Professional Experience
Let's put it this way: Sophomore year of high school, my "Is Luke Perry the New James Dean?" commentary got me detention (yet earned me an 'A') while my essay positing solutions to the illiteracy epidemics won me lauds.
Now a full-grown writer, I still possess the same versatility, curiosity and whimsy but without poorly conceived celebrity comparisons. I can go from panning a bad film in a laugh-out-loud way to penning an in-depth profile or investigative piece that will make your jaw drop.
Still, if I must ditch my generalist status, hard for someone who's covered a little bit of everything (from the miniscule [school board in-fighting] to the heavy [Ecstasy epidemic]), I'll give this as my list of specialities: reviews, personality profiles, humor pieces, and topically, lifestyle stuff: fashion, beauty, trends, shopping, travel, entertainment, home decor and more. I can adapt to any publication's voice, and have written for both corporate and media clients.
Expertise
Editor
5 Years
Writer
10 Years
Producer (new media)
3 Years
Specialty
Lifestyle
7 Years
Entertainment
10 Years
Humor
10 Years
Industries
Magazine - Local/Regional magazines
5 Years
Online/new media
4 Years
Newspaper - Local/Regional
5 Years
Total Media Industry Experience
10 Years
Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)
Pasadena Magazine (10+), Disney Family.com (10+), ELITE Magazine (3-5)
Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)
Brandt Street Studios (3-5), Lisa P. Maxwell Agency (NEW) (1-2), Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce (1-2)
Other Work History
Have worked as an associate editor for The Star Newspaper and also as associate editor for ELITE and Chicago Southland Business magazines. Currently edit two Web newsletters and a quarterly print newsletter for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.
Foreign Language Skills
some French, some Spanish
Computer Skills
Word, Excel, PhotoShop, Access, Movie Magic Screenwriter, Quark, In Design (some); both Mac and PC-savvy; some HTML and Dreamweaver
Equipment
laptop, digital camera, Canon Rebel manual camera, audio recorder, iPod
References
John O'Brien, Daily Southtown (Chicago)
John Stein, ELITE magazine (Chicago)
(Please email me for contact info.)
Awards
Seven Illinois Press Association awards (including two first-place awards); named semi-finalist in Chicago-Illinois Film Office Screenwriting Competition; Trade magazine I launched and edited received an ACCE Award for Excellence in a national contest from the American Association of Chamber Executives
Associations
Public Relations Society of America, Kappa Tau Alpha (journalism honors society), Avant Guild