The Good Comma Editing Team

 

“Clarity and liberty are inextricably yoked. Where one stalls, the other falls, in Eden as in America. Our job is to help leaders of all kinds tell the truth, free and clear, by matching intended meanings to right words—and ending all distractions.”

Michael T. Hamilton

Company founder, CEO, and lead editor

Michael started editing professionally his junior year at Hillsdale College. He taught literature and US government for six years in Boston, Massachusetts, and in Dayton, Ohio. Founding GCE in 2013 launched him on an intellectually curious adventure that established him as a free-market public policy expert, journalist, executive editor, strategy confidant, and helper of Christian ministries that want to say the most important things clearly. Michael has published at the Wall Street Journal, National Review, WORLD, The Hill, Washington Times, RealClearPolitics.com, Townhall.com, RedState, and PJ Media, and in print newspapers across the country. He is humbled to lead Good Comma’s editorial team and network of writers (from journalists to surgeons to physicists). He serves as board secretary at the Forge Leadership Network and as board chair at the Hope Rising Pregnancy Center.

 

“When I can give voice to a cause I care about, I’m most happy.”

Greg M. Kurtz

Editor & Writing Coach

As a former high-school English and composition instructor, Greg has been offering writing instruction and editing assistance since George H. W. Bush lived in the White House. Greg started editing professionally and providing executive writing coaching for Good Comma clientele in 2019. A writer himself, Greg understands the importance of ensuring clarity of meaning and of connecting with the reader to achieve one’s writing goals. He has edited content for think tanks, workplace curricula, non-profit fundraising teams, and dozens of book authors. He is the creator of and instructor for a virtual writing-instruction curriculum for Good Comma Classroom called Iceberg Lectures.

 

Jessica Niemi

Resource Manager & Editor

Jessica struck gold with Good Comma Editing as an intern her senior year at Cedarville University. Good Comma struck gold by offering her a job moments after she turned her tassel. Her skills span the editorial spectrum, allowing her to design and structure manuscript layout to advance form and function; reconstruct a paragraph to clarify meaning; and proofread to eliminate the pesky grammatical and mechanical errors that embarrass writers. Her Cedarville B.A. in Professional Writing and Information Design, combined with minors in Bible, Women’s Ministry, and Psychology, positions her to serve clients from a deep well of education and growing life experience.

 

“Internal efficiencies can make or break a business. GCE concerns itself not only with the end product but also with the process that produced it. I constantly ask, Can our process be better? How can we serve the client more efficiently and steward all resources effectively?”

M. Jennifer Reno

Good Comma Editing CFO/CCO

Jennifer has invested most of her career in helping educational and business leaders flourish. As a former principal and administrative leader, she sympathizes with the nuanced demands of leadership, and she offers guidance and insight into clients’ editorial and project processes.

A master of systems efficiency, Jen ensures every client contract and invoice receives the greatest administrative care.

 

Carly Patrick

Project Manager

Carly joined the Good Comma Editing team to help expand the Sermon-Sourced Books program. She regularly communicates with churches and pastors, knowing that accuracy and professionalism can spark a lifetime partnership. She views each email as an opportunity for conveying information clearly while building relationships and establishing trust. 

As a Project Manager for the Good Comma Companies, Carly daily analyzes data, schedules meetings, and manages the flow of information to various team members. An avid reader, Carly enjoys learning new words from the team and reading the published work of various Good Comma clients. 

 

Thomas Hamilton (Col. USAF, retired)

Editor

Tom joins the Good Comma team following a distinguished career in the Air Force and the Department of Defense. Tom’s primary focus was in all phases of weapon and IT system acquisition, development, test, integration, and operations. He served 5 years as the Director of a Joint Program Office; 15 years as Program Director/Manager at Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Aeronautical Systems Division, HQ Air Force Systems Command, the Joint Staff, and HQ Air Force Materiel Command; and 9 years, after early promotion to Colonel, as Chief Information Officer (CIO)/Program Director/Program Manager for IT systems in Materiel Systems Group (MSG) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

Tom’s keen attention to detail and his extensive experience in precise communication is an asset to Good Comma’s signature editorial approach. Good Comma long ago adopted one of Tom’s favorite phrases as our own: “Never assume effective communication is happening.”

 

John E. Hart, Esq.

Strategic Partnerships

John brings years of experience in the legal community and in higher education to develop strategic partnerships between Good Comma Editing and our future clients. He served 37 years as general counsel at the University of Dayton and at Cedarville University.

John earned his JD from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1985. He was named a Kentucky Colonel in 2010 for exceptional service to higher education in the Bluegrass State. Today he serves with GCE founder Michael T. Hamilton on the board of the Forge Leadership Network. He has been married for 38 years to Sheri and has three artistic children.

 

Dave Mitchell

Editor

Dave’s passion for the written word began at five years old, as he pored over newspaper comic strips as a fascinated first-grader. Dave's love of literature fueled his pursuit of a B.A. in English from Oklahoma Baptist University, with an emphasis in Theatre. For more than twenty years, Dave has worked in cancer research and patient education as a content writer and copy editor, specializing in breaking down complicated ideas into lay language to help patients take ownership of their health care. He’s married to Heidi, and they have three young girls who love books almost as much as Dave does. He also has the privilege of teaching and preaching at his local church, where he serves as an elder. Whenever you find Dave at home, there is always a large coffee mug and a stack of “books in progress" nearby (usually a mix of theology and classic literature).

 

Susanna Wright

Editor

Before joining the Good Comma Editing team, Susanna Wright worked as an editor for Indiana Wesleyan University, her alma mater, and Anderson University (Indiana). She also worked as a freelance editor, helping clients polish dissertations, research articles, manuscripts, and more. Outside of Good Comma, Susanna currently serves as the lead PhD dissertation stylist for Columbia International University in South Carolina, helping students refine their doctoral dissertation for style in preparation for publishing.

 

Krista Weiss

Editor

Inspired by her grandmother’s medical transcription work in the days of carbon copies and word processors, Krista began her medical transcription career in 1998. It fulfilled her much-needed daily dose of challenging and intelligent words while homeschooling three young children.

Krista recently took a break from transcription, using her degree in psychology from Liberty University to work for a psychiatric residential treatment facility. She is finding the return to transcription refreshing and enjoys the uplifting nature of transcribing and editing for GCE’s Sermon-Sourced Books initiative. We often leverage her versatile mind and pen in our signature “team-sourced and -reinforced” editorial process.


Good Comma Editing’s Network

We have cultivated a wide network of talented writers and editors. Some are regular contributors to our projects; others are subject matter experts we call on in esoteric contexts to help us deliver crystal-clear, effective content. Backgrounds: U.S. Senate, libertarian think tank editorial staff, financial analysis, nuclear physics, neurosurgery, urology, university education, homeschool education, American history and politics, European history and politics, Chinese missions, graphic design, copy desk, et. al.