Samantha Grace Dias

Current

• Freelance Communications Associate at Sole Proprietorship

Past

• Communications Specialist--Energy Supply at Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company
• Writer/Communications Assistant at Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company
• Writing Tutor at Elms College Academic Resource Center

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Education

• University of California, San Diego
• College of Our Lady of the Elms

Recommended

6 people have recommended Samantha Grace

Connections

64 connections

Industry

Writing and Editing

Samantha Grace Dias’s Summary

Freelance Communications Associate with exceptional copyediting, proofreading, writing, indexing, and desktop publishing skills. Consistently produce high-quality print and web-based communications for various audiences with a keen eye for detail and a commitment to accuracy. Professional strengths include the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment and an aptitude for synthesizing complex technical information into clear, user-friendly copy.

Interested in assisting graduate students, self-publishing authors, businesses, nonprofits, and publishing companies reach their communications goals.

Samantha Grace Dias’s Specialties:

Specialize in copyediting nonfiction and fiction books, corporate publications, and theses/dissertations in a variety of academic disciplines. Well-versed in the following software applications: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Apple iWork, Adobe InDesign, and Acrobat. Considerable familiarity with several major style guides, including Chicago, MLA, and APA.

Samantha Grace Dias’s Experience

• Freelance Communications Associate

  Sole Proprietorship

  (Writing and Editing industry)

  May 2008 — Present (1 year 8 months)

  - Provide copyediting, proofreading, writing, and desktop publishing services to publishers, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals
  - Edit and proof nonfiction and fiction manuscripts, newsletters, theses, and dissertations for grammar, formatting, and conformity with various style guidelines
  - Use Word's Track Changes and Comments features to edit and query
  - Regularly design and modify page layout using InDesign
  - Current clients include Massachusetts Library Trustees Association (Wakefield, MA); Strategic Book Group (New York, NY); Mometrix Media (Beaumont, TX); and Textbroker (Las Vegas, NV)
  - Completed projects for Atlantic Publishing Company (Ocala, FL); Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (Shelburne Falls, MA); Panther Professional Editing Services (Port Orchard, WA); and Demand Studios (Austin, TX)
  - Recently edited or proofread the following titles: The Complete Guide to Investing in Exchange Traded Funds: How to Earn High Rates of Return--Safely, Am I Going to Heaven?, The Six Sigma Manual for Small & Medium Businesses, 101 Ways to Score Higher on Your GRE, The Bible and Christianity, Expanded Learning Time: Making Every Minute Matter, and How to Own and Operate a Financially Successful Consulting Business

• Communications Specialist--Energy Supply

  Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company

  (Government Agency; Utilities industry)

  April 2007 — May 2008 (1 year 2 months)

  - Drafted, edited, and designed various mission-critical documents, including commodity trading reports, generator outage notifications, and strategy analysis summaries
  - Responsible for the successful execution of communications initiatives for MMWEC's Market Management & Planning Division
  - Provided data management to members by using Excel to convert power supply-related data into relevant charts and graphs
  - Maintained power supply-related portions of the password-protected member website using an in-house web application

• Writer/Communications Assistant

  Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company

  (Government Agency; Utilities industry)

  November 2005 — April 2007 (1 year 6 months)

  - Assisted in all levels of the production and distribution of MMWEC's marketing collateral and corporate publications, including newsletters and press releases
  - Interviewed subject matter experts and drafted news pieces
  - Routinely utilized Photoshop, Acrobat, PageMaker, InDesign, Publisher, and PowerPoint to meet corporate graphic design, page layout, and presentation needs
  - Maintained public website and employee Intranet using Dreamweaver

• Writing Tutor

  Elms College Academic Resource Center

  (Educational Institution; Education Management industry)

  September 2003 — May 2005 (1 year 9 months)

  - Helped students improve their writing skills by editing rough drafts of their assigned papers
  - Explained grammar and syntax rules to English as a Second Language (ESL) undergrads
  - Edited master's theses for the college's Religious Studies Department

Samantha Grace Dias’s Education

• University of California, San Diego

  Certificate , Copyediting , 2009

• College of Our Lady of the Elms

  B.A. , English, Media & Communications Management , 2001 — 2005

  - Graduated summa cum laude with a cumulative GPA of 4.0
  - Elms College Class of 2005 Student Commencement Speaker
  - Received the following awards from Elms College in 2005: Founders' Cross Award for maintaining a 4.0 GPA over four years of study, Dorothy Fitzgibbon Award for writing excellence, Sister Mary Fenton Award for excellence in the study of the humanities, Sister Anita Statz Award for competent professionalism and excellence in the study of business management, Sisters of Saint Joseph Service Award for volunteerism and peer leadership
  - Kappa Gamma Pi's Saint Catherine Medal for Christian leadership and community service, 2004
  - Big Y's Paul D'Amour Undergraduate Fellowship for superior academic achievement and extracurricular involvement, 2004

  Activities and Societies:

  Editor-in-Chief of student newspaper, Editor of student/alumni literary magazine, Campus Ministry, Delta Epsilon Sigma, Kappa Gamma Pi

Additional Information

Samantha Grace Dias’s Interests:

spirituality, politics, reading, beadwork, crochet, listening to the Dave Matthews Band, watching LOST

Samantha Grace Dias’s Groups:

Western New England Editorial Freelancers Network

•    Mac Users
•    Freelancers & Self-Employed Professionals
•    Linked:Energy (Energy industry expertise)
•    Book Publishing Professionals
•    Freelance Success
•    Publishing and editing professionals
•    Public Relations and Communications Professionals
•    Freelance Editing Network
•    9/11 - Never Forget
•    InDesign Users
•    Writing and Editing Professionals
•    STET: Professional Copy Editors
•    Linked Western Mass
•    Copywriting & Copyediting
•    Elms College
•    UCSD Extension Copyediting
•    BookLink
•    Pioneer Valley Local First

Samantha Grace Dias’s Honors:

- Appointed Town Election Officer (2009 - )
- Elected Precinct 2 Representative Town Meeting Member (2007 - present)
- Served as Coordinator of Ludlow's annual Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty (CROP) Hunger Walk (2004-2007)

Samantha Grace Dias’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• getting back in touch