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 Nana︎ Assisstant Facilities Manager
Cefalù, Sicily / Remote︎ 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 Awards︎2022 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 Contest︎2021 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 Excellence︎2022 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