Edelman

Vice President + Editorial Director (Chicago, March 2016 — Present)

Work with major brands + businesses to help them identify the best stories they have to tell. Develop + lead content strategy + creation. Help guide media, digital + social strategies.

Crain’s Business Insurance

Assistant Managing Editor (Chicago, July 2012 — March 2016)

Managed day-to-day operations of top-tier B2B insurance industry news website, BusinessInsurance.com. Made daily updates + helped steer + carry out editorial strategy. Implemented SEO best practices + leveraged social media to drive increased traffic to the website. Created + edited articles, photo galleries + videos in Saxotech CMS. Built + sent daily news alerts + e-mail newsletters. Supervised + managed online video production + video producer. Wrote video scripts, conducted on-camera interviews + served as regular online video anchor. Assisted with video editing as needed. Managed + maintained all Business Insurance social media accounts.

Jo Chicago

Account Manager (Chicago, December 2011 — June 2012)

Worked as account manager + social media specialist at boutique, full-service public relations + marketing firm servicing interior design + small business clients. Wrote + implemented social media strategies for clients. Managed company + client social media accounts. Provided social media training + advice to clients. Wrote blog posts + website copy for company clients. Wrote press releases + media alerts that were serviced at a national + regional level. Pitched stories to media outlets. Scheduled interviews. Tracked media coverage. Generated press reports. Scheduled + supervised photo shoots.

Playboy + Playboy.com

Editor (Chicago, March 2009 — September 2011)

Worked as staff writer + editor for Playboy magazine and contributed to all sections of the book, including the Table of Contents, Becoming Attraction, Mantrack, Raw Data, Elsewhere, Playboy Party Jokes, Next Month + various pictorials + feature articles. Hired + edited freelance writers. Conceived + wrote articles. Conducted interviews. Worked with art/production staff to determine which photographs were used in the magazine. Hired + managed all department interns. Contributed to Playboy.com + blogged regularly for its safe-for-work sister site TheSmokingJacket.com. Conceived, wrote + edited articles + video scripts for Playboy.com. Built multimedia features in Playboy’s content management system. Implemented SEO best practices. Assisted with production of editorial + marketing videos. Assisted with management of Playboy social media accounts. Took photos, conducted video interviews + started practice of doing live social networking at official casting calls and other Playboy events. Developed relationships with niche bloggers to increase links to Playboy.com content + drive traffic to the website. Worked with Playboy’s PR department to seed editorial content + viral videos.

Chicago Home + Garden Magazine

Editorial Assistant (Chicago, Jan. 2009 — March 2009)

Responsible for fact-checking all editorial content in the magazine. Assisted with photo research. Assisted with headline + caption writing. Helped to generate story ideas. Contributed editorial content to the magazine + its website.

Connection Newspapers

Reporter + Staff Writer (McLean, VA, October 2005 — January 2008 + June 1999 — January 2001)

Planned news, photographic + graphic content of weekly local newspaper, including all special sections. Managed, assigned + edited intern + freelance editorial projects. Conducted interviews, took photographs + wrote a mix of 6-10 news + feature articles a week. Maintained regular relations with community members + public officials. Regularly covered local events + government meetings.

Won 12 Virginia Press Association Awards, including:

  • 1st Place for General News Writing (1999, 2006, 2007)

  • 1st Place for Business + Financial Writing (2007)

  • 1st Place for General Makeup (2006, 2007)

  • 1st Place for Local Election Coverage (1999)

Sony Music | RCA Records

Tour Publicist + Publicity Coordinator (New York City, Oct. 2004 — Oct. 2005)

Handled national tour press for various RCA artists including Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Dave Matthews Band, Velvet Revolver, Kings of Leon, Citizen Cope, Ray LaMontagne, Jem, Foo Fighters + stellastarr*. Pitched media outlets, scheduled interviews, tracked media coverage + generated press reports. Wrote press releases that were serviced at a national + regional level. Oversaw + maintained all department budgets.

Freelance Writer

Various Publications (New York City, Washington D.C. + Chicago, Oct. 2000 — March 2016)

Worked as intern for Rolling Stone + assisted editors with research, transcription of interviews + fact-checking (2002). Worked as contributing writer for various publications including: Mixer magazine, Musictoday.com, Gotham Grooves, Monkeystyle Records, Ink Blot magazine (1999-2002), DVM magazine, TheSmokingJacket.com, LivingSocial Instant, Chicago Magazine (2009-2011), URB.com, TalentBin.com (2012-2016).

Skills

Proficient with PC and Macintosh Systems; Microsoft Office; Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, InDesign and Premiere Pro; Audacity; WordPress, Sitecore and numerous other content management systems.

Fluency in web and social media analytics tools (Google Analytics, Newswhip Analytics, Newswhip Spike, Sprinklr, Brandwatch, Crimson Hexagon, Hootsuite and Sprout) and native advertising platforms (Bidtellect, StackAdapt and Outbrain).