Experience

The Seattle Times: Sept. 2011 - Present
Staff reporter
   --Currently working in the capital bureau, covering the Legislature in print, online and via social media
   --Focused in the 2012 election on the governor’s race and money in politics, analyzing contribution reports and scrutinizing tax returns. Also coordinated our coverage of the start of gay marriage
   --In a year as the paper’s only K-12 education reporter, covered School Board elections and superintendent searches, uncovered financial waste and exposed problems in the Seattle School District’s special ed program
   --Produce 4-5 stories per week while writing frequent Sunday A1 enterprise pieces
   --As the paper’s most active tweeter, have trained colleagues and led seminars on using Twitter in reporting

The Washington Post: June - Sept. 2011
Interactivity producer
   --Worked on online initiatives to increase and improve interactions between reporters and readers
   --Recruited the long-term unemployed to blog about their experiences for major project I pitched and ran
   --Contributed stories on Hurricane Irene and the Base Realignment and Closure program for print

The Orange County Register: June - Aug. 2010
Washington D.C. bureau intern
   --Covered Calif.’s two senators, Orange County’s six congressmen and political issues important to the area, writing on White House briefings, Supreme Court nomination hearings and financial regulation debates

Reno Gazette-Journal: June – Aug. 2009
News intern
   --Covered mostly breaking news, writing 91 stories (37 for A1), taking photos and shooting video

Education

Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.): Sept. 2007 - June 2011
   --Earned dual degree in Journalism and Political Science
   --Graduated cum laude (top 12 percent of class)
   --Edited my award-winning college newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, where I managed a staff of 120, refocused the paper on investigative reporting and unearthed issues with the Medill Innocence Project

Universidad de Sevilla (Seville, Spain): Aug. 2009 - Dec. 2009
   --Studied Spanish art and history during quarter abroad

West Lafayette High School (West Lafayette, Ind.): Aug. 2003 - May 2007
   --Academic Honors Diploma


Awards

The Mirror Awards (Professional contest honoring journalism about the media industry)
   --Finalist in Enterprise Reporting, Series on David Protess and the Medill Innocence Project: May 2011

Associated Collegiate Press (Contest honoring top work at U.S. college newspapers)
   --1st in News Story, "NU reaches $2 million settlement with Sunshine family": Sept. 2010

Hearst Journalism Awards Program (Contest honoring top work at U.S. colleges)
   --11th in Spot-News"Officials believe Reno man killed himself after setting fire": July 2009
   --10th in Editorial/Column, "D65 tragedy": May 2009
   --16th in Spot-News, "2 hospitalized in house fire": April 2008

Boy Scouts of America
   --Eagle Scout: May 2006


Skills

Multimedia
   --Proficient in video (Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid and Final Cut), Adobe Flash, Soundslides and Audacity
   --Significant experience in photo editing (Adobe Photoshop), page design (Adobe InDesign), HTML, Web production, blogging software and various content management systems (CCI, JazBox, CMS)

Languages
   --Spanish: High proficiency (have conducted in-depth interviews)