Resume.
Digital Editor at Saint Paul Public Schools
2013 to present, St. Paul, Minn.
● Write and edit strategic daily content on schools, staff, students and programs.
● Develop and maintain 64 school and department websites.
● Write and edit a daily and bi-weekly newsletter; distributing it electronically to 9,000 readers, including employees, school district families and the metropolitan community.
● Assist in writing, editing and distributing news releases for more than 250 media sources.
● Manage social media accounts for the district, including Facebook, Twitter, Vine and Pinterest.
● Design marketing material including social media campaigns, brochures and advertisements.
● Write and edit a weekly staff newsletter; distributing it electronically to 7,000 staff members.
● Interview staff and administrators for original content, highlighting district news and programs.
● Create and maintain relationships with the media, and pitch news stories about the district.
● Assist schools in creating social media plans and original content, as well as website updates.
● Create marketing campaigns to highlight new programs, information and events in the district.
● Aided in transitioning to a new Content Management System for more than 60 websites.
● Train school and district staff on using the district’s website Content Management System.
● Train school principals and staff on social media policies and etiquette.
● Assisted in launching the district’s first app, highlighting social media posts, calendars and original content on schools and programs. Assisted in developing a bus tracking system app.
● Shoot professional photography and videos for district marketing.
● Assist with crisis communication when needed, writing press releases and public information.
● Help plan and assist with district-wide events, including the annual School Choice Fair, the Administration Academy and several community parades and festivals.
● Analyze research and Google Analytics to help direct communication initiatives.
Student Newspaper Adviser at St. Catherine University
2007 to present, St. Paul, Minn.
● Advise a newspaper staff of 30 college students.
● Manage an annual budget of $32,000 for the school news site.
● Led students in developing the university's first student publication website.
● Assisted students in launching the publication’s first social media campaigns.
● Train students on social media usage, journalistic writing and website usage.
● Lead teams to market the news website to the university and St. Paul community.
● Develop seminars for the university regarding journalism, media ethics and writing.
● Organize special events for the university featuring professional writers and journalists.
● Oversee publication, ensuring that news stories are accurate, ethical and unbiased.
Impact Web Producer at KSTP-TV
2013, St. Paul, Minn.
● Managed the station’s main website, posting news stories, photos and videos.
● Managed the station’s social media, including Twitter, Hootsuite, Facebook and YouTube. Created daily polls, Facebook talkers and blogs to interact with website visitors.
● Successfully pitched story ideas for TV and the station’s main website.
● Wrote breaking-news and feature stories online, following AP Style and journalistic ethics.
● Created unique web content daily, impacting on the station’s broadcast news stories.
● Edited, produced broadcast video stories, posting video clips online with news stories.
● Edited photos and produced slideshows as unique web content.
● Interviewed sources for web extras and live chats, using Skype and CoveritLive software. Created interactive info graphics, such as maps and charts for website visitors.
● Managed the hiring of web producer interns, and trained new hires.
Multimedia Journalist at Pioneer Press
2005 to 2012, St. Paul, Minn.
● As a County and Courts Journalist from 2010 to 2012, I was responsible for reporting on news stories about the metro’s Dakota County, as well as courts and public safety stories from the area.
● As an Education Journalist from 2007-2010, I was responsible for reporting on news stories in 11 school districts in Dakota County, including the third-largest school district in Minnesota.
● As a City Journalist from 2005-2007, I was responsible for reporting on news stories about city government, public safety and neighborhoods in five south metro cities.
● Developed, researched, interviewed, wrote, edited and proofread news stories daily.
● Juggled researching, interviewing and writing news stories within minutes on deadline.
● Communicated with sources and readers, developing strong and trustworthy relationships.
● Communicated daily with elected officials, businesses, schools, city staff, police and residents.
● Wrote stories daily with the highest level of spelling, grammar and fact accuracy.
● Researched and reported on education programs, such as the federal No Child Left Behind program, local and national school finances and state and federal mandates on schools.
● Analyzed state tests, explaining results and outcomes to readers in chart and graphic form.
● Accurately explained dwindling school finances and state funding for schools.
● Responsible for creating story ideas and tracking civil and criminal court cases.
● Responsible for understanding and explaining county government programs.
● Analyzed public finances and explained budget outcomes to readers.
● Developed, recorded and edited online videos and audio clips.
● Managed news coverage podcasts and online photo slideshows.
● Helped manage social media accounts, writing posts for Twitter, Facebook and news blogs.
● Expert on laws that govern schools and districts, as well as student privacy. Expert on criminal and civil law, explaining it in the simplest story form.
● Expert on Minnesota Data Practices Act regarding public information.
Degrees and Honors
● 2015: Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Hamline University
● 2015: Certified in Google Analytics
● 2014: National School Public Relations Association’s Gold Medallion Award recipient
● 2011: Pioneer Press News Hero Award recipient in 2007 and 2011
● 2008: Minnesota Society of Professional Journalist Page One Award recipient
● 2004: Bachelor of Liberal Arts in English from St. Catherine University
● 2004: Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Journalism from St. Thomas University
● 2003: Scholar and Alumna of Chips Quinn, a national journalism internship program
Technical Skills
Sienna media production, various Content Management Systems, BrightEye compact converter, Syndicaster broadcast video platform, Adobe Photoshop and Elements, HTML, Google Analytics, MS Office XP, Avid Media Composer, First Publisher, MAC skills, PC skills, WordPerfect Presentation, Painter, MS Word, Quark, XPress, SoundEdit, Illustrator, MS PowerPoint, Final Cut Pro, MS Excel, web page creation software, WordPress, Acrobat, Photoshop, Adobe Creative Suite, Google Drive, Facebook, Twitter, Hootsuite, Vine, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Storify and CoveritLive blogging live web chat.