Blogger Bio

About Joan Gale Frank

You know that thing you love to do so much, you can’t help yourself from doing it? Well for me, it’s exploring my surroundings and writing about them. 

When I arrived in Portland in 2008, after living in the scorching Arizona desert, I was blown away by the spongy moss that hugs the sidewalks — the sheer inventiveness of the people — and the never-ending, always-growing list of places to go, things to eat and trails to hike and bike.

Portland, Oregon is also the perfect sized city, providing fast access to everything the heart desires, except perhaps the Amalfi Coast of Italy.

Background: I’m an escaped Silicon Valley marketing writer, consultant and video producer who went rogue and started my own Internet marketing and promotional writing company, based out of Portland. I love learning something new everyday and getting to know people who are passionate about creating — whether they’re inventing a super-computer, a treehouse hotel or the perfect donut.

My clients have included Fortune 500 companies, such as Apple Inc., Hewlett Packard, and Johnson & Johnson, as well as local businesses, authors and artists.

I’m also the author of the book Home Seller’s Blues and How To Beat Them , the Home Selling Blues Blog, and the motivational ebook and Amazon audio, Instant Guts!  — which is about how to make yourself take intelligent risks in business and creativity. Dr. Wayne Dyer calls Instant Guts!“Great for helping you overcome inertia and get your life on purpose.” It was also nominated as Best New Self-Growth Audio of the Year by Audiophile, alongside Bill Moyers’ Healing and the Mind and Marianne Williamsons’ A Return to Love.

In my free time I’m an accidental adventurist: I’ve been stuck in a landslide in the Himalayas, got caught in a flash flood in the Amazon, been chased by baboons in Zimbabwe, roared at by lions outside my dome tent in Botswana, and stroked by an amorous ghost in a haunted hotel. I’ve also been pooped on by bats, attacked by a parrot (who got caught in my hair), stung by tropical hornets and stepped on by a fat llama in a parking lot circus.

My serious education: I hold a Master’s Degree in Public Health from U.C.L.A (where I learned to wash my hands before cooking for others) and a Master’s Degree from San Francisco State University, specializing in Educational Technology (where I learned to use technology to educate people to wash their hands before cooking for others.)

Send me your suggestions: I love finding out about great places in and around Portland to write about. Email me your suggestions at jgf@thingstodoinportlandor.com (which spells out “Things To Do in Portland OR” but without the spaces between words.)

Thanks for reading! 

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