Resume
Experience
Freelance Multimedia Reporter
Based in San Francisco, CA | August 2006 - present
Report and compose stories on a range of topics in the Bay Area and abroad. Duties include writing, photography, and audio gathering and editing (specific skills outlined below). Outlets include Frontline/World, Brink Magazine, the New York Times Magazine. Examples can be seen at http://telesle.net/blog/projects/articles
Graduate Student Teaching Assistant, Knight Digital Media Center
UC Berkeley | May 2007, December 2007, July 2008
Helped train mid-career journalists from around the country at week-long workshops to learn the tools of online storytelling and how best to use them. Responsibilities include reporting using video and audio; building web sites; designing with Flash; editing audio, video, and photographs; and web-casting.
Contributor, China Digital Times
December 2007 - present
Compose blog posts highlighting notable stories and resources available online in English as they pertain to China. CDT is an important, high-traffic resource for both aggregating English-language media on China (my contribution) and translating original documents from Chinese into English. This opportunity stems from my own reporting experiences in China.
Research Intern, Wired Magazine
San Francisco, CA | June 2007 - July 2007
Fact-checked a variety of articles, mainly back-of-the-book items and several entries from the “Geekipedia” special issue.
Associate Editor and Designer, Sierra Club
San Francisco, CA | March 2005 - August 2006
Wrote and edited environmental and political stories and interviews for the web site and publications including the Planet, a national newsletter with a circulation of 30,000. Designed the layout and graphics of the Planet as well a numerous other publications and materials.
Grant Proposal Writer and Editor, Sierra Club
San Francisco, CA | January 2004 - March 2005
Edited and analyzed grant proposals and foundation reports as part of a four-person grant writing team that raised more than $4.7 million in 2004. Composed, edited, and formatted informational program brochures for distribution to potential donors.
Webmaster, Designer, and Outreach Coordinator, U.S. Geological Survey
Menlo Park, CA | February 2002 - December 2003
Designed and developed the original North America Tapestry of Time and Terrain web site, companion to a major shaded relief map of North American geology. Wrote articles explaining various geological features across the continent. Created illustrations and photo composites for UC Press book on Napa Valley geology, The Winemaker’s Dance.
Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief, Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science
Hanover, NH | December 1999 - June 2001
Established a science magazine and worked closely with authors, faculty, and editors to ensure high quality content and design. Planned budgets, wrote grant applications, raised funds, and helped develop the original web site.
National Science Foundation Intern, Geophysical Institute
Geochronology Laboratory, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK | June 2000 - August 2000
Investigated geologic questions using argon-40/argon-39 spectrometry dating technique.
Education
University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, Berkeley, CA
Masters, Journalism, May 2008
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Bachelor of Arts, Earth Sciences, cum laude, high honors, 2001
- Earth Sciences Foreign Study Program (the “Stretch”) Fall 1999: Strenous mobile field course. Subjects included field mapping, water chemistry, geomorphology, seismology and geophysics, vulcanology, and mining geology. Field sites include the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming; Yellowstone National Park; Jackson, Wyoming; Dinosaur National Monument, Utah; Arches National Park, Utah; Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona; Lake Mead, Nevada; Death Valley, California; Arenal, Costa Rica; Quepos, Costa Rica; Guanajuato, Mexico; Colima, Mexico; Fresnillo, Mexico.
Awards
- Knight Award for Best Piece of Narrative Journalism on A Science or Environmental Subject for “China: Green Dreams,” 2008
- Frontline/World Fellowship, 2007
- Mark Felt Scholarship in Investigative Journalism, 2007-2008
- Susan Meiselas Award for Excellence in Photojournalism for “Boom Times,” 2007
- Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, UC Berkeley, 2006-2007
- Ebers Award for Most Outstanding Senior Earth Sciences Major, Dartmouth College, 2001
- Alumni Fund Scholar, 2000
- Richter Honors Thesis Grant, 2000
- Estwing Award for Contribution by a Junior to the Earth Sciences Department, 2000
Skills
- Reporting, writing, and interviewing
- Conversational Spanish
- Audio recording (mainly with Marantz PMD 660 and smaller commercial recorders)
- Audio editing with ProTools and Soundtrack Pro
- Video recording (mainly Sony PD170, PD150, TRV11)
- Video editing with Final Cut Pro
- Photography, primarily digital SLR, Canon equipment
- Photo editing and correction with Adobe Lightroom
- Flash design and programming
- Web design (HTML and CSS) with Textmate and Dreamweaver
- Blogging and blog design with Wordpress and PHP
- Slideshow composition with Flash and Soundslides
- Publishing layout with QuarkXpress
- Illustration and photo finishing with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
- Comfortable with both Mac and Windows operating systems
It’s true. I was a Jeopardy! contestant.
