Writer/English Teacher

Experienced teacher of freshman and sophomore English courses, and Creative Writing, at the collegiate level. Knowledgeable in crafting a syllabus, setting goals for a course, and completing a course in a timely and efficient manner. Excellent mentor to students of varying ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities. Trained in large and small classroom settings. Ability to determine a student’s strongest needs and work to meeting the needs of that student in the classroom or in private sessions. Well read in English, American, and Central American Literature, with a BA, and MA, and MFA in English Literature and Creative Writing Fiction. Excellent nonfiction and fiction writer with superb graduate school GPA. Careful, fair, and deliberate grader. Eight years of teaching experience in higher education. Skilled evaluator of creative work in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, with particular emphasis on instructing students in the fundamentals of imaginative writing.

Awards, Fellowships, and Publications

Writer in Residence, Writers-in-the Schools, Houston, TX, 1999-2000
Artist in Residence, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA, 1998
Artist in Residence, MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH, 1996
Fellow, Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA, 1995-1996
First Prize for Fiction, Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers, 2000
1996 Stanley Elkin Memorial Award for Short Fiction, Colorado Review, 1996
Individual Artist Grant, Georgia Council of the Arts, 1995
“The Bomb Plant” (short story), Blue Mesa Review, 2005
“Shotgun" (short story), New Delta Review, 2001
"Chicken Catchers" (short story), West Branch, 1997
"Tadpoles" (short story), Colorado Review, 1996
"Bankfalva" (photo-essay), Grand Tour, 1996
"Light After Dark" (film), Atlanta Independent Film & Video Festival, 1997
"Sticks" (film), Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA, 1998
Features articles and photographs for the Athens Daily News, 1993-94

Salem College
2006 - present
INSTRUCTOR, CREATIVE-WRITING

Designed and taught upper-level course and writing workshop in the craft of writing Poetry. The course combined readings of 20th Century women poets such as Audre Lorde, Lucille Clifton, Ann Sexton, Mary Jo Salter, Sharon Olds, and Sylvia Plath with intensive critical analysis of the students’ own work in Poetry.

Designed and currently teaching introductory course in Creative Writing. The course includes introductory assignments in the writing of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and it includes a heavy reading load in all of those genres. Students are expected to leave the course with a firm grasp of the fundamentals of Creative-Writing.

Related Professional Experience

The University of Houston
1998-2000
INSTRUCTOR, ENGLISH

Designed and taught freshman and sophomore English classes, two classes per semester, twenty-seven students per class. Designed course work and syllabi for University of Houston core curriculum English requirements. Designed and taught original course for sophomore level English on Literature and Culture. Reviewed the teachings practices and classroom teaching methods of fellow English instructors.

 Athens Technical Institute
2001-2003
INSTRUCTOR, ENGLISH

Designed and taught freshman and sophomore English classes, one class per quarter, twenty-five students per class. Designed and taught one weekend course in English and Rhetoric, one quarter, fifteen students. Designed and taught one course in Humanities, one quarter, twenty students.

Houston Community Colleges
1999-2000
INSTRUCTOR, ENGLISH, TUTOR

Designed and taught freshman and sophomore English classes, one class per semester, ten to fifteen students per class. Reviewed the teachings practices and classroom teaching methods of fellow English instructors. Tutored and supervised a writing lab for students needing assistance writing their English papers.

Writer / Photographer

Skilled writer with publications in medium size market periodicals, journals, collegiate alumni magazines, educational web sites. Competent photographer with a creative eye in 35mm or digital format. Ability to take on an assignment and complete it by deadline. Excellent research skills. Excellent interpersonal skills. Experience in editing copy. Previous writing jobs include features writer and photographer for Athens Daily News, Athens, GA, fiction editor AGNI Magazine, writer New Georgia Encyclopedia, writer and photographer Scripps Magazine, writer Flagpole Magazine. Technically proficient in Adobe Photoshop or traditional 35mm darkroom photography. Ability to organize a photography shoot, complete it, and deliver images in a timely and professional manner. Experience in portrait, environmental, documentary, features, and sports photography. Talented at interviewing and engaging subject matter, drawing out compelling stories, commentary, and insights. Wide ranging reader with a broad, passionate interest in people, communities, politics, and the world. Sophisticated, articulate thinker with a deep passion for learning and writing.

            Writing                                                Photography
            Editing                                                Interviewing
            Research                                           Meeting deadlines
            Generating ideas                              Working with people
            Fast typist                                           Adobe Photoshop
            Microsoft Word                                  Macromedia Fireworks

Producer/Director/Writer

Experienced producer of small independent films. Ability to plan, organize, write, shoot and edit video and audio productions for broadcast or distribution. Excellent writing skills. Excellent communication skills. Experienced at research for documentary or multimedia projects. Experienced interviewer of a variety of subjects and individuals. Talented at creating projects and completing them in every facet. Personable and trust-worthy. Special skills in digital video and audio formats. Skilled at transferring conventional analog material into digital format for the World Wide Web. Intelligent, sophisticated, well-read and knowledgeable about current affairs and events. Production experience in film, audio, DVD, and digital media. Creative writer with an MFA and several publications.

 Multimedia Specialist for the World Wide Web

Experienced web site designer. Knowledgeable in web site architecture and usability. Well versed in the needs of higher education on the World Wide Web. Advanced computer skills, comfortable with a wide range of software on multiple operating systems. Skilled at maintaining, revising, and redesigning web sites. Skilled at managing the needs of multiple web sites within a single institution. Organized manager for small staff of web designers.

Highly qualified producer, director, and writer of video segments designed for broadcast on the world wide web. Excellent photographer (digital and negative) and videographer with over ten years experience. Archival researcher who can produce and create documentary features from historic footage. Talented at organizing a video production and completing it, in every phase, on deadline. Professionally trained still photographer. Results-focused employee with a proven track record of providing web sites with high quality multimedia at a low cost. Skilled at serving as a liaison between the world of technology and the every day employee. Strengths in: Web design and layout, Flash Digital video production, Archival research, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Digital still photography, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Professional, creative writing, Project organization and delivery, staff supervision and review, editing and publishing, QuickTime Pro

Professional Experience

Scripps College, Office of Public Relations
www.scrippscollege.edu

2004 - 2006

WEB ADMINISTRATOR, or WEBMASTER (July 2004-October 2006)
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER (September 2004-August 2005)

Oversaw a technical transition from an old website design for Scripps College to a new one, currently in place. Responsible for maintenance of the current Scripps College website in all facets with over two dozen individual departmental sites. Responsible for managing the website's dozens of different departmental web sites. Responsible for posting and maintaining new content on the site such as PR press releases and imagery.

Train various college department employees on how to access, design, and update their own web pages affiliated with Scripps College. Serve as the ‘public face’ of the Scripps College website on campus. Respond to requests for changes, updates, and revisions to the website promptly and with courtesy.

Work to implement new designs and functionality on the Scripps College website as needed. Manage statistical analysis of site usage through third-party software. Draft and review website usage and design policies for Scripps college (ongoing). Improve the overall multimedia content of the Scripps College website (ongoing) through video, Flash, and digital photography.

Contribute on a weekly basis to the photography needs of the office for the alumni magazine, the website, and various development publications such as brochures and advertisements. Contribute on a weekly basis to the planning, design, content, and layout of the alumni magazine. Write the occasional feature article for the magazine.

The New Georgia Encyclopedia
www.georgiaencyclopedia.org

2001 - 2004

CONSULTING MEDIA EDITOR (2003-2004)
MEDIA EDITOR (2002-2003)
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR (2001-2002)

Hired originally to illustrate with photographs or artwork each of the thousands of articles for the New Georgia Encyclopedia (www.georgiaencyclopedia.org), a free educational resource and a nonprofit organization headed by the Georgia Humanities Council, the University of GA Press, and GALILEO, a library consortium. Designed and implemented a system for research and database storage of over five thousand images (to date) for 'NGE.' Specialized in researching historic images in archives, institutions, and archives across the state of Georgia. Established a twenty-five member network of organizations, nonprofit and commercial, to share digital resources such as photographs and videos with NGE. Specialized in establishing interagency relationships and instituting agreements with organizations across the state to share contemporary images and video with NGE. Loaded and formatted thousands of photographic images to complement articles onto the NGE site through an online editorial publishing tool.

Served as technical consultant, reviewer, and advisor for NGE between it and the web design firm, Merrill-Hall New Media, as the site was envisioned, designed, and implemented in both the public access to the site and the backstage, editorial functionality. Contributed centrally to the overall design and functionality of the NGE web site. Produced a series of dynamic internet and video presentations for funders critical to gaining long-term financial support for the project.

In coordination with Merrill-Hall New Media, designed and implemented NGE's video capability. Researched, produced, wrote, recorded, and directed over 150 video clips (or 'web documentaries') for NGE. Produced a series of audio clips and three dimensional QuickTime object movies for NGE's online art exhibit ' Galleries.' In coordination with NGE technical staff, designed and implemented the site's Galleries functionality and graphical user interface. Partnered with over twenty-five art museums, organizations, galleries, archives, nonprofits and individuals to produce NGE Galleries. Designed and implemented NGE's Flash capability. Currently designing Flash movies for the NGE site to complement articles, display video clips, and serve as Galleries interface module.