The Hilliard Institute

The Hilliard Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation offering sensory education programing, experiential learning, and academic research and publishing while also supporting philanthropic initiatives through fundraising and educational training and activities—all under the umbrella of the concept of Educational Wellness. 

The Hilliard Institute. 4440 Savage Pointe Drive. Franklin, TN 37064

Email Dr. K. Mark Hilliard at mark.hilliardinstitute@gmail.com

or Professor Jessa R. Sexton at thehilliardpress@gmail.com.

Editors

Rosemary Hilliard

* Vice President, The Hilliard Institute

*Senior Editor, Hilliard Press

rosemaryhilliard@yahoo.com

Rosemary Hilliard worked for the Tennessee Children's Home’s West TN and Spring Hill campuses in various roles over eighteen years of service to this ministry. In addition to serving as a foster parent, a houseparent, and a relief houseparent, she worked in the educational and development departments. As a teacher's aide in the Spring Hill on-campus school, she assisted students with their assignments, in particular English and history, and helped with classroom management.  As the Assistant to the Director of Development for ten years, working with then Director of Development, Tom Carr, Rosemary wrote and edited quarterly newsletters, informational materials, copy for fundraising appeals, and a monthly acknowledgment letter for donors. Through these writings, she shared with others important information about the successes and needs of the children in the care of Tennessee Children’s Home. She also oversaw the database used to manage donor information and record gifts made to the children’s home.

 After her time at the children’s home, Rosemary began editing and copywriting part time. In later years, when Tom Carr began his work with IHCF: African Christian Hospitals, she volunteered her services to Carr's mission work, writing and editing for him once again. During this time, she also offered editing services contractually to O'More Publishing over an eight year span, including her work with Civil War historian Eric Jacobson on the press's number one seller, For Cause and For Country, and with various O'More professors and students on their articles about the art and design of education in four volumes of the Abbey Leix Anthology.  In past years, she had two articles published in Christian Woman Magazine and one article in Image Magazine.

 During and after her children’s middle and high school years, Rosemary was a strong supporter of the music education program in Spring Hill, TN.  She chaperoned multiple educational trips with students to cultural and historical sites, and to several colleges for music workshops, festivals, and symposiums.

Rosemary attended Freed-Hardeman University in 1975-76, Columbia State Community College in 1993-94, and a cultural travel class to Ireland through O’More College of Design in June 2006. While at Tennessee Children’s Home, 1983-2001, she participated in educational workshops and seminars on foster parenting, newsletter writing, fundraising techniques, working with donors, and database management. She has worked with the Townsend Center of Global Competency in relationship building in Ireland and Oxford, England, 2004 to present. 

Presently Rosemary serves as the Vice-President and Senior Editor of The Hilliard Institute. 

Jordan Russ

Editor, Hilliard Press

Jordan Russ is a grammar nerd who has turned her love of language into a professional copyediting career. She first knew she was cut out for the copyediting world in high school—when she was assigned books to read but often couldn’t focus on the content because she was too busy paying attention to the authors’ grammar, syntax, and writing style. (Sometimes she even caught typos in the books she was reading, which further sparked her desire to become a copyeditor.) Since then, Jordan has pursued a number of editing opportunities as her way to leave the world a little better than she found it.

While attending Cumberland University, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in History, Jordan worked at the Academic Enrichment Center as the head writing specialist. In this role, she helped students craft outlines, revise papers, incorporate research, and more. During this time, Jordan also authored 26 articles for a local lifestyle publication, East of the City Magazine.

After graduation, Jordan worked for Cumberland University’s Papers of Martin Van Buren Project, where she transcribed handwritten letters to and from President Buren and his contemporaries, wrote articles, and edited the project’s website. 

Jordan continued her education by earning her Copyediting Certificate from the University of San Diego Extension and then pursuing a year of graduate study at Middle Tennessee State University. At MTSU, Jordan worked in the writing center and served as the assistant editor of both Off Center Magazine and SHIFT Literary Journal. 


Now, Jordan works as an in-house copyeditor for a large company in Franklin, Tennessee, and freelances with Hilliard Institute. Jordan particularly loves focusing on storytelling and preserving her authors’ voice while pushing for clarity for her readers. She’s secretly a big fan of breaking grammar rules—as long as her authors know they’re breaking the rules and use it to enhance the story.