Liza Horan

I cover the mind-body-spirit movement, which comprises complementary and alternative medicine, natural health therapies, spiritual disciplines, and personal growth. The industry is fragmented yet growing. My primary outlet is MindstreamConnect.com, of which I am the editor-in-chief, founder and host of The Mindstream Podcast. I also write occasionally for journals. I am an American living in Edinburgh, and I chair the Frontier Journalists' Network (https://frontiernet.org).

Before founding Mindstream, I was a journalist and editor covering general news, features, and tennis (pro and recreational sides, plus B2B).

Background
After earning my undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology from Mount Saint Mary's University (Maryland), I covered daily news and features for The Middletown (Conn.) Press, and worked as a stringer for Reuters covering New Haven. My assignments for Reuters included covering child mortality and appearances by the Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton (then Presidential candidate), and Imelda Marcos, among others.

Then I joined The New York Times Co. Magazine Group in Trumbull, Conn., for 15 years. Editorial positions on tennis trade magazines led to my being the founding editor and producer to take Tennis Magazine online in 1994 -- first on the MSN (Microsoft Network, remember that?!) and then Tennis.com. This bleeding-edge job required 24/7 dedication, learning HTML by hand, and navigating the new, untested business model that was cyberspace. I was honored with an award for 'pioneering' the digital media space for the sport by the American Writing Awards, administered by Tennis Week magazine (a competitor to Tennis Magazine). I led Tennis.com quickly to become the No. 1 website globally for the sport and made it a profitable business quickly.

While there, I also served on the board of the U.S. Tennis Writers' Association, including nine years as President. I lobbied for the rights of journalists, ran the annual USTWA Writing Contest, and became the first credentialed online journalist at Wimbledon and other championships. I was also a founding member of the International Tennis Writers' Association.

Throughout that experience, I freelanced for other publications and founded TennisWire.org, a resource for journalists to cover the sport and a media relations platforms for industry bodies, tournaments and manufacturers. The development of this platform was underwritten by a grant from the Tennis Industry Association (US), and was immediately profitable.

In 2000, I started working as an independent consultant, offering digital strategy and strategic communications within and beyond the tennis industry. I earned my master's degree in strategic communications from Columbia University (NY) and then joined ESPN, leading digital strategy and operations for the new high school sports division. (It has now been usurped into the college division.) While in the role -- where I directly managed 25 editors and producers -- I created a content-centric editorial operation, which preceded ESPN.com doing the same. It enabled the website, digital and events staff to coordinate coverage smartly, more efficiently, cheaper and with greater impact than working in silos. I inherited a massive website redesign project and immediately negotiated $25k in savings and led the growth of sponsorship and advertising income, website visitors and page views. Website traffic tripled in three months.

Since that time (2012), I've continued consulting and developed a course that coaches everyone from CEOs to self-employed wellness professionals on how to achieve their goals through authentic strategic communications and tactics online and offline.

In 2017 I founded MindstreamConnect.com, covering the mind-body-spirit movement for greater health and happiness. It merges my lifelong interest in holistic/integrated health and my professional experience. The site is the primary outlet for my writing and podcast, but I'm interested in freelancing for other publications on this intriguing yet challenged industry from a B2B and consumer perspective. I'm also happy to write opinion pieces on the perceptions and needs of society and healthcare institutions in regard to these health modalities.