Laura Longley

Trust your writing and reputation to an established professional known for her experience and expertise in content development, editing, proofreading, and project management.

Laura Longley is a Midwesterner who grew up in a family of journalists. Her great-uncle edited and managed the Chicago Livestock World, a daily newspaper published at the Union Stock Yards, where he rode horseback through the pens to gather the livestock news. In the early 1900s, the daily became a biweekly news magazine, The Shorthorn World, which reported on the breed and cattle business in the U.S., Scotland, Canada, and Australia. Her grandfather and father each served as editor and publisher.

Laura began her career at the University of Missouri School of Journalism where she received the award for outstanding writer. But it was at The Washington Post that her editorial skills were first put to the test. At The Post, she helped launch the Washington Post Writers Group of columnists, published the Writers Group’s books, and eventually edited The Washington Post Magazine.

After seven years at The Post, Laura moved to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she headed communications for 10 years. There she directed public relations for the Center’s programming, created its in-house advertising agency, and launched Kennedy Center News magazine. She also developed design standards and an enduring logo, shaped the institution’s messages, and wrote for three chairmen.

In 1993, she established Laura Longley Communications, LLC, and began to work with a wide range of clients on an equally wide range of projects. You’ll find examples of Laura’s work in the portfolio here.

Select Clients, 1994 – present: Arts Education Partnership (national report), Blue Ridge Leader (contributor), Civil War Times (executive director), Cochran’s Stone Masonry (website), College Town Retirement (website writer) Friends of the Thomas Balch Library (newsletter, website), Fund for Arts and Culture in Central and Eastern Europe (report), Huntington Resiliency Training (website), Issue Management Council, Lincoln Community League, National Association for Music Education, National Business Education Association, National Public Radio, President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, Purcellville Business Association, Russell Versaci Architecture, Sidwell Friends School, Smith & Pugh, PLC, The Lincoln Studios, The Waterford Foundation, The World Bank, TPG Direct (Coventry Direct Life Settlements), Virginia Piedmont Heritage Association, Westmoreland Research, WETA-TV, and more.

Special Interests: Arts, Conservation, Design, Education, Genealogy, Health, Historic Preservation, Journalism, Literacy