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Marisa McKie is the magazine and online editor for the international media company, New Moon Girl Media.
Poem printed in the current New Moon Girls:
Inside of me there is a girl.
A powerful girl who can change the world.
Inside of me there is a girl.
A girl who can make a difference.
Inside of me there is a girl.
A girl who makes the right choices.
Inside of me there is a girl.
And I know this girl.
— Caroline, 13, Massachusetts
A powerful girl who can change the world.
Inside of me there is a girl.
A girl who can make a difference.
Inside of me there is a girl.
A girl who makes the right choices.
Inside of me there is a girl.
And I know this girl.
— Caroline, 13, Massachusetts
A lot of people move to Summit County to express their true selves, rather than live a life of external expectations or pressures.
So it seems that Marisa McKie landed in the perfect place — a place that shares the same values her workplace stresses every day.
McKie is the editor of New Moon Girl Media, an international company that oversees a magazine and website dedicated to helping girls age 8-14 develop their full potential through self-discovery, creativity and community.
McKie works from her home — or from local coffee shops — as the full-time editor for a magazine that survives solely on subscriptions. The company does not allow any advertising on its website or publication, because it doesn't want its young readers to be influenced by “perfect girl” stereotypes and images. The concept originated in 1992, when Nancy Gruver wanted her twin 11-year-old daughters to have an outlet to support and realize their own dreams.
These days, her husband, Joe Kelly, is still the managing editor. In New Moon Girls, girls write 80 percent of the content, and the Girls Editorial Board (otherwise known as GEB) choose which submissions to publish, then edit everything.
McKie helps guide the GEB and also moderates and maintains a safe website. She keeps girls safe online by making sure they obtain parental permission before signing up, removing any bullying or inappropriate content and not allowing girls to disclose their school, city or phone numbers. But those are just the nuts and bolts. The real fun comes in reading the content.
“The girls that I work with are so inspiring,” McKie, who is in her 20s, said. “One of the main inspirations (comes through) the message boards ... It's astonishing to me how much girls know about politics and how thoughtfully and respectfully they express their opinions.”
Though the magazine has spread to girls in 40 countries and is a seven-time recipient of a Parents' Choice Foundation Gold Award for “Best Children's Magazine” and the 2006 winner of the Golden Lamp Award from the Association of Educational Publishers, McKie hopes to expand awareness even more.
“It's a place where they're not told what they have to be; they can express what they are,” she said.
McKie entered the New Moon world as an intern the summer before her senior year at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. The company then offered her a part-time position as an editor, with the stipulation that she'd move into a full-time editor position upon graduating with her bachelor's in communication. She has worked at New Moon for two years.
“I like having a job where I feel like I'm making somewhat of a difference,” she said.
The one challenge she experiences with her job is working alone, hence her trips to coffee shops — to see people and change the scenery. In the last couple years, she worked at restaurants on the side — or “anything that deals with people” — just to increase social interaction.
And now, the emphasis on meeting people is even more important; she and her boyfriend, Scott Lowe, just moved to Summit County three weeks ago.
Both McKie and Lowe grew up in Minnesota and moved to Dillon to snowboard. Lowe works for Breckenridge Ski Area.
They both plan on making Summit County home for the long-term, but McKie is already noticing most 20-somethings don't move here to stay.
Nevertheless, she's intent on trading in the 100 days of sunshine per year in her hometown for Colorado's 300 days.
“I couldn't believe how warm and nice and beautiful it was outside all the time,” she said of Summit County, comparing it to Minnesota's “frigid cold.”
Their trip out here was a little rocky: a snowstorm stranded them in Nebraska for three nights, then their car started smoking and had to be towed 15 minutes outside of Dillon.
“But since then, it's been fine,” McKie said.
Just waking up to sunlight or walking out of City Market and seeing the mountains are enough for McKie to feel she's living her own potential of discovery, creativity, and, eventually, mountain community.
So it seems that Marisa McKie landed in the perfect place — a place that shares the same values her workplace stresses every day.
McKie is the editor of New Moon Girl Media, an international company that oversees a magazine and website dedicated to helping girls age 8-14 develop their full potential through self-discovery, creativity and community.
McKie works from her home — or from local coffee shops — as the full-time editor for a magazine that survives solely on subscriptions. The company does not allow any advertising on its website or publication, because it doesn't want its young readers to be influenced by “perfect girl” stereotypes and images. The concept originated in 1992, when Nancy Gruver wanted her twin 11-year-old daughters to have an outlet to support and realize their own dreams.
These days, her husband, Joe Kelly, is still the managing editor. In New Moon Girls, girls write 80 percent of the content, and the Girls Editorial Board (otherwise known as GEB) choose which submissions to publish, then edit everything.
McKie helps guide the GEB and also moderates and maintains a safe website. She keeps girls safe online by making sure they obtain parental permission before signing up, removing any bullying or inappropriate content and not allowing girls to disclose their school, city or phone numbers. But those are just the nuts and bolts. The real fun comes in reading the content.
“The girls that I work with are so inspiring,” McKie, who is in her 20s, said. “One of the main inspirations (comes through) the message boards ... It's astonishing to me how much girls know about politics and how thoughtfully and respectfully they express their opinions.”
Though the magazine has spread to girls in 40 countries and is a seven-time recipient of a Parents' Choice Foundation Gold Award for “Best Children's Magazine” and the 2006 winner of the Golden Lamp Award from the Association of Educational Publishers, McKie hopes to expand awareness even more.
“It's a place where they're not told what they have to be; they can express what they are,” she said.
McKie entered the New Moon world as an intern the summer before her senior year at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. The company then offered her a part-time position as an editor, with the stipulation that she'd move into a full-time editor position upon graduating with her bachelor's in communication. She has worked at New Moon for two years.
“I like having a job where I feel like I'm making somewhat of a difference,” she said.
The one challenge she experiences with her job is working alone, hence her trips to coffee shops — to see people and change the scenery. In the last couple years, she worked at restaurants on the side — or “anything that deals with people” — just to increase social interaction.
And now, the emphasis on meeting people is even more important; she and her boyfriend, Scott Lowe, just moved to Summit County three weeks ago.
Both McKie and Lowe grew up in Minnesota and moved to Dillon to snowboard. Lowe works for Breckenridge Ski Area.
They both plan on making Summit County home for the long-term, but McKie is already noticing most 20-somethings don't move here to stay.
Nevertheless, she's intent on trading in the 100 days of sunshine per year in her hometown for Colorado's 300 days.
“I couldn't believe how warm and nice and beautiful it was outside all the time,” she said of Summit County, comparing it to Minnesota's “frigid cold.”
Their trip out here was a little rocky: a snowstorm stranded them in Nebraska for three nights, then their car started smoking and had to be towed 15 minutes outside of Dillon.
“But since then, it's been fine,” McKie said.
Just waking up to sunlight or walking out of City Market and seeing the mountains are enough for McKie to feel she's living her own potential of discovery, creativity, and, eventually, mountain community.
