Education Reporter at Skagit Valley Herald
Greater Seattle Area
Education Reporter at Skagit Valley Herald
Greater Seattle Area
People want to read compelling stories about the people in their community, and it takes a reporter with curiosity, empathy and an eye for detail to bring it to the readers. My goal is to make news relevant in the readers’ lives and make my stories enjoyable to read.
To my sources I am an honest, open ear. In turn my sources trust me with stories they might not share with others.
I continue to improve my writing and interviewing skills by attending writing workshops, taking classes on newsu.org and reading blogs and books about the craft. I am very interested in multimedia and am learning how to create Web pages, including this one. I enjoy collaborating with photographers and designers to create compelling packages. I also use Excel spreadsheets to enhance my reporting.
Open records requests, usage of various government web sites, internal newsroom programs like Shell and Ted, ability to work with others. I am somewhat proficient in Photoshop.
(Newspapers industry)
September 2007 — Present (2 years 3 months)
(Newspapers industry)
September 2003 — June 2007 (3 years 10 months)
* Wrote several stories per week on Larimer County government.
* Worked with the Web editor to create compelling online packages.
* Participated in the redesign of the Reporter-Herald using Readership Institute data and suggestions.
(Newspapers industry)
August 2003 — December 2003 (5 months)
* General assignment, business, sports and county government.
(Newspapers industry)
August 2000 — June 2003 (2 years 11 months)
* Covered the competitive sailboat racing circuit, adult club rugby and high school swimming.
* Wrote weekly sports features and profiles.
(Public Company; 11-50 employees; Food Production industry)
November 2001 — March 2002 (5 months)
* Dates are approximate. I did a five-month stint at the Papa while I was freelancing to bring in extra money. No shame in that.
(Educational Institution; 1-10 employees; Newspapers industry)
September 1998 — May 1999 (9 months)
* Edited copy two to three nights per week for this weekly college paper.
* Wrote biweekly opinion columns and occasional features.
(Educational Institution; 11-50 employees; Newspapers industry)
November 1995 — May 1997 (1 year 7 months)
* Covered Colorado State University Division I swimming, fast pitch softball, club baseball, and extreme sports.
* Edited copy and designed pages four nights per week.
Communications , Print journalism , 1998 — 2000
Studied German through third-year classes.
Agricultural and natural resources journalism 1995 — 1997
learning multimedia techniques like Google Maps and Soundslides; cooking, homebrewing, saltwater fish
Society of Professional Journalists
2006
* First place, agriculture story, Colorado Press Association
* First place, spot news, “No Grim End,” with reporter Pamela Dickman, Colorado AP Editors and Reporters
* Second Place, online special package, Big Thompson Flood of 1976, CAPER
* Third place, spot news with reporter Adrienne Hoenig
2005
* Colorado Press Association award for “Service to the First,” staff project
2004
* Third place, for a story on a disagreement between a county commissioner and the county sheriff, Colorado SPJ