PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
I am an award-winning communications expert and former live television news reporter with extensive experience in nonprofit communication, marketing, public relations, and content creation. I am a conceptual self-starter with razor-sharp copyediting, proofreading, and video-editing skills developed over a more than 15-year career. I am energized and proud to bring my collaborative, service-centered work ethic to a passionate team where I hope to make my mark, learn, and grow.
SKILLS AND CERTIFICATION
Mental Health First Aid Certification via National Council for Mental Wellbeing
HIB & DEIB Certification via Global Compliance Network
| Social Media Writing | Press Release Writing | Social Advocacy |
| Website Writing | Email Writing | Brochure Writing |
| Headline Writing | Customer Experience | Strong Presentation Skills |
| Video Editing | Brand Strategy | Google Workspace |
| Marketing Copywriting | Copyediting | Scriptwriting |
| Content Development | Project Management | Broadcasting |
| Pitching Media | Public Relations | Communications |
| Collaboration | Television / Print Journalism | Canva |
EXPERIENCE
| Marketing Copywriter Contractor The ZAP Group Marketing Agency | Scotch Plains, NJ | April 2024 – July 2024 |
- Imagine and cultivate brand tone for a diverse set of clients
- Develop brand strategy
- Write copy adhering to brand tone
- Write social media captions
- Compose press releases
- Craft blogs, press releases, brochures, and pamphlets
- Manage multiple, diverse clients
- Help mold client image and messaging for targeted audiences
| Public Relations Contractor Pantelides PR & Consulting | Palm Beach Gardens, FL | January 2024 – April 2024 |
- Work collaboratively with clients and as part of a larger team daily.
- Brand and re-brand products and people
- Strategic Plan Management
- Compose press releases
- Pitch stories to new and existing media contacts
- Grow media contact Rolodex
- Coordinate and staff media opportunities
- Help grow media presence for clients
- Help mold client image and messaging for targeted audiences
| Business Owner, Interior Designer and Decorator KLS Living, Interior Design and Decorating | January 2016 – January 2023 |
- Work collaboratively with clients and as part of a larger PR team daily.
- Project management and procuring skilled contractors specific to each job site
- Sourcing of materials
- Attention to detail
- Conceptualization, visualization, and sketch design plans including board creation using Canva and Morpholio
- Budget management
- Setting timelines and expectations
| Producer/Reporter, Communications Humane Society of the United States | Washington, DC | November 2009 – April 2013 |
- Social Media management.
- Produce, write, narrate, and edit videos for web and social media platforms
- Advocacy writing
- Daily interdepartmental collaboration
- Write to highlight efforts of global team
- Interview government officials, celebrities, sports figures, and more
- Plan video shoots in studio and remotely by managing production through all stages to completion
- Wrote internal pieces and news stories for online publication, coordinating images and layout to ensure proper presentation
- Counsel video-editing crew on material used for video, handling voice-overs following editing phase, and edited using Final Cut Pro
- Arrange and conducted interviews with individuals knowledgeable about each story’s subject matter
| Television News Reporter First Coast News NBC / ABC | Jacksonville, FL | November 2005 – November 2009 |
- Oversee all phases of video production and communications from pre- to post-production.
- Pitch relevant and timely news stories
- Plan, schedule, write and deliver the news live daily
- Determine shots used in video and locations for shoots
- Manage teams of photographers and editors, collaborating with producers
- Live reporting for national news networks and in multiple markets across the country
- Crisis management and plan-pivoting daily
- Work under tight deadlines
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with the community
- Perform research and rigorous fact-checking to maintain high standard of journalistic integrity
- Wrote pieces and news stories for online publication, coordinating images and layout to ensure proper presentation
- Evaluate and followed news leads and tips to develop stories
- Write, edit and produce stories for multiple platforms.
| Television News Reporter CNN affiliate News 10 | Syracuse, NY | October 2003 – November 2005 |
- Gather information and multi-task to meet deadline for multiple stories daily
- Shoot video and edit using non-linear editing software
- Write, voice, and edit stories, reporting on them live
- Work quickly and efficiently to accurately report breaking news stories
- Source and pitch exciting and fresh story ideas daily, through cultivated sources
- Follow through on beat sources, contacts and leads to gather information for stories
- Apply understanding of public opinion, social media and traditional media use to create engaging and attention-grabbing stories
- Write, edit and produce stories for multiple platforms.
VOLUNTEER ROLES
| Grassroots Phone-banking Action Together New Jersey | Scotch Plains, New Jersey | July 2017 – Current |
Grassroots nonprofit dedicated to getting out the vote where I worked phone banking starting in 2017.
| Teen Mentor Children’s Home Society, FL Dept. of Children & Families | Jacksonville, FL | February 2006 – March 2007 |
Mentor teen girls who are single mothers and model positive parenting. Coach on preparing for jobs and for working on personal relationships.
| Board Member RescueGroups.org | Jacksonville, FL | June 2008 – April 2014 |
| Community Outreach Jacksonville Animal Care & Protective Services | Jacksonville, FL | March 2005 – August 2008 |
Helped ideate and organize community outreach efforts and adoption events. Care for dogs and cats and work with other volunteers and staff to come up with ideas to improve the shelter and promote adoption. I also helped identify companion animals that were suitable for the individual family in order to reduce the rate of adoption returns.
| Adoptions Facilitator Shih Tzu and Furbaby Rescue | Gaithersburg, MD | February 2010 – September 2012 |
Coordinate and care for dogs rescued from puppy mills from around the country during transport to foster or adoptive homes.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
- Telly Award Recipient, Humane Society of the United States, 2012
- Feature on Volunteer Work, Jacksonville Magazine, 2008
EDUCATION
| BA in Journalism/Mass Communications St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, NY | May 2002 |
Kristin Stawarz Portfolio 