RESUME

sewella@gmail.com

Experience Summary

• Experienced in writing breaking news, investigative pieces, and features. Primary focus is reporting on public agencies, particularly municipal government.
• Knowledgeable about public records and computer assisted reporting.

Education

B.A., Political Science, Reed College, Portland, OR

2004

Professional Experience

• Covered regional government, breaking news, projects and features
• Part of the team covering the Bell corruption case and aftermath, which won the 2010 Public Service Pulitzer.
• Completed data-intensive projects on elections in Southeast Los Angeles County and municipal legal costs, including a searchable public database of legal expenditures for all 88 cities in Los Angeles County.

Staff reporter/photographer – Desert Dispatch, Barstow, CA

• Covered crime and public safety and government beats for a daily newspaper.
• While producing multiple daily stories on deadline, took the initiative to produce long-term enterprise pieces.

Staff reporter/photographer – Molalla Pioneer, Molalla, OR

• Strove to go beyond breaking news and community event coverage to get to the heart of local issues.
• Helped to launch the paper’s first news blog.

3/08 to 5/09

10/06 to 2/08

Computer Skills