I have worked at Oregon State University since 2008, first as a
science writer for what was formerly known as the Extension and Experiment Station Communications department and later as the leader of the department's news team. I was also an interim co-director of the department for 10 months. I wrote, assigned and edited news releases, wrote magazine features, shot photos, filmed and edited videos, and contributed to social media. I also taught faculty and students how to work with reporters and communicate in lay terms about their research.
Projects I managed included the production of a 32-page, magazine-style report about OSU’s wine research. I also oversaw content development for a legislative outreach website of impact statements, and I served as a liaison with a D.C.-based PR firm that promoted OSU to Congress. Additionally, as a communicator on a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, I traveled to Mexico and Honduras to report on aquaculture research and outreach. Deliverables included videos, photos and stories.
Since 2015, I have led the communications program at Oregon Sea Grant at OSU. I manage contractors, media relations, Oregon Sea Grant’s annual participation in OSU’s Dam Proud Day fundraiser, and projects that include the production of marketing and legislative outreach materials. I also shoot and edit photos, write and edit content, and manage the program's Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, LinkedIn, Flickr and YouTube accounts. My accomplishments include creating a strategic plan for the communications program and developing and implementing an award-winning integrated digital marketing campaign for Oregon Sea Grant’s 50th anniversary.
While at OSU, I have received seven awards from District VIII of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for my writing. These include a grand gold award for a magazine feature on OSU's wine research, a gold award for a feature on honey bee research and a gold for six profiles on undergraduates conducting hands-on research. The impact statements I edited and helped write for an OSU legislative outreach website received a silver award from CASE in 2015.
Before joining OSU, I was a financial and general news reporter for Reuters in Chile, a freelancer in Peru for U.S. newspapers, and a magazine editor near Chicago.
I earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of
Oregon and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Oregon
State University.
(bio photo by Stephen Ward, homepage photo by Lynn Ketchum)
