Wendy Mettger is President of Mettger Communications, a consulting firm specializing in plain language and health literacy projects; a co-founder of the Health Literacy Institute in Freeport, Maine; and co-founder and principal in the Clear Language Group.
She draws on over 30 years of experience and a master’s degree in health communication to serve as a plain language and health literacy expert to government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, nonprofit groups such as the March of Dimes, and large corporations such as McNeil Consumer Healthcare.
Her projects include:
- Creating easy to read and understand materials and websites
- Field testing materials with diverse target audiences with a specialty in one-on-one interviews with adult learners
- Conducting workshops/trainings for health professionals on how to develop easy to read materials
- Helping organizations and researchers conceptualize and implement communication interventions to effectively reach individuals with marginal literacy skills
Wendy played a critical role in the development of the National Cancer Institute’s plain language informed consent template; co-authored one of the earliest guidebooks on creating easy to read materials, Clear and Simple: Developing Effective Print Materials for Low-Literate Readers; and co-chaired the National Work Group on Cancer and Literacy, the first ever Federally-sponsored collaboration between health and literacy organizations.
She has won numerous plain language awards: four NIH plain language awards; three ClearMark awards from the Center for Plain Language; one Generations Award, and one National Mature Media Award.