MY RESUME

For further information on my experience, feel free to peruse my LinkedIn profile. You can also download a PDF of my resume.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, Hollins University, May 2003

Major: English, with a concentration in Creative Writing

Landmark Scholar

January 2003 to January 2003. The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, Va.). I was among the first wave of Landmark Scholars, and the only one for The Roanoke Times, during my first summer internship on the newspaper’s copy desk in 2001. The program consisted of two summer internships with a job promised after I graduated college. During my junior and senior years, the newspaper also offered me a part-time job on the desk.

  • Primary duties

  • Editing stories and writing headlines on deadline
  • Editing advance stories

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Coordinator on the teen page, The Edge

July 2006 to March 2007. The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, Va.). Content for this weekly page is generated by 30 high school volunteers; they are broken into two teams. Of the students, two were chosen to be senior editors, and two chosen to be assistant editors.

  • Primary duties

  • Providing guidance during the story-planning process
  • Consulting with the student editors to help them better lead their respective teams
  • Restructuring deadlines and meetings to allow for more time to edit and review content for the page
  • Designing The Edge

WORK EXPERIENCE

Owner/Operator — The Plum Baker

Knoxville, Tenn., January 2009 to Present

  • Summary

  • The Plum Baker has been a continual study in study — researching recipes, observing customer response, squeezing the most out of each hour of the week. In addition to creating and baking original recipes, I designed my collateral, manage the operations budget, expanded clientele and established a successful work flow.

  • Roles

  • Owner, baker, designer, sales executive, bookkeeper, dishwasher, work flow consultant, taste-tester

Senior Designer — Metro Pulse

February 2008 to September 2009

  • Summary

  • I was hired to design calendar and column pages. In my first month with Metro Pulse, though, I identified ways to streamline the operation. At my request, I was charged with buttoning up processes and improving the archive system. I also stepped up as web manager when the switch to a new and more complicated site provided new opportunities and required more oversight.

  • Roles

  • Designer, work-flow task master, website manager

Designer — Business Graphics and Services

Knoxville, Tenn., June 2007 to February 2008

  • Summary

  • I designed brochures, business cards, letterhead and other materials for clients and prepared the files for the press. I wrote and edited copy.

  • Roles

  • Designer, copy editor, writer

Designer — The Daily Times

Maryville, Tenn., April 2007 to June 2007

  • Summary

  • During a short-term agreement with The Daily Times, I designed features, news and entertainment pages. I worked closely with the entertainment editor to improve the aesthetic of his tab section.

  • Roles

  • Designer, copy editor

Designer, Inside Out — The Roanoke Times

Roanoke, Va., March 2005 to March 2007

  • Summary

  • I helped launch the publication and worked with its editor over the course of two years doing some of my most rewarding creative work up to that point. My final project with Inside Out was a redesign, preparing the publication for a new broadsheet format.

  • Roles

  • Designer, copy editor

Designer/Copy Editor — The Roanoke Times

Roanoke, Va., June 2001 to March 2007

  • Summary

  • The paper not only allowed but encouraged me to experience everything from copy editing to writing to design. I also got my first taste of work-flow management when the newspaper switched design software (to Adobe) using a different platform (from Macs to PCs). I was on a small company-wide team whose mission was to learn the new system, construct a local work flow using that system and teach it to co-workers.

  • Roles

  • Page designer, graphic designer, copy editor, writer, work-flow task master

SKILLS

Words

AP Style lover, grammarian; experience writing and editing for print and web

Design

Page design, conceptualization, production management

Work Flow Management

I have participated in several efficiency projects, formal and self-directed. I have helped create new work-flow systems and modified existing ones.

Software

Adobe Suite (InDesign, Photohop, Illustrator, InCopy), PageSpeed, DTI, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel)

Web

Familiar with content management systems, HTML, XHTML, CSS

General Good-Gal Skills

I'm and open, direct communicator; I work to continually improve my performance; I am a guardian of morale; and gosh darnit, people like me.

Language

Versed in spoken and written Spanish