qonfusion@yahoo.com
Professional experience
July 2008 – present: Up Here magazine, Yellowknife, Canada (www.uphere.ca)
Associate editor, online editor
Write feature creative non-fiction and reportage on Canada's North, from in-depth investigative journalism to gritty profiles to historical reflection to political analysis. Edit uphere.ca, producing a podcast and expanding readership through interactive content
May 2007 – March 2008: Nation Media Group, Nairobi, Kenya (www.nationmedia.co.ke)
General assignment reporter (intern), various publications and NTV television
Wrote political, social and cultural stories and opinion pieces for various newspapers and magazines owned by Nation Media Group, as well as producing hard news and feature TV stories
July 2007 – present: The Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, Maisonneuve magazine, Kwani magazine, AlbertaViews and others
Freelance writer
Write occasional features for the Globe and Mail, features and hard news for the Ottawa Citizen, creative non-fiction for Maisonneuve and Kwani, reportage for AlbertaViews
June 2005 – May 2007: The Yukon News, Whitehorse, Canada (www.yukon-news.com)
Legislative and First Nations reporter
Reported from the Yukon legislative assembly as well as covering national and international politics and other hard news. Covered the Yukon’s 14 First Nation communities, bringing a needed emphasis on aboriginal issues to the newspaper.
November 2004 - June 2005: Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon, Whitehorse, Canada
First Nations, Legislative and general assignment reporter
Reported on First Nations issues and the Yukon legislature for an aboriginal radio station.
September 2003 - November 2004: Adbusters Magazine, Vancouver, Canada (www.adbusters.org)
Senior editor
Participated in every step of creating an award-winning, international magazine. I wrote feature stories, essays, creative non-fiction and website content, as well as editing stories, managing international correspondents and screening queries.
September 2002 - September 2003: The Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Canada (www.canada.com/ottawacitizen)
Special features writer and editor
Wrote, edited and planned entire feature sections. During my one-year contract I worked with a pool of freelance writers, advertising clients with the paper. I also successfully pitched several section ideas for publication and freelanced news features for the regular paper.
Post-secondary education
1997-2002: Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Combined Honours in Journalism and Political Science; graduated with Honours
Experience during school includes writing, directing and producing a feature-length documentary on male eating disorders, ‘Size Matters’, editing the arts section for the campus newspaper (The Charlatan), and briefly editing a woman’s novel.
2000: Summer Institute of Film and Television, Gatineau, Canada
Documentary filmmaking with Murray Battle, a TV Ontario filmmaker
Pitched a documentary idea on the secret lives of only-children to a TV Ontario producer.
Languages
English, written and spoken.
French, basic, spoken
Swahili, basic, written and spoken
Awards
2007: CN Canadian national award winner for business writing, Canadian Community Newspapers Association
2007: Second place in CCNA Better Newspapers competition for environmental writing
2007: Nominated, Western Canada Magazine Awards, travel writing
Distinctions
1997: Ontario Honours Student, Grand River Collegiate, Kitchener, Canada
1997: Entrance Scholarship, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Hobbies and interests
Guitar, distance running, mountain biking, photography, camping, playwriting, reading, travel, and writing.
Travel
Countries visited: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Netherlands, France, Germany, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia.
Technical
Publishing: Experience with Quark Xpress, Adobe InDesign and Photoshop; literate in Mac OSX
Television: Final Cut Pro, basic camera proficiency
Radio: Digital recording and editing, experience with non-linear sound editing, podcasting
Photography: Skilled digital photographer with my own pro equipment
References
Aaron Spitzer, editor, Up Here magazine, Canada: +1 867-766-6710
Richard Mostyn, editor, Yukon News, Canada: +1 867-667-6285
Rob Bostelaar, life content editor, Ottawa Citizen, Canada: +1 613-596-3664