DAVID WILLIAMS--STORYTELLER
Storyteller, ChatGPT Prompt engineer/AI writer, UX writer, Songwriter, Animator, Cartoonist, Copywriter,
Science writer, Instructional designer
RESUME
David Williams
Email: danjo53@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realdavidwilliams/
Portfolio: https://danjo53.wixsite.com/davidwilliamswriting/
AI Prompt Engineer | Science Writer | Creative Writer UX | Author | Professor
PROFILE
Accomplished AI Prompt Engineer with specialized training from Vanderbilt University. Experienced in utilizing prompt engineering techniques to generate engaging and effective content. Strong background in neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and narrative creation as showcased in my book, The Trickster Brain: Neuroscience, Evolution, and Narrative. Successful career as a writer, researcher, and teacher in creative writing, science writing, and environmental writing. Skilled in content creation, copywriting, UX writing, and strategic planning. A versatile professional with a PhD in Creative Writing, delivering exceptional results through storytelling, creativity, and expertise in multiple domains.
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing, University of Illinois at Chicago M.A. in English, Northern Illinois University B.A. Anthropology, Minor in English, Northern Illinois University
EXPERTISE & SKILLS
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AI Prompt Engineering
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Learning Experience Designer (curriculum design)
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Online Education
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Technical Writing
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UX Copywriting
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Science Writing
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Creative Writing
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Storytelling
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Authorship
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Evolutionary Psychology
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Website Design (Wix, WordPress)
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SEO Certification (Boulder Digital Design)
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Visual Arts/Animation
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Strategic Development
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Graphic Recording/Whiteboard Artistry
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Screenwriting
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Video Creation & Animation
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University Teaching (Environmental, Science Writing, Creative Writing)
CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS
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Emmy Award-winning writer for PBS, with over 100 million YouTube video hits.
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Published author of "The Trickster Brain: Neuroscience, Evolution, and Narrative" (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group) and fiction books with Random House, Gale Press, and more.
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Former Professor of Writing, specializing in creative writing, science writing, and environmental writing. Face-to-face and Online.
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Paintings curated and displayed by the Smithsonian.
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Internationally published cartoonist and graphic artist.
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Award winning composer
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Founder of Trapdoor Media.
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Juvenile books published with Alfred A. Knopf.
WORK EXPERIENCE
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AI PROMPT ENGINEER--Trained in AI Prompt Engineering from Vanderbilt University.
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RESEARCHER & WRITER--Conducted extensive research in neuroscience, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, anthropology, and world literature, leading to the publication of The Trickster Brain: Neuroscience, Evolution, and Narrative.
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SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER—PROFESSOR OF WRITING--specializing in storytelling, neuroscience and evolutionary psychology.
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CURRICULUM CREATION
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CARTOONIST & WRITER for EDUCAUSE (International IT Think-Tank for Higher Ed)--providing cartoons and written materials on IT-related topics for web and print media.
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GRAPHIC RECORDER & WHITEBOARD ARTIST--facilitating whiteboarding recording sessions for companies such as ATT and McKesson.
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EMMY AWARD WINNING SONGWRITER for PBS KIDS--with songs reaching over 100 million views on YouTube.
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STORYTELLER, AUTHOR, PERFORMER--appearing at libraries, public institutions, and NPR radio stations.
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GIF CREATOR--animations for various clients.
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SCREENWRITER--with representation from RAMO Law LA.
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DEVELOPED TOURING COMPANY--Trickster Carousel, featuring original literary songs for a show depicting the lives of women.
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STORYBOARD development--animation, and video creation.
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GREETING CARD WRITER & ARTIST—exhibited at The American National Card Institute Trade Show, securing creative contracts with companies such as Soultrader of London and Carlton Cards.
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FOUNDER OF TRAPDOOR MEDIA, a multi-media creative business, working with companies such as ATT, McKesson, Celestial Seasonings, PBS, Random House, Carlton Cards, and more. Multiple genres of writing.
As a writer, "Williams works magic." Newsweek Magazine
David Williams holds a PhD in English/Creative Writing and a BA in Anthropology, but he is also a published researcher and science writer in the field of Neurohumanities (The Trickster Brain), combining data from Neuroscience, Evolutionary Psychology, and Cognitive Narrative theory to understand how and why we humans create stories and other forms of art. He is a former professor of Environmental and Science Writing and Literature at CU, and a Creative Writer in residence at numerous institutions. Constantly fascinated about the human condition, David writes about our triumphs and follies in a variety of genres.
The Trickster Brain: Neuroscience, Evolution, and Nature by David Williams looks at literature from an evolutionary, biological, and neurological perspective. He uses the Trickster character as he/she appears across cultures to demonstrate how stories reveal universal aspects of the biological mind. Williams brings together science and the humanities, demonstrating a critical way of approaching literature that incorporates scientific thought.
Review
David Williams tricks the reader into following in his fleet footsteps into the land of neuroscience, evolution, music, and other seemingly non-literary areas in order to flesh out something important about our evolutionary brains, namely our propensity for weaving stories. (Peter Swirski, author of "Of Literature and Knowledge: Explorations in Narrative Thought Experiments, Evolution, and Game Theory")
In The Trickster Brain, David Williams brings together the seemingly incompatible worlds of neuroscience, anthropology and literature with wit and scholarly flair. Williams does not shy away from the more contradictory elements of human nature in this ambitious book, and he leaves the reader with the knowledge that our own brains are tricking us into a better understanding of our most elemental natures. (Kayt Sukel, author of "Dirty Minds: How Our Brains Influence Love, Sex, and Relationships")
Taken as a whole, The Trickster Brain can be admired for its lofty goal, which is to connect a kind of cross-culturally realized narrative element to the biological design and function of the human brain. Folklorists may also admire Williams’ willingness to work across disciplinary lines. (Journal of Folklore Research)
ANIMATED SCIENCE DOCUMENTARY
BRAIN
Letters of Reference
AI PROMPT ENGINEER, CHATGPT, AI WRITER
The world is in the midst of enormous change with the introduction of AI, and with his passion for creative writing and science, his expertise in storytelling, anthropology and neuroscience, David became immediately fascinated with what AI can and will be able to do. He began using ChatGPT to investigate questions in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, which ties into his book The Trickster Brain. And in 2023 he earned certificates in AI, Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT and more—from Vanderbilt University, Duke University, and Linkedin.
