Susan Sherrill Axelrod

Portland, ME USA
Contact

Professional Experience

An award-winning, tech-savvy journalist and seasoned editor, my career includes newspaper and magazine staff positions, affording me broad and deep experience in digital and print media. My portfolio includes a wide range of features covering food and drink, travel, culture, art, and design. Among other projects, I have: reported on sustainable seafood in the Gulf of Maine; covered the farm-to-table movement in the Berkshires; developed recipes for "Lighten Up America," a cookbook by Cooking Light; and created a magazine for adventurous, 50+ Mainers. I have also created a large portfolio of sponsored content for clients such as Sea Bags, Shipyard Brewery, and The Salvation Army.

Expertise

Writer
19 Years
Editor
19 Years
Content Editor (online)
8 Years

Specialty

Food
19 Years
Lifestyle
17 Years
Home & Garden
5 Years

Industries


Newspaper - Local/Regional
15 Years
Magazine - Local/Regional magazines
10 Years
Online/new media
8 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

19 Years

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Wild Blueberries Association of North America (1-2)

Other Work History

Food + Special Projects Editor—State 23 Media | Social Media Editor—Portland Press Herald (pressherald.com) | Online Content Producer—Portland Press Herald (pressherald.com) and MaineToday.com | Editor—Eater Maine (eater.maine.com) | Food Editor and columnist, The Record (northjersey.com) | Food and Entertainment Editor—(201) Magazine | Editor—The Ridgewood News | Managing Editor—Bergen County Newspapers

Technical Skills

Social media strategy and analytics; SEO; website design and management; recipe development

Foreign Language Skills

Some French and Italian

Computer Skills

Word; Windows XP; Quark (editing); WordPress; Photoshop; Moveable Type; Clickability

Equipment

laptop; camera (iPhone) SD600; audio recorder

Work Permits & Visas

valid US passport

References

Happy to provide if you request them.

Awards

2019 Folio Eddie Award, Feature Well, City and Regional Magazines | Various NJPA (New Jersey Press Association) awards for newspaper writing and page design (including several first place awards)

Showcase

Sponsored Content

The Sea Bags Women’s Sailing Team promotes their sport and sustainability.
Couple's gift of their estate will ensure that Maine children in need can attend Camp Sebago.

Profiles

Using nineteenth-century mills and twenty-first-century technology, Pam Allen created a world-renowned yarn company in Maine.
Collected around the world, Rough & Tumble's iconic handbags are handmade in Maine

Sustainability + Economic Development

By changing the way fishermen handle their catch, Gulf of Maine Sashimi is opening new markets for sustainable seafood.
With new retail products and a growing number of fishermen-farmers, Atlantic Sea Farms is getting more Maine kelp onto plates around the country.
Partnership between Ellsworth and the Jackson Laboratory breeds a culture of innovation in Maine's fastest-growing city—winner of a 2019 Folio Eddie Award
The TD Beach to Beacon 10K achieves an elite designation for sustainable practices, on and off the course.

Food and Drink

Three of Strong Spirits in Portland transports visitors to a summer state of mind with its classic and inventive rum cocktails.
At the Quarry Restaurant, chef-owner Marilou “Lulu” Ranta creates elevated cuisine while feeding a community.
On her farm in Waldoboro, Allison Lakin uses science, artistry, and methodical care to grow Lakin's Gorges Cheese
Close on the heels of Maine's micro-brewing boom, and reflecting the interest in all things artisanal, craft distilling is on the rise.

Art + Culture

Year after year, musicians and sailors return to Swan's Island for the Sweet Chariot Music Festival
A weekly pub night keeps summer camp friends connected through the decades.

Architecture + Design

In Elliotsville Plantation, Maine Audubon continues a family's legacy of North Woods hospitality
Kristen and Joe Camp incorporate old and new traditions to shape their pottery.