Gloucester, Virginia, United States
Journalist-turned-spokeswoman, here. I've written countless articles, designed hundreds of graphics and flyers, filmed and produced two mini-documentaries, and redesigned the quarterly magazine for Gloucester County, Virginia. Two-time VACo Award-winner. Three-time VPA Award-winner. FEMA-certified to be an Advanced Public Information Officer. Creativity is the spice of life. At work, you might find me writing, video editing, designing graphics, and winning audiences on social media. At home, find me curled up with a good book, playing French horn or teaching myself how to paint.
I have the pleasure of highlighting the work Gloucester County employees take on to make “the Land of the Life Worth Living” even better. ● Film, edit and release short-form videos to educate residents on county functions ● Coordinate, design and distribute quarterly Beehive magazine, connecting government departments and local nonprofits with an audience of 38,000 residents ● Craft graphics and engaging social media captions for our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Nextdoor accounts ● Capture (and organize) a bank of professional-quality images of county programs, landmarks, special events and more ● Assist with the county’s weekly digital newsletter and website maintenance ● Uphold visual consistency and quality standards across Gloucester County Government’s television stations, social media channels, magazine and print products, and digital collateral ● Serve as a media contact, and perform Public Information Officer duties for the county ● Host brand/creative trainings for employees who manage affiliate social media pages ● Meet Gloucester County Public School needs for vertical reels, short-form video content, and special promotions
● Instructed, trained teammates on strong writing skills, AP style, company voice ● Liaison from digital team to managers on operational problems and opportunities ● Used social listening strategies to come up with my own article ideas; kept an eye on social media for news from Virginia schools, police and fire departments, weather services, animal shelters, businesses, government press releases, etc. ● Wrote and copy edited 3-10 of those self-pitched articles every day (200-1,000 words) ● Evaluated incoming news and assigned stories to coworkers based on my knowledge of their skills & interests ● Managed station’s social media platforms (20+ Facebook posts, 30+ Twitter posts, 15+ YouTube videos per day; Created graphics/reels for Instagram twice per week) ● Used conversational writing to craft daily email newsletter (8,000 external subscribers) ● Revised and fact-checked articles written by on-air reporters, crafted their headlines ● Added social media embeds, relevant links and videos to articles the on-air reporters submitted ● Used Google Trends and SEO knowledge to get articles in front of readers ● In times of crisis, coordinated field coverage, communicated updates to internal 13News Now departments, and was responsible for maintaining the station’s public credibility ● On a monthly basis, pitched, filmed and edited videos for television and our online platforms ● While working remotely, met constant deadlines, scheduled and worked on long-term projects
Publish articles for Associated Press wire service, file Public Information Act requests to government agencies, helped cover statewide election, operate as part of a multi-bureau 8-4 news organization.
Responsible for publishing at least two articles per week, following yearly student government elections, detailing end-of-year omnibus legislation and tracking funding measures that could affect student body.
Wrote freelance pieces on campus events at award-winning student newspaper.
● Taught myself about Jewish culture so I could appropriately edit articles for grammar, AP style and factuality ● Pitched stories at bi-weekly meetings ● Worked with reporters to identify strengths and weaknesses, become better writers ● Stepped out of my normal role to serve as a reporter when we didn’t have enough freelancers