Dedicated and enthusiastic media professional who has experience in strategic communications, and reporting on local governments, breaking news and education in metro Atlanta.

 WORK EXPERIENCE

Federal Aviation Administration
Office of Finance and Management, Program Specialist: January 2025 –

Write stories for and about employees of the FAA and its Air Traffic Organization; Edit and write documents and articles on deadline for the team’s monthly newsletter, the AFN Update; Assist with proofreading, metrics, web content updates, graphics, photo editing and collaborating on vital communication letters for organization executives; Collaborate on formatting and organizing newsletter layout each month; Collaborate on executive leadership speeches and planning of town halls.

 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

February 2022 – August 2024

Consistently met daily deadlines by writing stories for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s daily newspaper and online subscribers; Regularly wrote SEO (Search Engine Optimization) headlines to compel readers to click and read stories; Arranged and scheduled photographers and discussed the best photo opportunities for stories; Captured photos for stories as necessary.

• Local Government Reporter (February 2022 – March 2024) 

Regularly wrote stories about city council meetings in Gwinnett County, the second most populous and the most diverse county in the state; Wrote stories about city development, community events, homeownership and homelessness; Wrote stories on deadline about property taxes, millage rates and city moratoriums, and its effect on residents; Volunteered, collaborated and published stories for the AJC’s Black History Month and 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop projects; Wrote story as a part of the Black History Month project, which had the highest readership numbers.

• Breaking News Reporter (April 2024 – May 2024) 

Wrote breaking news stories on deadline and often followed up with enterprise stories that engaged and compelled readers to click on stories, such as the family that held a protest to encourage the district attorney to file charges in the killing of their 4-year-old daughter; Broke an exclusive story about U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s request for answers from the U.S. Postmaster General regarding mail delays; Publicized and created awareness through a series of stories on the postal service’s extensive mail delays, including pressure from U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, and the effect on customers; Collaborated with the education team on stories about President Joe Biden’s commencement address at Morehouse College and the related protests.

• Education Reporter (May 2024 – August 2024) 

Wrote stories about the impact of Atlanta’s days-long water main breaks on summer school programs; Attended a school board meeting about a new cell phone policy in Marietta City Schools and explained the goals and objectives of why school officials wanted to implement the new policy; Followed up with several stories on the policy’s impact, including in other metro districts, on students and the potential challenges of the implementation; Wrote story about the increasing number of Black male superintendents in metro districts.

 Story Highlights

●        Homelessness in suburbs is easy to miss, experts say – Sunday Spotlight, Aug. 2022          

●        The past was bright but the future looks bleak for Herndon Stadium – Black History Month, Feb. 2024                

●        Ossoff to USPS chief about mail delivery: “You’ve got weeks … to fix this” – A1, April 2024

●        Will Black men in Georgia vote for Biden or stay home? – A1, May 2024

●        Why cellphone crackdowns in metro Atlanta classrooms may not be easy – A1, July 2024

 Internships/Freelance Work

Texas Highways (2024): Wrote a piece from my perspective as a former Baylor University student about the impact of having a live mascot on campus.   

The Daily Dot (2021): Pitched and wrote up to four news stories per week focusing on social media and Internet culture; Pitched and wrote story about social media’s response to Sha’Carri Richardson’s temporary suspension from the U.S. Olympic team after testing positive for THC; Pitched and wrote story about musicians relying on streaming services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Texas Monthly (2021): Pitched stories to editors and wrote Texas Monthly Recommends articles; Fact-checked The Texanist columns, and copy-edited various short-form and long-form online stories.

Clear Health Costs (2021): Pitched and wrote story about UT Austin students starting a new school year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Texan By Nature: (2020): Collected and reported digital analytics for the organization’s website; Created Canva graphics for social media campaigns; Wrote blog posts for the organization’s website.

WSB-TV Atlanta (2018): Conducted research/fact-checked stories related to community affairs; performed editing, proof-reading and designing of layout; conducted interviews for stories airing on weekly on “People 2 People” news show; attended live community events. Responsible for scheduling and disseminating information to employees regarding “Stuff the Bus” volunteer back-to-school event.

 Education 

The University of Texas at Austin: M.A. Journalism and Media, December 2021

Baylor University: B.A. Journalism, Public Relations and New Media, May 2020