Summary
My mission as a professional media producer is to communicate complex subjects with clarity and descriptive power. I’ve been producing and managing digital and print content about land use, urbanism, planning, and architecture since 2007.
Experience
Editorial Director
Planetizen
February 2021 – Present
- Assign and edit all news, analysis, commentary, and features for Planetizen, a national planning and land use website, accomplishing a fourfold increase in revenue since 2014 and over 1.1m users in 2022.
- Hire and manage instructors for Planetizen Courses, increasing course ratings by 15% in 2022.
- Manage the pre-production process for the Planetizen Courses platform.
- Identify and recruit institutional partners for Planetizen Courses.
- Set strategy and manage day-to-day operations across multiple social media platforms.
- Create and launch new editorial products, including Planopedia, currently drawing more than 10k monthly users.
Managing Editor
Planetizen
January 2014 – January 2021
- Responsible for 40-60 editorial posts a week on Planetizen, totaling more than 12,000 bylined posts.
- Managed Planetizen site redesigns in 2016 and 2021.
- Wrote, edited, and managed the production of three editions of the Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs.
- Managed social media marketing campaigns for all content and products.
- Participated in numerous events as a speaker and a moderator on a range of planning-related topics.
Freelance Journalist and Consultant
November 2009 – Present
- Bylines for TransitCenter, Curbed LA, LA Weekly, The Architect’s Newspaper, the California Planning and Development Report, KCET, FORM.
- Wrote, edited, and managed numerous “Technical Assistance Panel” reports for the Los Angeles Chapter of the Urban Landing Institute.
- Researched and wrote the initial draft of the “LA2050: Who We Are, How We Live, Where We Are Going” report for the LA2050 initiative, for Estolano LeSar Perez Advisors.
- Wrote and researched “Regional Landscape Review of Climate Programs & Policies” for the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action & Sustainability, under contract for Adi Liberman and Associates.
Outreach and Data Coordinator
The College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
September 2011 – December 2013
- Managed all communications for the College of Environmental Design (ENV): print and digital media, social media, public relations, and media relations.
- Launched the first print publication for ENV, Link magazine: led design and editorial; hired freelance team; and wrote all copy (circulation: 9,000).
- Launched a suite of new social media products to increase online engagement in the community of students, alumni, and faculty.
- Promoted and planned all college and department events, including “Technology and Environment: The Postwar House in Southern California” (a Pacific Standard Time Presents exhibition).
- Wrote original copy for university publications: Panorama (circulation: 115,000) and PolyTrends (circulation: 15,000).
Editor
The Planning Report, Metro Investment Report, and VERDEXCHANGE NEWS
March 2006 – August 2011
- Promoted three times, from intern to editor.
- Developed, researched, wrote, and edited all content for monthly and seasonal insider journals, covering land use, infrastructure, and the green economy in Southern California.
- Planned and implemented the annual VERDEXCHANGE Conference as Project Communications Manager.
Education
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Master of Arts – Humanities, June 2005
University of California, Berkeley, CA
- Bachelor of Arts – English (with honors), May 2002
- Bachelor of Arts – Religious Studies, May 2002
Technical Skills
- The Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Stylebook.
- Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, HTML, MS Office, Google Drive, Dropbox.
- Technology platform management: Drupal, WordPress, Tumblr, Movable Type, SquareSpace, MailChimp, RegOnline, EventBrite, Cvent.
- Social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Sprout.