Erin
Leibowitz
Health writer & patient advocate
based in Denver, Colorado.
I bring both professional craft and lived experience to stories about health, community, and resilience — writing that moves people and moves the needle.
Currently available for freelance assignments.
Writer with a story
to tell.
I'm a health writer, narrative storyteller, and nonprofit consultant based in Denver, Colorado. My work lives at the intersection of personal experience and public health — illuminating the stories that medical systems, policy documents, and press releases too often leave out.
As a survivor of metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer — diagnosed at 29 in 2015, now 40 — I bring a perspective to health writing that's rare: I know what it means to be the patient in the story. That lived experience shapes everything I write — from investigative community journalism to first-person advocacy essays to nonprofit communications.
I hold a master's degree in Jewish Education and Communal Service (nonprofit management) and have spent years in mission-driven storytelling, helping organizations find their voice and their audience.
since
2015
pNET survivor
10+
published pieces
Denver
Colorado
Stories worth reading.
Health & Patient Advocacy
4 piecesLetting in the Light of Religion
A personal narrative exploring spirituality and meaning-making in the midst of a cancer diagnosis.
ReadNotes on Mindfulness
Examining mindfulness meditation as a coping tool for cancer patients navigating treatment and uncertainty.
ReadThe Best App for Remembering What Your Doctor Said
A practical guide to navigating the challenge of retaining complex medical information after appointments.
ReadCommunity Health Leader
Contributing writer and community health leader covering rare disease, patient advocacy, and the young adult cancer experience.
View ProfileCommunity Storytelling
6 piecesNative Hawaiians at Risk After Maui Fire
Reporting on the cultural and community threats facing Native Hawaiians in the aftermath of the devastating Maui wildfires.
ReadWhat is Food Sovereignty?
An exploration of food sovereignty movements and their significance for Indigenous communities.
ReadOyate Sewing Pod Creates Meaningful Impact
Telling the story of a community sewing initiative in Eagle Butte and the lives it's transforming.
ReadNurse Practitioner Bailey Keckler Comes Around 'Full Circle'
A profile of a healthcare provider whose journey led her back to the community she grew up in.
ReadLittle by Little: Becoming Sister Cities
Documenting a growing cross-cultural partnership and what it means for two communities finding common ground.
ReadVeterans Food Pantry Allows Veterans to Give Back
A story of service, community, and how veterans are creating their own networks of mutual aid.
ReadWriting as
advocacy.
In 2015, at 29, I was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. That experience didn't just change my life — it changed what I write about, and why. I've become an outspoken voice in the NET cancer, young adult cancer (#AYACancer), and gender equity in medicine communities, because the stories that don't get told are the ones that matter most.
My advocacy writing has been recognized by the Cactus Cancer Society, and I serve as a Community Health Leader at RareDisease.net. I've also spoken on the power of patient community — including a podcast appearance on Spilling Tea with the G's.
The stories that don't get told are the ones that matter most.
Erin Leibowitz
Let's work
together.
I'm available for freelance health journalism, narrative storytelling, nonprofit writing and communications, and patient advocacy content. I write on assignment and accept pitches — rates on request.
Download writing samples (PDF)