Heather Cherry, NBC-HWC, IC-FHS, CPT, NTP
Heather Cherry is a content strategist, freelance writer, and board-certified health coach with more than two decades of experience in media, digital marketing, and storytelling. Based in Pennsylvania, she specializes in creating strategic, search-driven content that helps businesses connect with audiences while delivering meaningful, results-focused messaging. Through her freelance work and consulting, she partners with organizations to develop blogs, website copy, email campaigns, and long-form content across industries including business, technology, and health and wellness. Heather currently serves as an SEO Content Strategist with National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), where she leads content development across the organization’s digital ecosystem.
Her work blends creative storytelling with data-informed strategy, ensuring content is both engaging and optimized for search performance. In addition to her corporate role, she operates Heather Cherry Consulting Co., producing research-driven articles and digital content for major outlets and organizations such as American Red Cross Training Services and other national platforms.
Passionate about giving people a voice, Heather frequently writes health and wellness content, rare-disease patient stories, and community features that highlight real experiences and human connection. She is also a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Project Management Professional, bringing both wellness expertise and strategic planning to her work. In recognition of her impact in media and storytelling, she has been selected to represent Pittsburgh in the 2026 Influential Women feature.
• Nutritional Therapy Practioner
• Project Management Professional
• Project Management Professional Exam Prep
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
• Professional Food Addiction Coach Certification
• National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach
• IAFHH Certified Functional Hormone Specialist
• Personal Trainer Certification
• CPR/AED/First Aid
• Certified Personal Trainer
• Chatham University- M.P.W.
• Westwood College - Denver North- B.S.
• Association of Health Care Journalists
• Local School Sports Organizations
• American Red Cross (Writing for Training Services Department)
What do you attribute your success to?
My drive is definitely my family. I do this work for my son. When I was growing up, my mom worked an office job and I remember feeling like she was gone a lot. I didn’t want that same experience for him. I wanted to be present—to volunteer at school parties when he was little, take him to school in the mornings, and be there when he’s sick. In fact, he’s home sick today, and I’m able to take care of him without worrying about missing work.
At the same time, I never wanted to give up having a career. I’ve always been someone who wanted meaningful work of my own. Writing wasn’t my original plan, but it’s the thing that kept showing up throughout my life. Eventually I realized it was something that came naturally to me and something I genuinely loved.
What drives me now is that balance—the flexibility to be present for my family while still building a career and contributing financially. Being able to shape a life where both of those things are possible means everything to me.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
When people ask for advice about getting into writing, I usually tell them the simplest thing: just start writing. You have to begin somewhere.
But beyond that, I think there’s real power in creating opportunities for yourself. That doesn’t always mean traditional jobs or even paid work right away. Of course, I’m not suggesting people work for free indefinitely, but there is value in finding ways to practice your craft while the stakes are still low and the experience is on your own terms.
Early on, I gained a lot of experience by volunteering and helping nonprofits with their content. It gave me the chance to develop my skills, experiment, and learn as I went. At the same time, I was helping organizations reach their goals, building my portfolio, and gradually carving out a niche for myself.
That experience ended up opening a lot of doors and leading to paid work later on. So my advice is to be willing to create your own opportunities. The exact opportunity you want may not be handed to you—you may have to build it yourself. But there’s nothing wrong with that. In many cases, it’s exactly how a career begins.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in the field right now is the sheer number of freelance writers entering the market, which has made it more competitive than ever. That said, strong networking, consistent self-promotion, and developing a clear niche—such as health and wellness—can help writers stand out. When you’re known for a specific area of expertise and actively building relationships, it becomes much easier to create meaningful opportunities.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that matter most to me in both work and life are family, flexibility, storytelling, and using my skills to help others. I’m grateful to have built a career that allows me to prioritize my family while doing meaningful work. At the same time, storytelling gives me the opportunity to connect with people, share important experiences, and create content that can inform, support, or inspire others.