Bio

 My name is Mary Huey Leleiwi. I grew up in a small town in eastern Colorado, where my family had a cattle ranch for three generations. Education was important to my family; I am the youngest of four siblings, three of us were teachers. Our mother’s command of the English language and grammar encouraged my love of words. My passion for proofreading and copy editing emerged as I completed courses in theory & practice of proofreading and copyediting. Friends and family began asking me to review their writing, which inspired me to start Mary Huey Proofreading.

I met my husband while conducting research on a cattle ranch for my Master’s thesis in Hawai’i. After graduation, we worked and lived in California, Colorado, and Hawai’i over the next twenty-five years. We raised our son and farmed Kona coffee for ten years in Hawai’i near my husband’s family. I earned my secondary teaching certificate at the University of Hawai’i and taught high school English. I also wrote ad copy, website content, and product descriptions for nutraceuticals and sea salt evaporated from deep seawater off the Kona coast. I have written grants that funded numerous nonprofit programs in Hawai’i and Colorado.

Colorado is our home again, where I have learned that experience is my most valuable asset. I am aware that my diverse interests, education, and background are of benefit to my clients. I am adept at proofreading content that I, too, have lived. Here are a few of my more familiar and diverse work experiences, beginning with the most recent:

• Nonprofit services—public safety/victim advocacy: child sexual assault, domestic violence (Colorado)
• Nonprofit new program creation—on-farm, agricultural tourism (Hawai’i); community gardens, farmers’ markets, (California)
• Business—My husband and I were Jiffy Lube franchisees, we started and worked a landscape business, and we farmed Kona coffee. My two sisters, brother, and I worked together to keep our family cattle ranching operation for nineteen years after our parents died. We remain close friends. (Colorado, Hawai’i)
• Education—I have a B.A. degree in Environmental Studies, an M.S. degree in Range Science, and secondary education teaching credentials from University of Hawai’i. I have taught English and environmental studies in high school and community colleges. (Colorado, Hawai’i)

As an avid reader of news, articles, short stories, and literature, I appreciate working with a diversity of writers and content.

Let’s Start a Conversation