Lauren Orsini, Professional Journalist

Arlington, VA 22202
703.994.9416 / lauren@lorsini.com

Experience

Sole Proprietor / Orsini Bowers Media — January 2013 – present.

Reporter and Graphics Specialist / The Daily Dot — August 2011 – December 2012.

  • Researched and reported more than 500 stories focused on community and cultural topics. Portfolio here.
  • Edited and controlled quality for stories published during my editing shifts.
  • Designed and maintained a visual advertisement campaign inspired by Internet memes.
  • Researched and designed visual journalism infographics using Illustrator.

Interactive Designer / Pew Center on the States — December 2010 – July 2011.

  • Designed and built complex interactive maps and graphics using JavaScript and Flash languages ActionScript 2 and 3.
  • Provided CMS support for both pewcenteronthestates.org and stateline.org.

Visual Journalist / Investigative Reporting Workshop — September 2009 – November 2010.

  • Created infographics on complex subjects in a fast-paced work environment.
  • Designed and built infographics on X-rays; media and broadband companies; lobbying by chemical companies.
  • Published on partner websites, including Politics Daily.

Education

American University / August 2009 – August 2010. Washington, D.C.

  • Graduated with M.A. in Journalism and Public Policy.
  • Maintained 3.70 GPA.
  • Worked as a TA for Professor Lynne Perri.
  • While in school, completed two internships at the Newseum and Kotaku (Gawker Media).

University of Mary Washington / August 2005 – May 2009. Fredericksburg, VA.

  • Graduated summa cum laude with B.A. in English with honors, focus in Creative Writing.
  • Maintained 3.80 GPA.
  • Worked all four years at the UMW Speaking Center as a public speaking coach.
  • Interned at the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star.

Skills

  • Mastery of Adobe Creative Suite CS5, including Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver and Premiere Pro.
  • Familiar with many Web content management systems with specialties in WordPress and Drupal.
  • Self taught in Python, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
  • Conversational Japanese.