Elizabeth Austin

Elizabeth Austin has interviewed President Carter for Time magazine, attended Space Camp with astronaut Buzz Aldrin, toured Superman's hometown for the National Lampoon and traded diet tips with Oprah Winfrey for People.

An accomplished essayist, she has contributed numerous opinion and humor pieces to the Chicago Tribune's Perspectives and the Washington Post's Outlook sections. Her feature articles and essays have appeared in many national and international publications, including Time, Newsweek, People, Fortune, Money, Chicago Magazine, Self, Shape, McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal, and Glamour. She has won a number of awards, including the National Mental Health Association award for best magazine journalism.

She is the co-author of The Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating, which was featured on the Today Show and has been translated into a dozen languages. That book became the basis for a nationally syndicated newspaper column, "Ask the Good Girls."

In 2004, Elizabeth served as Gov. Rod Blagojevich's speechwriter, leaving the Governor's office to become the communications director for the Civic Federation, a not-for-profit research organization focused on tax policy and good government. She worked on Forrest Claypool's 2006 primary campaign for Cook County Board President and spent two years as communications director for Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. She currently works in corporate communications for Playboy Enterprises, Inc.