Maria C. Hunt

Journalist & Senior Content Strategist | Editorial Mindset. Full-Funnel Impact.

United States

I combine a rigorous, active journalism practice with content strategy. My 20 years writing for The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, OLTRE, and others gave me a reader-focused mindset.

At Houzz, I brought editorial thinking to an e-commerce email content and the division became the #2 revenue driver in 10 months and added 1 million new subscribers. At One Medical, I shifted content from fear-based to lifestyle-forward — and brought new audiences, including people of color, into the health conversation.

I help brands identify who their audience actually is, understand what they actually need, and create content that speaks specifically to them.

Available for freelance contracts, editorial consulting, and select remote roles.

Portfolio
OLTRE Volume 11 Fall 2025
08/01/2025
A Place in the Sun

Exploring the elements that made Claude Rouas' Auberge du Soleil a legendary Napa Valley destination that inspired an immersive modern approach to luxury hospitality.

CASE STUDIES - Solving business challenges with editorial strategy, journalism and content marketing.

MENOPAUSE + WOMEN'S HEALTH

The 'Pause Life by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
01/26/2025
Progesterone and Your Brain: The Forgotten Hormone of Calm | The 'Pause Life

Most women know estrogen and progesterone are major hormones. Estrogen typically gets top billing, with progesterone playing a supporting role. However in reality, the two hormones are equally important, and progesterone balances estrogen and does much more in a healthy body than many women realize. "Progesterone is

The 'Pause Life by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
05/21/2025
The Black Menopause Experience | The 'Pause Blog

"We say Black don't crack. That's on the outside," says Morgan, chief medical officer for Hello Heart, a digital company based in Northern California. "On the inside, we may have more advanced age than our counterparts."

BRAND CONTENT STRATEGY + SOCIAL COPYWRITING

Total Wine & More
07/16/2019
Total Wine & More: National Wine Education & Omnichannel Campaign

Collaborated with the Total Wine & More team remotely from 2019 to 2022 to create a comprehensive national customer education content program featured online and in-store. The assets included wine education articles, producer and region highlights , signage and top wines lists to spur sales.

BBC Stories of Craft for House of Rohl | Shaws
2022
The Elemental Power of Biophilic Design

Identified relevant designers, conducted interviews and wrote this piece on California designers who use nature to inform and enhance their work in this brand content series for House of Rohl.

Houzz
02/22/2015
Decorating Secrets from a Hollywood Stylists' Home

Timed to coincide with the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony, I created this collection inspired by the home of Hollywood celebrity stylist Mara Roszak, along with her tips on how to create the look.

BBC Stories of Craft for House of Rohl | Perrin & Rowe
2022
Designing a Forever Kitchen

Secured interview with Australian celebrity designer Kate Walker on how to create a timeless luxury kitchen for this brand content series for House of Rohl.

Rodan + Fields - Instagram + Facebook
07/15/2017
Rodan + Fields Social Copy and Campaign Taglines

As lead social copywriter, I dreamed up the “Destination Hydration” concept and tagline which drove our visual and social messaging campaign to promote Active Hydration, the biggest product launch of the year to 150,000 consultants in US, Canada and Australia.

Arrowood Winery & Vineyards
04/23/2018
Dry Farming is Good for the Earth & Good for Wine

Dry farming isn't a new concept, but it has taken on renewed significance in the last decade. Plants can't talk. But any gardener knows that if you listen and pay attention, your plants will tell you what they need.

Total Wine & More
07/24/2022
10 Tiki cocktails you should try | Total Wine & More

A good tiki cocktail is like a vacation in a glass. With their colorful ingredients, special glassware, and fanciful garnishes, a Mai Tai or Hurricane sends your imagination on an adventure before you even take the first sip. According to cocktail historian Jeff Beachbum Berry, the tiki movement started in the early 1930s, right after Prohibition ended.

HEALTH + WELLNESS

Training the Eye to See Disease On Dark Skin | UCSF Magazine
06/13/2022
Training the Eye to See Disease On Dark Skin

Dr. Jenna Lester's TED Talk on dermatology healthcare disparities went viral. This article shared the history behind this disparity and how Lester's approach and training of UCSF residents is creating change.

One Medical
11/13/2018
Your Guide to Understanding and Managing Prediabetes

As senior editorial manager collaborated with senior medical team to develop a Knowledge Center to help educate patient audience on common diagnoses, treatment and lifestyle management strategies.

One Medical Blog
04/04/2016
Fitbit Giveaway Lead Capture Campaign

For National Walking Day, I partnered with Fitbit and a local fitness expert for a giveaway to capture new leads. More than 200 people entered and shared insights on where they find health information.

One Medical Blog
04/20/2016
5 Things You May Not Know About Marijuana

Not many people make a doctor's appointment to talk about the pros and cons of smoking joints vs. vaping, or whether it's OK to mix Mary Jane with merlot. Maybe more of us should.

Architectural Digest
06/22/2020
Love Plants? You Might Be a Biophiliac

You may not know it, but if you're a fan of live-edge tables, swirled Panda White marble, or plant-filled rooms with natural light, you're feeling the lure of biophilic design. Biophilia is based on the belief that humans need a connection to nature to thrive.

Medium
09/10/2020
Masks Are Causing Our Smiles to Evolve

I pitched this story after realizing that I, and many others, where smizing like contestants on America's Next Top Model. But were these real smiles? Got a retweet from Tyra Banks.

BOOKS

TRAVEL

OLTRE
09/03/2023
Valleys of the Giants: Napa & Sonoma

Served as lead writer and curator for the ultimate guide to exploring the best and most beautiful luxury experiences in Napa Valley and Sonoma County for the debut issue.

Forbes Travel Guide Blog
03/26/2014
Discovering Brazil's Secret Wine Country

It seems like Brazil has turned into one of the fashionable places to travel; the South American country is on more than a few lists of the best travel destinations for 2014. And with the FIFA World Cup kicking off in June - and the 2016 Summer Olympics not too long after that - more people than ever are heading to cities all over Brazil.

The Tasting Panel
03/15/2010
Down at the Heel - Puglia Adventure

One of the most interesting discoveries was that negroamaro doesn’t mean “black bitter” in Italian — it actually means “blackest of blacks.”

CULTURE

CULINARY TRENDS + HISTORY

The Guardian
05/14/2022
Chef Crystal Wahpepah on the power of Indigenous cuisine: 'Native foods are overlooked'

Out on the sunny patio at Wahpepah's Kitchen, sizzling plates of bison and deer make their way down a table filled with Native American educators from across the country. The game meat joins other indigenous dishes on the kitchen's menu, such as leafy salads topped with striped red corn and blue corn mush sweetened with berries and maple.

Christian Science Monitor
1/21/2009
Who's cookin' in the White House?

As the Obamas were preparing to enter the White House, there was a lot of buzz in the national restaurant community over who the next chef would be. I pitched this piece to the CSM and then reached out to Danny Meyer, Alice Waters and Ruth Reichl for their thoughts.

Forbes Travel Guide Stories
06/17/2013
Culinary Q&A With The Chefs Of State Bird Provisions

State Bird Provisions, which just snagged the James Beard Award for the best new restaurant in the nation, may seem like a hipster spot with its offbeat name, string art decor and dim-sum-style service.

Forbes Travel Guide
02/10/2018
Saison - Forbes Travel Guide

Remember that 1980s television show Fantasy Island, where a man dressed in white made visitors' every wish come true? Saison is the culinary equivalent ....

San Diego Union Tribune
10/13/1999
A Salad, A Legend - Who really tossed the first Caesar?

Even Julia Child was disappointed with the way the words "Caesar salad" were getting tossed around. "I think they like to use the name," said Julia Child, a woman who definitely knows her way around a salad bowl. So I went to Tijuana, Mexico to discover the true origins of this ubiquitous salad.

San Diego Union Tribune
04/17/2012
Breaking Bread

"Clemente said eating pan de sal makes him think of a sexy girl." -- Most people don't know it, but San Diego is an incredibly diverse city. I profiled seven traditional breads baked here in order to better understand the people who make and love them.

Interior Design - Editorial and E-commerce

Dwell
09/16/2020
The Pendleton Problem

Growing up in New Mexico, Venancio Aragon (Diné) remembers that a Pendleton wool blanket was one of the most precious gifts you could give or receive. Though his family has been practicing Navajo weaving for generations, he puts on a Pendleton for special occasions.

Apartment Therapy
06/30/2020
Here's How 9 Black Designers Are Finding Joy and Comfort at Home Right Now

Between sheltering in place for months because of the pandemic and followed by the ongoing anguish and unrest over the deaths of unarmed Black people like Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, maybe you're feeling like you could use some relief and psychological comfort.

Riviera Interiors
04/15/2009
Cabin Fever! Woodsy chic hits Portland

Home to Pendleton wool and many a rainy day, Portland has been shedding its woolly and wet image to emerge as a burgeoning hotbed of sustainable design and environmental consciousness.

House Beautiful/Yahoo Life
06/10/2021
How This Michigan Town Became "Black Las Vegas"

Aretha Franklin, Jackie Wilson, and B.B. King performed at Idlewild, Black resort destination in the 50s and 60s, which is now seeing a resurgence in interest.

WINE + DRINKS EDITORIAL

Food & Wine
06/14/2021
Scottie Pippen Is Launching a Bourbon

The NBA legend has been very hands-on with every aspect of Digits Bourbon, from tasting and blending to pasting labels on bottles. It's all hands on deck at the Savage & Cooke Distillery on Mare Island in Vallejo, California, 30 minutes north of Oakland.

The Guardian
08/06/2022
Cider is having an American moment - thanks to a new generation of crafters

The first time Peter Yi tried Basque cider, it hit him like a lightning bolt. His experiences as a wine buyer left him thinking ciders were sweet, simple and didn't pair well with food. But this one was different - aromatic, dry and complex, everything he expected from a fine wine.

Forbes
12/18/2012
Bourbon's New Role In The Culinary World

In case you haven't heard, yuzu kosho and Bora Bora vanilla beans are so last year. The hot food flavoring on the scene is bourbon-and lots of it. Correspondent Maria Hunt has noticed creative chefs and food artisans across the country using the caramel-colored spirit to season foods ranging from ice cream to pigs' ears.

Montage Magazine
10/15/2015
Next-Generation Vintners

When you're born into a wine family with a name like Mondavi, Sokol Blosser or Barrett, you're stepping into a ready-made legacy before you've bottled a drop.

Montage Hotels Magazine
03/14/2014
The Rise of Rosé - Chateau d'Esclans

Before there was Rosé all day, CHÂTEAU D'ESCLANS wines including Whispering Angel gave wine lovers a reason to take the category seriously and see the world through rose-colored glasses.

Montage Hotels Magazine
12/15/2009
All That Fizz

What's your unique champagne personality? Perrier Jouet is giving 100 people the chance to find out -- and bottle it.

PROFILES

Montage Hotels Magazine
10/16/2013
Drew Barrymore: Famous Foodie

Drew Barrymore splashes into an unexpected new role with a wine brand and a cooking show. I sat down with her at Pebble Beach Food & Wine to learn more.

Cuisine Noir
03/31/2010
Mo'Nique -- Fabulous. Amazing. Timeless.

Though we spoke long-distance by phone, Mo'Nique and I created a real rapport and she opened up about her journey to self-acceptance and helping other women do the same.

Montage Hotels Magazine
01/03/2012
Bison's Big Comeback

When Ted Turner was the special guest at a friend's winery I jumped at the chance to do a short nterview with him about his favorite topic... saving the American bison.

San Diego Union-Tribune
01/26/2005
The Ta$te of Success

I met the legendary businessman Sidney Frank—creator of Grey Goose—at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, and as we shared a lunch of delicacies from around the world, he told me about his work and passions in life.