THE NATIONAL COALITION OF INDEPENDENT SCHOLARS

 
Elizabeth Coons is an independent scholar who seeks to turn an interdisciplinary eye on under-documented stories.  A baccalaureate major in history and literature prompted her to ask why certain works of literature and art were possible only in their timeframe of composition. She now asks  the cognate question of what new outlooks and inquiries those works made possible.
Since her first graduate training in English literature and language (Yale Graduate School), Elizabeth has  earned an M.A. in Technical and Professional Writing and has written guides to diverse database-powered software programs. With additional and continuing  education, she qualified and works as a medical writer and editor in the life sciences.
While wearing a technical hat by day, Elizabeth has a vocal and literary nightlife.  Throughout her professional life, she has been a member and later an officer of the National Coalition of Independent Scholars and its local predecessor, the Alliance of Independent Scholars in Cambridge, Massachusetts.   That fellowship is so diverse in training and experience, and so resilient, that Elizabeth is never without “stretch goals” and good influences. She has written a historical biography of a women's rights activist (Caroline Severance)  that was published in 2020. To realize a long-standing ambition to be a poet-critic, she also wrote a book of poems and commentary.
Affiliations beyond NCIS include the American Medical Writers Association, a poetry study group, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences.