About

Our tagline says it all: Write & Rewrite help you “put your words to work.” Through webinars, workshops and custom training, Steve Crescenzo and Jim Ylisela help organizations improve the way they communicate, with their customers, constituents, communities—and each other.

Poor communication isn’t just regrettable; it’s a critical business problem that can reduce your efficiency, shrink your profits and demoralize your people. Write & Rewrite have helped thousands of communicators, executives and employees communicate more effectively internally and externally, in print and online, through social media and multimedia, and the old-fashioned way—face to face.

Write (Steve Crescenzo)

As CEO of Crescenzo Communications, Steve Crescenzo works as a consultant, writer and seminar leader and has helped thousands of communicators improve both their print and electronic communication efforts.

Recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts in employee communications, Crescenzo is the leader of four popular workshops: Strategic Employee Communication Vehicles, Integrating Print and Online Communication Vehicles, The Master Class of Employee Communication, and Creative Communications. He is also the author of his popular blog, Corporate Hallucinations and is the host of his podcast, Creative Conversations.

Steve is has been voted the number one seminar leader for IABC in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 International Conference, and has been asked to speak in IABCs “All Star Track” for the past four years. Steve also speaks at numerous IABC chapter and district events throughout America and Europe and writes a regular column in IABC’s Communication World.

As part of Write & Rewrite, Steve presents a quarterly webinar on a variety of communication topics. Steve and Jim most recently taught Write & Rewrite’s newest workshop, “Writing Across Media,” in London and Chicago.

Rewrite (Jim Ylisela)

Jim Ylisela is president of Duff Media Partners Inc., which provides communications consulting services to a variety of corporate, government and nonprofit organizations.

Before that, he served as president of Ragan Consulting, the consulting division of Lawrence Ragan Communications Inc., and previously as Ragan’s publisher and editorial director.

Jim began his professional life as a journalist, working for newspapers and magazines.  He has won half a dozen awards for investigative journalism and continues to work as a freelance writer. He has also written and produced three documentaries for public television. Jim taught for 13 years in the graduate program at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where he also served as co-director of the Medill News Service, which provided real-time coverage to Chicago-area newspapers.

Jim has worked with thousands of communicators through his consulting work, custom training and Ragan conferences and workshops, including Advanced Writing & Editing, Advanced Internal Communications and the Internal Communications Master Class.

At Duff Media, Jim answers to his wife, CEO Nora Duff, just as he has done during their 29 years of marriage. Their beautiful, 26-year-old son, James, works as a video editor in Manhattan.

In addition to consulting, Jim is writing a book on the murder of candy heiress Helen Brach, Chicago’s greatest unsolved mystery. His vices include travel, wine, Steve Crescenzo, and an unhealthy, lifelong devotion to the Chicago Cubs.

As part of Write & Rewrite, Jim presents a quarterly webinar on a variety of communication topics. Steve and Jim most recently taught Write & Rewrite’s newest workshop, “Writing Across Media,” in London and Chicago.