Experience

Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office

• United States
• Law Enforcement
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Public Information Officer

  • Jul 2015 - Present

  I manage internal and external communications for the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office, including updating its website, managing its social media accounts, producing its annual report as required for accreditation, publishing internal announcements to staff, writing press releases and pitching stories to the media, and fielding inquiries from the media and the public.



Pungo Strawberry Festival

• Spokeswoman

  • Jul 2015 - Present

  Serve as volunteer spokeswoman for the Pungo Strawberry Festival on behalf of the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office. Duties include writing press releases, working the annual press conference, answering media inquiries, coordinating media coverage and assisting with social media.



Zumba

• United States
• Wellness and Fitness Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Zumba Instructor

  • Dec 2017 - Present

  Certified Zumba instructor licensed to teach Zumba fitness classes. I primarily teach on a volunteer and substitute basis, including teaching classes for the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office. I am also a certified Zumba Virtual Pro and have completed the Cue Like a Pro and Take the Lead trainings.



Stolle for Sheriff

• Communications Consultant

  • Jan 2017 - Present

  Work as a communications consultant for the Stolle for Sheriff campaign providing communications and social media strategy. The 2017 campaign was successful, with Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle winning the contested election with 60 percent of the vote for his third term in office.



Pilot Media Solutions | The Virginian-Pilot

• United States
• Advertising Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• City hall reporter

  • Feb 2014 - Jul 2015

  Covered the city of Virginia Beach, including city government, local politics and other issues of importance to Beach residents, visitors and businesses. Also, focused on the Shore Drive and Chesapeake Bay areas.

• General Assembly reporter

  • Jan 2012 - Mar 2015

  Helped cover the annual Virginia General Assembly session in Richmond, focusing on the House of Delegates and issues of importance to the Hampton Roads region. Also pitched in with state politics coverage, including elections and the 2014 gubernatorial inauguration, and covered committees looking at legislation pertaining to courts, education, health, general laws, science and technology, etc.Also helped cover the 2014 federal corruption trial, conviction and sentencing of former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, with a focus on online and social media coverage.

• Courts reporter

  • Mar 2012 - Feb 2014

  Covered the Circuit, General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District courts, as well as criminal justice issues, the city jail and the local offices of the commonwealth's attorney, sheriff and public defender. Also, some federal cases, the local bar association, and awards and discipline of local attorneys.

• Public safety reporter

  • Mar 2009 - Feb 2012

  Covered the city's police, fire and Emergency Medical Services departments in addition to criminal justice issues and other public safety news, such as natural disasters.

• Business reporter

  • Aug 2008 - Feb 2009

  Covered the business of transportation, including the region's ports and railroads, shipyards and related unions.

• Military reporter

  • Jun 2008 - Aug 2008

  As an intern, covered the region's military, including commissionings, homecomings and deployments, and issues affecting local military installations and service members and their families.



Austin American-Statesman

• United States
• Newspaper Publishing
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Business reporter

  • Jan 2008 - May 2008

  As an intern, covered business issues and features, including stories on real-estate development, political campaign ad expenditures, bar recycling and profiles of local businesses.



The News Journal Media Group

• United States
• Media Production
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Features reporter

  • Jun 2007 - Jul 2007

  As an intern, wrote feature stories about local events, businesses, trends and personalities and an issue story about challenges affecting early childhood education providers. Also helped cover the legislature.



Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility

• Intern

  • Jun 2006 - Jul 2006

  Conducted research and helped write and edit speeches, presentations and other communications, as well as staffing HACR's annual symposium. HACR is a nonprofit organization that works to advance Latinos' inclusion in corporate America.