Resume
Experience
2022 - Present
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT REPORTER
The Florida Times-Union
Jacksonville, Fla.
In my current role as the growth and development reporter for The Florida Times-Union, I am responsible for pitching, interviewing and writing business and community stories as well as producing ones assigned to me by editors and collaborating with other reporters in the Gannett/USA Today network around the state.
2021 - 2022
ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR
-Dayside Production Desk
-Local Newsgathering
The Villages Daily Sun
The Villages, Fla.
In my role as an associate managing editor, I was responsible for overseeing a team of four reporters in local neswgathering efforts. I also gained experience in leading a team of designers and laying out pages for daily publication. My duties included reading reporters' copy daily (20 to 30 pages filled with content on average); assigning stories and aiding them in the pitch process; managing their assignments and hours; coaching them on best writing style and journalistic practices; and managing their workloads. In my role as a production manager, I also contributed to paginating duties, completing up to eight pages per day while reading copy which other designers have placed.
2020 - 2021
SENIOR EDUCATION REPORTER
The Villages Daily Sun
The Villages, Fla.
My coverage area included three public school districts and two community colleges as well as a charter school, which is of the most interest to local readers, and I wrote daily stories which included weekly front page articles. The stories vary from features and event coverage to enterprise productions on issues facing schools nationally.
2020 - 2020
SENIOR COPY EDITOR
The Villages Daily Sun
The Villages, Fla.
As a senior copy editor for Florida's largest daily circulating newspaper, I worked with wire and local content. I edited in-house stories on the night desk as well as those from wire services, budgeted for which stories would publish on specific days and coached writers on proper AP Style and interesting writing. I spent three months in this position full time for cross-training purposes.
2019 - 2020
POLITICAL REPORTER
The Villages Daily Sun
The Villages, Fla.
As the political reporter for what was Florida's third largest daily circulating newspaper at the time, I pitched and produced national stories with a hyper-local angle. I wrote daily briefs about national, state and local politics, attended live political events — including campaign stops, rallies, bill signings and club meetings — and interviewed state and local officials and community members.
2018 - 2019
COMMUNITY REPORTER
The Cranberry Eagle (The Butler Eagle Co.)
Cranberry, Pa.
As a general assignment community reporter, I interviewed community members and officials to write daily articles for a variety of news, feature and crime stories. I also attended school board, borough and township council meetings, shot photos for events and features and packaged stories with video at least monthly.
2011 - 2015
Wellsboro Area High School
Diploma
I graduated from high school in 2015. During this time, I had two articles published in my local weekly newspaper and was in charge of the student newspaper for two years.
Wellsboro, Pa.
More information
Skills
Adobe Creative Cloud Programs
Layout and Design
AP Style
Microsoft Programs
Critical Thinking
Research
Data Analytics
Social Media
Editing
Time Management
Interviewing
Writing
Awards, Honors and Organizations
SPJ Florida: Treasurer
+ 2023-24
+ I was elected to serve a term as SPJ Florida's treasurer, managing the funds of an award-winning SPJ Chapter.
Poynter-Koch Stand Together Fellowship
+ 2022-23
+ Participated among 60 other journalists in a year-long fellowship which included weekly training sessions, mentorship opportunities and two conferences to connect with and learn from other journalists. The culmination of the fellowship was a project to help improve either local newsrooms or an aspect of the journalism industry that is lacking as a whole. I worked on best practices for addressing diversity and eradicating the mistreatment of trans and non-binary journalists.
The Daily Sun's Journalist of The Year: Human Interest Writer
+ Winter 2019
+ The Villages Daily Sun's in-house Journalist of The Year uses outside editors and industry professionals to judge five clips in one category. The 2019 Human Interest Writer award was earned through my investigative work on "The Poverty Project," an in-depth look at rural poverty in the backyard of one of Florida's richest counties.
Rising Women's Conference Scholarship
+ Spring 2019
+ Attended a conference about women in leadership and best practices for being heard in the workplace on a full scholarship
Pittsburgh Black Media Federation
+ Spring 2018
+ First Place in the Education category for a May 4, 2017 article titled "IUP Punxsutawney's racist past and present."
2017 Student Keystone Press Awards
+ Spring 2017
+ The Penn staff won First Place in the Division I Ongoing News Coverage category for coverage of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) strike in October 2016. The staff published more than 20 articles about the strike from beginning to end.
2015 - 2018
Assorted Positions
The Penn
Indiana, Pa.
As managing editor, I managed and copy edited content for the newspaper, which published twice weekly; wrote editorial content on behalf of the newspaper; used Adobe Indesign to paginate the Opinion page of the newspaper, its contributed articles, columns and cartoons; managed employee records and payroll; and assisted with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to produce and publish content when necessary.
As news editor, I edited stories using AP style; used InDesign to lay out 4-10 pages per paper twice a week; used social media to cover live events, particularly Twitter; and managed ~15 writers and assigned 6-12 stories to my team per week.
As a staff writer and lead news writer, I wrote news, culture and sports stories; had at least one story published in every issue of twice-weekly publication, often on the front page; pitched story ideas; shot photos and video for events and features; and conducted interviews.
Education
2020 - 2021
Arizona State University
Master's
Business Journalism
I am enrolled in an online program for an advanced degree in business journalism with focuses on data and economics. I graduated in December 2021.
Tempe, Ariz.
2015 - 2018
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor's
Journalism & Public Relations
I graduated with my bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations in 2018. I took extra classes to graduate in three years while working two part-time jobs, one of which was at the student newspaper.
Indiana, Pa.