a true pleasure working with Marylee Sauder on high-stakes, high-profile projects. She has an exceptional ability to listen closely, cut to the core of an issue and deliver clear, compelling results. Marylee is both a phenomenal and versatile writer and a meticulous editor, consistently producing work of the highest quality. I always knew I could count on her to get the job done—and done exceptionally well. Beyond her craft, she brings strong business acumen, building lasting professional relationships with clients and leaders across a wide range of industries. I highly recommend Marylee for any project requiring expertise, reliability and excellence.

I have had the pleasure of working with Marylee for over 20 years, and throughout that time she has consistently impressed me with her exceptional writing and storytelling skills. Her ability to craft compelling narratives—grounded in thorough research and insightful interviews—is second to none. We’ve collaborated on a wide range of projects, from major corporate events like Space Day for Lockheed Martin to smaller internal communications and newsletters. Marylee is a trusted business partner whose dependability, professionalism, and commitment to excellence go above and beyond on every project.

Marylee brings versatility, strong writing skills, project management expertise, and excellent communication skills to support her clients in developing and implementing strategic programs. Marylee and I have worked together for more than 20 years, during which she has supported numerous programs. She was instrumental in the success of the award-winning, student-oriented annual program, Space Day. Marylee’s expertise lies in her ability to understand the audience in various situations, from helping community residents better comprehend environmental impacts and cleanup decisions to spearheading the development of sustainability reports and resource planning for a public agency.

Marylee is a writer who can create stimulating features about dreary topics. She does this by diving into the subject with her open and creative mind to find the hook that will resonate with the audience. She combines research with interviews to transform lifeless facts into lively dialog. She has a gift for language and paints a picture that captures attention. Corporate communications can challenge writers to balance the desires of management with the needs and interests of employees and external audiences. She writes with elegance and precision to express ideas. I recommend Marylee for any writing assignment that requires verbal magic.

I have had the pleasure of working with Marylee Sauder for many years and her content writing services are exceptional. My team is responsible for leading numerous stakeholder meetings throughout the year, and having Marylee on our team is a key component. She consistently delivers high-quality, well-organized, and precise content that we are able to use to clearly communicate our activities and outcomes. Her turnaround times are impressive, her communication is smooth, and she is always open to feedback and revisions—though we rarely need them. I highly recommend Marylee to any business looking to elevate their communications and content!!

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