Award-winning editor who has recruited and managed offsite teams of freelance writers and managed members of lean editorial and design teams working from multiple U.S. and foreign cities, with external vendors and multiple corporate stakeholders. Has shepherded numerous writers to national writing award nominations and prizes.
Award-winning journalist with a national William Allen White award for Public Service writing on Yosemite National Park.
Successful project manager who has developed and launched print and web-based media on time and under budget for museums, nonprofit foundations, health care, high-tech, and other corporate clients.
Museum, nonprofit, and cultural affairs specialist who has successfully launched multimedia content for museum websites, cultural institutions, and nonprofits including Edutopia.org, California Academy of Sciences, Oakland Museum of California, and San Mateo County History Museum.
Independent Content Producer | March 2010 to present; San Rafael, CA
Web Writer and Project Manager | April 2012 to September 2013; San Francisco, CA
California Academy of Sciences
Managing Editor | June 2008 to February 2010; San Rafael, CA
Edutopia.org website and EdutopiaMagazine
California Academy of Sciences
Project Manager of three-phase website launch for the California Academy of Sciences. Achieved goal of implementing more than 100 HTML and Flash pages containing new content, photos, and videos on time and on budget. Achieved project goals of launching new site in support of a major membership and fundraising drive. Wrote editorial calendar, hired writers, provided editorial direction, editing, and writing for site. Maintained production schedule and enforced deadlines while working with off-site editorial director, consulting web design team, and in-house webmaster and programming team. Oversaw editorial process involving feedback, input, and sign-off responsibility from in-house stakeholders, scientists, and personnel. Throughout the project, coordinated all fact-checking with appropriate in-house scientists and obtained sign-off/approvals by internal stakeholders. Coordinated photo research with in-house graphic designer, Academy stock photography databases, and Academy scientists.
Freelance Journalist | July 1999 to present; San Rafael, California
Writer/reporter producing long-form feature articles, profiles and cultural affairs stories for magazines, newspapers, and websites. Cover stories and bylined articles have been published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times magazine, Salon.com, Bay Nature Magazine, PlanetOut.com, Benefit Magazine, California History Magazine, Pacific Sun Newsweekly, California Lawyer, Out Traveler, Sunset Magazine, San Francisco Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, LA Weekly, Biography Magazine, Stanford Magazine, American Home Style & Garden, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Oakland Museum of California History, icPlanet.com, Seniors.com, 101communications, and NextMonet.com and more.
Researched conferences and speaking opportunities focused on Internet performance measurement and monitoring for executives and product managers. Managed the Speaker’s Bureau for executives on the topics of Streaming Media, VoIP, Wireless, Mobile, Customer Experience across multiple vertical industries and Service-Level Management issues in the wired and wireless arenas.
Managed offsite editorial production for quarterly publication with geographically disbursed edit/production team. Substantive edits and revisions on all features and columns, copy-editing and proofing of final pages, wrote all display text and recommended art.
Freelance Corporate Writer | July 1999 to 2005; San Rafael, CA
Public Relations/Marketing writer with an emphasis on hi-tech for corporate clients including Keynote Systems; Kulsea PR, Laurie Evans & Associations; Eastwick Public Relations; ObjectSwitch (now Kiberia); and Oracle. Client-driven writing projects included press releases, customer case studies, collateral marketing pieces, nonbylined viewpoint editorials, and marketing White Papers.
Contract assignment to manage all aspects of a public relations program focusing on new Oracle customer success stories worldwide. Oversaw production and media placement of all customer announcements. Project management responsibilities included writing press releases, obtaining and tracking all internal and customer approvals, managing agency resources, coordinating customer references and program information across departments, conducting customer interviews, and maintaining master archive of all interview transcripts. Researched and wrote weekly and quarter-end press releases.
Executive Editor of Horizons and Transitions magazines for a strategic marketing solutions firm. Project manager of membership publications developed for Secure Horizons, a Medicare-risk HMO. Created marketing themes, editorial, and cover concepts. Assigned, edited, and wrote editorial for publications. Attended consumer focus group testing of materials and concepts. Participated in strategic planning meetings. Co-wrote RFPs. Also served as Senior Managing Editor of new publication launches including First Wave, More Life, Living Your Best Years, Always On the Go, Interchange, and Better & Better magazines. Hired and managed staff including art directors, copy editors, proofreaders. Oversaw budgets and editorial production. Participated in high-level strategic debriefs with corporate clients. Obtained regulatory approval on healthcare editorial.
San Francisco Focus Magazine
Award-winning editor and writer. Assigned, edited, and wrote features, profiles, and essays for monthly, regional consumer magazine. Conceptualized stories and worked with nationally known writers. Senior editorial management of regular departments. Editorial specialist on health, consumer services, travel, and environment. Hired as Copy Editor/Systems; promoted to Associate Editor and Senior Editor. Was also Managing Editor of three consumer trade books including Smart Health: The Complete Guide to Health Care in the Bay Area (vols. I and II) and Best Bay Area Bargains: The Insider's Guide to Smart Shopping for Almost Everything. Designed magazine's first website, using HTML, Photoshop, and Fetch. Created and managed editorial project databases in Filemaker Pro. Conducted technical research for management. Represented Focus magazine on consumer issues on KPIX and KGO television.
OTHER PUBLISHING POSITIONS
Assistant Production Editor | Macworld Magazine | 11/86 – 11/89
Transportation Editor | Daily Commercial News | 8/84 – 2/86
Marketing Assistant | Turtle Island Publishers | 10/83 – 7/84
EDUCATION
University of California at Berkeley | Political Economy of Industrial Societies, Bachelor of Arts
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel | Exchange student, Education Abroad Program
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Harvard University’s Neiman Conference on Narrative Journalism, December 2005
UCLA Writers' Conference, February 2001
New York State Writers' Institute, Skidmore College, Summer 2000
Stanford Professional Publishing Course, Summer 1998
Squaw Valley—Art of the Wild Writer's Conference, Summer 1994
Squaw Valley Writer's Conference, Summer 1993
AWARDS
1996 National Magazine Award Finalist for Service Journalism, Editor: "The Real Truth About Breast Cancer," San Francisco Focus, October 1995
1996 William Allen White award for investigative journalism, Editor: "Aftershocks," San Francisco Focus, April 1995
1996 William Allen White Gold award for General Excellence, San Francisco Focus
1994 William Allen White award for Public Service Journalism, Writer: "They Paved Paradise, Yosemite at the Crossroads," San Francisco Focus,
January 1993
1994 William Allen White award for Service to Readers, Editor: "Special Women's Health Issue," San Francisco Focus, September 1993
1994 William Allen White Gold award for General Excellence, San Francisco Focus
Professional Associations/Public Service
California Studies Association, Steering Committee, 2002 through 2004
CSA conference organizer: 2003 at UC Davis, 2004 at Loyola Marymount University
Panelist/Speaker: 2002 CSA Conference at Dana Point, “Issues in California Fiction”
Panel Organizer/Moderator: 2004 CSA Conference at Loyola Marymount, “Farewell, My Lovely: Is Film Noir Dead? New Thoughts on a Dark Subject”
National Gay and Lesbian Journalist Association, SF Chapter Board Member, 2004
Marin County Humane Society, Volunteer, 2004 to present
Dog Behavior and Training Department and Pet Pal volunteer