PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE
Freelance Copywriter, CNBC Prime, NBCUniversal 12/15 - Present
Writes recaps for episodes of The Profit, Restaurant Startup, and The Filthy Rich Guide.
Selects screenshots and writes captions for episode galleries.
Composes titles and captions for deleted scenes, behind the scenes clips, and other features.
Casual Games Association
Editor, Writer, and Interviewer for CGA’s magazine, Casual Connect, and videogame industry resource, Gamesauce, July 2012 – July 2015
Conceptualize, pitch and write articles for magazine and website
Coordinate and conduct interviews with videogame creators & industry leaders
Research topics, products, businesses, and industry trends to enhance quality of work
NOTE: I'd also like to state that this job was offered to me due to my profile and activity on LinkedIn. It is an excellent example of how social media engagement and development can lead to employment opportunities.
Freelance Consultant, Analyst, Speaker
September 2011 – Present
Created entertainment industry analysis for videogame company and state gov. (under NDA)
Advised organizations on how to develop and manage social media presence
Wrote press releases for local organization to promote game jams and other events
Spoke/guest lectured on topics like entertainment, videogames, social media, and publishing
Institute for Comics Studies (ICS)
External Operations: Assistant Director, Social Media Manager, December 2008 – June 2015
Raise awareness of brand and establish positive brand reputation
Network with industry professionals on behalf of the ICS
Increased membership from zero to several thousand with no budget
Start and monitor discussions on social media outlets; post related news and information
Promote and market academic events centered on comic books and related media
Scifipulse.net
Web Journalist, August 2008 – Present
Incorporate multimedia into articles and use social media to increase unique visits
Write articles about pop culture, entertainment law, economics, and interview comic book creators, pop culture scholars, novelists and movie producers
The Iconic Obama, 2007 – 2009: Essays on Media Representation of the Candidate & New President
Co-Editor & Contributor, March 2009 – May 2012
Developed concept and proposal for book project, wrote contracts, acquired permissions for images, updated publisher about manuscript’s progress
Recruited contributors, tracked their progress, edited essays, provided essays and interviews
Directed marketing using twitter, listserves, press releases, interviews, and other media coverage
Budcat Creations/Activision
QA Tester, June 2009 – September 2009
Reviewed and analyzed videogames throughout production to ensure product’s quality
Reported programming mistakes and monitored them until correction
Worked on "Guitar Hero 5" (PS2) and "Band Hero" (PS2)
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.
Promotions Intern, December 2004 – August 2005
Assisted with production and designing of advertisements for Sports Radio 770, New Rock 99X, and 96k Rock; organized product/advertisement trades with other companies
Assisted with station’s remotes and sponsored concerts
Helped maintain homepages for 99x & 96k Rock; wrote New Rock 99x's "What's On Tap," a daily show schedule featuring musicians in the Ft. Myers/Naples area
ACADEMIC WORK EXPERIENCE
Textbook Evaluation / Selection Committee
University of Iowa - General Education Literature Program, Fall 2011 – Spring 2014
Recommended or rejected texts for required courses based on academic quality, and analyzed academic publishing market (both print and digital) to make better informed decisions
Contributed expertise on graphic novels, Early US literature, and texts about business and technology
Developed and implemented formal acquisition process for program-wide textbook; this one-year (Fall 2013 to Spring 2014) deal resulted in $110k in sales
Contributed content to the Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter 11th edition, University of Iowa Edition, (New York: Norton, 2013); co-wrote introduction and created appendix on writers from Iowa and the University of Iowa.
University Course Instructor
University of Iowa, Fall 2009 – Spring 2013; Florida State University, Fall 2006 – Spring 2008
Created hundreds of lectures on topics as diverse as comic books, film, poetry, novels, advertisement, videogames, social media, media production, writing, editing, and researching
Designed classes to uniquely address topics relevant to academic and non-academic professions
Bridged traditional academic goals with social media, advertising, professional skill sets, and multiple forms of popular media
Organized, tracked, and evaluated reports, assignments, attendance, and other materials using traditional and digital management tools