2006 – Present         Independent Contractor                     Cleveland, Ohio

Media Relations Consultant

n     Provides media relations services to corporate and nonprofit organizations. Clients include The Trust for Public Land and The Cleveland Foundation.

Writer and editor

n     Writes and edits on a contract basis for a diverse mix of clients, including national magazines, web-based journals and Cleveland’s National Public Radio affiliate.

n     Specializes in business reporting and writing with an emphasis on workplace culture and labor issues.

1998 – 2006             Akron Beacon Journal                        Akron, Ohio

Business reporter

n     Covered workplace issues and business trends, seeking out and writing the kinds of unexpected stories that get readers talking.

n     Developed and wrote a weekly column that took a conversational approach to career issues and workplace etiquette.

Metro reporter

n     Wrote breaking news stories and enterprise pieces from coverage of Medina County Common Pleas Court and communities in Summit and Medina counties.

Jan. – May 2002       Kent State University                         Kent, Ohio

Adjunct newswriting instructor

n     Instructed class of 16 first-year Kent State journalism students in coursework pertaining to the gathering and presentation of news.

1996 – 1998             Cleveland Magazine                           Cleveland, Ohio

Associate editor

n     Generated project ideas and shepherded them to completion.

n     Managed the work of freelance writers, assigning and editing features for the 45,000-circulation city magazine.

n     Wrote cover features and the monthly home-and-garden column, HomeFront.

1994 – 1996              Cincinnati Enquirer                          Cincinnati, Ohio

Metro reporter

n     Covered higher education, reporting on trends and news from the University of Cincinnati, Xavier and other colleges and universities in the region.

n     Covered breaking news and wrote enterprise stories on a general assignment basis.

AWARDS & HONORS

Fellowship for workplace reporting, Knight Center for Specialized Journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, September 2001.

First place, magazine general report, Cleveland Press Club 1998 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Award for managing and editing Cleveland Magazine’s 25^th anniversary issue.

First place for in-depth reporting, Society of Professional Journalists 1994 regional Mark of Excellence contest for report on residence hall safety at Kent State University.

Dick Kostic/Cleveland Press Club Scholarship recipient for 1992.

EDUCATION

1990 – 1994           Kent State University                          Kent, Ohio

Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication