Experience:

Senior U.S. Political Correspondent, DailyMail.com   May 2018 – present

• Senior correspondent covering American politics and policy via the White House, electoral campaigns, and Capitol Hill
• I write a variety of content – break my own news, quickly turn around breaking news, write analysis, take the lead on the big story of the day or contributing to it, pitch original enterprise pieces
• Meet daily deadlines and plan big-picture pieces
• Distill complex stories on American politics and policy into easy-to-understand ways for both American readers and DailyMail.com’s large international audience
• Comfortable filing stories from all environments including the halls of Capitol Hill, a press van, the campaign trail, and my office desk
• White House beat: I attend press briefings, perform pool duty, travel with POTUS both domestically and internationally, and cover FLOTUS
• Capitol Hill beat: I started at DailyMail.com as a Capitol Hill beat reporter and still love to visit the Capitol and check in with aides – something that has proven helpful with the Biden administration and its close ties to Democratic lawmakers
• Coordinate with photo desk, video team, graphics department, and social media team to tell a story through a variety of formats
• Juggle multiple projects, articles, and deadlines; keep in constant communication with team on works in progress/story ideas

Managing Editor, RealClearPolitics           December 2015 – September 2017

• Developed a strong sense of news judgement as I oversaw RealClearPolitics’ editorial coverage of the White House, Congress, and political campaigns
• Being an editor made me a better reporter: it helped me see what a story is missing; constantly ask the question “why”; and to think about the big picture
• Even as an editor I still wrote and reported – mainly focusing on President Trump’s relationships with Congress
• Formulated long-term stories and projects to enhance coverage and go beyond the daily headline
• Creative Story Telling – I ensured RealClear content was told in the best, smartest way possible and combined text and data with graphics, video, podcasts, social media, and other means
• Took deep dives into data – including RCP’s polling, FEC reports, social media stats – to enhance coverage
• Launched big picture series: the “In the Arena” podcast, a “Battleground” series of text stories and podcast segments on the election, coordinated and participated in election videos
• Negotiated a partnership with Google to provide voter data from key battleground states; worked with Facebook and Twitter on incorporating their data into coverage
• Managed a multi-media newsroom of editors, reporters, video producers, social media team, and remote staff
• Took temperature of newsroom: mood of staff, monitored morale, checked in on the team
• Conducted staff evaluations from annual reviews to making decisions on promotions, salary and disciplinary actions; wrote job descriptions; interviewed and made hiring recommendations
• Handled media requests for information about RealClearPolitics, particularly its polling average.
• Helped plan RCP’s White House Correspondents dinner party and assisted with formulating topics and questions along with booking panelists for RCP events
• Coordinated with business team on promotion/sponsorship of special series, videos, and podcasts
• Co-hosted “RealClearPolitics” show on SiriusXM; discussed politics in national TV appearances on Fox News Channel and C-SPAN

Senior Communications Officer, House of Representatives  January 2014–November 2015

• A non-partisan job in the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, performing internal and external communication work for the House of Representatives
• Handled media requests about operations of the House of Representatives, including requests on politically sensitive topics such as spending of taxpayer money, lawmakers’ pay and office arrangements, and the closing of the Capitol
• Managed high-pressure situations involving Members of Congress and their staff, handle their requests
• Devised, managed, and implemented marketing plans for services offered to lawmakers and 10,000 congressional staffers
• Prepared and briefed officials for congressional testimony and media appearances
• Pitched stories to media, served as an on-the-record spokesperson, cultivate relationships with journalists, and wrote press releases and other materials
• Designed and implemented a social media strategy and guidelines
• Facilitated discussions among various stake holders on controversial topics involving lawmakers
• Planned and executed conferences, workshops, seminars, fairs, VIP gatherings, and other events for lawmakers and House staffers
• Booked guests and developed content for events, including negotiating topics, handling logistics, planning a marketing campaign, working with sponsors and vendors, and coordinating with senior officials and lawmakers throughout the process
• Negotiated and worked with outside vendors
• Assisted in the planning and execution of the transition between the 113^th and 114^th Congresses
• Posted photos and videos to House.gov in addition to writing and editing feature stories on the House; oversaw internal House website

Features Editor, The Hill                        January 2013 – January 2014

• Managed and wrote for the features section of the paper and equivalent online coverage, which included assigning and editing stories along with reporting and writing my own copy
• Launched The Washington Scene – a blog dedicated to the intersection of D.C.’s scene and political life
• Developed features beat on Capitol Hill – haunted the hallways, talked to aides, attended committee hearings, staked out votes and lunches, and caught members in the cafeteria line
• Freedom to write a variety of pieces: profiles, features, covering congressional hearings, trend stories, and enterprise pieces
• Planned, organized and executed The Hill’s annual “50 Most Beautiful” list
• Hired staff writers and interns, supervised story assignments and managed freelancers
• Discussed politics and pop culture during national and local TV and radio appearances
• Developed innovative story ideas for the features section, including working with photographers and page designers on the aesthetic aspect while producing online videos to accompany articles
• Juggled multiple projects, articles, and deadlines

Associate Editor, Campaigns, The Hill   April 2008 – December 2012

• Was a senior member of an editorial team that tripled TheHill.com’s traffic
• Managed a five-member campaign team of reporters and bloggers, which included developing exclusive story ideas, making editorial decisions on which stories to pursue, directing the angle of a story and determining the lede
• Coordinated debate night, primary night and election night coverage along with managing coverage of the 2008 and 2012 presidential races and the 2010 midterm elections
• Wrote eye-catching headlines and rewrote ledes to make stories compelling and newsworthy
• Wrote and edited stories that garnered Drudge hits or large click-rates due to links on other websites plus being tweeted/retweeted
• Worked with reporters to develop stories on the congressional and executive branches
• Created the Ballot Box blog and oversaw its content and development
• Discussed politics in national radio and TV interviews including on C-SPAN and the BBC

Freelancer, US Weekly                      December 2004 – December 2016

• Attend and cover movie premieres and other high-profile society events including the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and the Kennedy Center Honors
• Interview celebrities including Jessica Simpson, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, Mary J. Blige, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, and Matthew Morrison
• Write pool reports

Senior Editor, The Hotline                      September 2007 – April 2008

• Coordinated with traveling embeds (through a partnership with NBC) for presidential coverage
• Compiled a daily story list and managed content of The Hotline’s web page
• Revised aggregated blog items to increase their news value
• Assigned and edited stories on the presidential race, Senate races and House races
• Wrote a weekly column on political campaigns for National Journal magazine
• Offered updates on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” and XM radio station POTUS
• Enforced deadlines among staff and offered constructive criticism