Vivian Whitney


Professional Experience


Cooking Italian With Joe ︎ Director of Communications
Syracuse, NY ︎ August 2020 — June 2021, November 2022 — Present

︎manage communications for cookingitalianwithjoe.com, the Italian recipe brand of Joe Borio
︎create social media strategy to grow audience and engagament on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
︎secure brand partnerships, sponsorships, and affiliations for YouTube and website
︎imported and redesigned website from WordPress to Squarespace
︎increased website ad revenue by 334% from 2020 to 2021
︎manage social media implementations, like Cameo and TikTok
︎transcribe recipes and implement a style guide for consistency
︎track e-commerce and analytics for olive oil orders

Serra Guarneri, Palma Nana︎ Assisstant Facilities Manager
Cefalù, Sicily / Remote︎ December 2021 - October 2022

︎managed volunteers and kept track of daily responsibilities
︎offered remote assistance for logisitics planning for the Serra Guarneri facility
︎helped oversee and managed vegetable garden and flora and fauna around the property, including chickens and wild boar management
︎brainstormed and presented activity ideas and learning goals for use during the environmental education  camps
︎worked on-site December 2021, March 2022, and July - October 2022 assisting with general facility maintenance 
︎prepared group meals for volunteers and guests on a daily basis
︎performed daily upkeep including cleaning, repairs, deliveries, and errands and feeding the animals
︎processed food items like marmalades for preservation and use at the facility and tended to the garden


The Preserve Journal ︎ Content Research & Creation
Remote ︎ November 2021 — March 2022

︎pitched original articles ideas and research and develop exisisting pitches
︎developed social media campaigns and prepare framework for ongoing fixtures  


Slow Food USA ︎ Communications Intern
Remote ︎ May 2020 — August 2020

︎managed editorial calendar for blog and edited and published stories to the blog weekly
︎helped manage weekly Zoom skill-share sessions and uploaded to blog
︎wrote captions for and managed social channels
︎spearheaded annual Membership Drive project and assigned and guided over 30 stories and interviews to a team of ten
︎wrote and interviewed multiple stories in a month for Membership Drive


POPSUGAR ︎ Contributing Writer
Remote ︎ May 2020 — August 2020

︎pitched stories monthly, including DIYs, recipes, shopping articles, and personal essays
︎wrote and reported one weekly story on topics including entertainment, food, pets, and family
︎received up to 865 shares per article, averaging 162 shares


Institute for Veterans and Military Families ︎ Communications Intern Syracuse, NY ︎ August 2019 — December 2019

︎marketed and promoted Institute for Veterans and Military Families programs
︎created graphics for social channels and edited promotional videos on Adobe Premiere
︎wrote and edited copy for web, speeches, handouts, and social
︎formed insights on marketing campaigns to create a social strategy


Food Network, Discovery Inc. ︎ Digital Media Intern
New York, NY ︎ May 2019 — August 2019

︎pitched video ideas weekly and researched locations, topics, and content for videos
︎wrote one article biweekly for web and edited videos on Adobe Premiere for social
︎attended shoots and assisted with set up, lighting, filming, and media dropping
︎conducted analytics and wrote insights on video performance on social media


On-Campus Experience


Jerk Magazine ︎ Editor in Chief
Syracuse, NY ︎ May 2020 — May 2021

︎managed and communicated with print and digital staff of over 130 students
︎collaborated with executive staff to produce purposefully crafted editorial and creative vision 
︎copyedited, proofed, and distributed two 68-page issues per semester
︎increased publishing from one issue per semester to two
︎oversaw advertising, PR, and social media teams
︎increased applications by 300% and staff by 500%
︎implemented slack to expand opportunities for member engagement
︎increased publishing from one issue a semester back to two per semester
︎pitched 15 feature, opinion, and culture stories a month for print issues
︎assigned stories to and communicated with writers during edits
︎managed timelines for and edited copy, heds, and deks for five sections
︎designed layout for entire issue on Adobe InDesign
︎submitted budget requests and communicated with publisher

                              ︎ Managing Editor
Syracuse, NY ︎ January 2019 — May 2020
︎pitch 15 feature, opinion, and culture stories a month for print issues
︎proof and distribute two 68-page issues per semester
︎assign stories to and communicate with writers
︎manage timelines for and edit copy, heds, and deks for five sections
︎design and oversee layout for entire issue on Adobe InDesign
︎oversee budget and operations and communicate with publisher

                        ︎ Front of Book Editor
Syracuse, NY ︎ May 2018 — December 2018
︎managed all of front of book material
︎communicated with writers for FOB stories
︎maintained calendar and information for FOB fixtures
︎fact-checked and edited copy
︎designed layout for FOB

                        ︎ Asst. Arts & Culture Editor
Syracuse, NY ︎ December 2017 — May 2018
︎reported to arts and culture editor to help oversee the section
︎pitched 15 story ideas per issue
︎communicated with writers to manage deadlines and copy
︎fact-checked and copyedited stories
︎designed two to three spreads per issue

                        ︎ Freshman Intern
Syracuse, NY ︎ August 2017 — December 2017
︎reported directly to editor in chief to help with a variety of tasks
︎fact-checked and copyedited stories
︎designed two to three spreads per issue
︎pitched ten story ideas per issue

Education


University of Gastronomic Sciences Pollenzo, Italy
Master of Gastronomy: World Food Cultures and Mobility
        recieved Fulbright grant
        109/110 GPA

Syracuse University
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
Syracuse, New York
B.S. in Magazine Journalism
Food Studies minor
French minor
3.9 GPA

Syracuse University Florence
Florence, Italy ︎ spring 2020
concentration in Food Studies


Awards & Honors

Personal

Syracuse Press Club Awards
︎2022 2nd place, best print/digital feature story, Welcome to the COVID Rush of Seeds, Weeds & Foraged Leaves


2021-2022 Fulbright Casten Family Foundation Award
︎to pursue a Master of Gastronomy degree at the University of Gastronomic Sciences

2021 Henry J. Wolff Prize
︎awarded to the Newhouse senior student deemed most proficient in journalism

2021 Henry J. Leader Memorial Prize in Editing
︎awarded to a Newhouse senior for work in the field of editing

2020 Maria Riccardi Scholarship
︎for an outstanding Newhouse undergraduate woman
in journalism

Jerk Magazine

SND Student Design Contest
︎2021 2nd place, World’s Best Designed Student Magazine

AEJMC Student Magazine Contest
︎2020 1st place, single issue of an ongoing magazine — general excellence
︎2020 1st place, single issue of an ongoing magazine — design
︎2020 1st place, best magazine news page/spread
︎2019 3rd place, editorial of single issue of an ongoing magazine

SPJ Mark of Excellence
︎2019 Finalist, best student magazine
︎2019 1st place, best student magazine in the northeast

CMA Pinnacle Awards
︎2018-2019 honorable mention, best editorial
︎2017-2018 honorable mention, best magazine contents page/spread

Upstate Unearthed

SPJ Mark of Excellence
︎2022 1st place, best independent online student publication

BEA Festival of Media Arts
︎2022 2nd place, best website

Syracuse Press Club Awards
︎2022 2nd place, best use of multimedia


Skills


Technical:
InDesign, Premiere, Audition, MS Office, social media, Google AdSense, TweetDeck, WordPress, Squarespace, AP Style, HTML, CSS

Miscellaneous:
advanced Italian, intermediate French, photography

Interests:
umami, mixology, corduroy jeans, fermentation, knick knacks, ephemera, anthropology




© VIVIAN WHITNEY 2022