Beth Walton Braaksma Email & Phone Number

United States

Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States

Wrote college and career guides for BestColleges.com to connect prospective students and workers to schools and training. Assisted with content optimization across educational brands. Developed SEO best practices for audience engagement and brand visibility.

Estepona, Andalusia, Spain

Prepared and facilitated lessons in composition, literature, creative writing and journalism at a private international school in Spain. Communicated with students, parents and staff across diverse cultures and languages to achieve individual, family and institutional goals. Staff editor and website developer for a monthly student newspaper.

Taught A.P. Composition, Creative Writing and 10th Grade English at a public high school in Florida. Led a grade-level collaborative planning team to create engaging, aligned and standards-based lessons. Monitored performance data to adapt and differentiate lessons to meet individual student needs. Edited student work for a monthly newspaper column in Hometown News Treasure Coast. Staff editor and website developer for a student-run literary magazine.

Vero Beach, Florida, United States

Broke news online and in print for a chain of Florida newsweeklies. Covered law-enforcement, federal and circuit courts, providing timely and comprehensive coverage of the justice and legal sectors. Assisted in the development and rebranding of digital news operations.

Asheville, North Carolina Area

Broke news daily in a digital-first newsroom, reporting on social issues such as poverty, gender and race in Southern Appalachia. Utilized social media for sourcing and sharing stories, effectively engaging with an online audience. Analyzed metrics to drive readership growth and develop a personal brand. Earned five state press awards (2016-2017) in the large circulation group. Selected as an Equal Voice Journalism Fellow by the Marguerite Casey Foundation for a series on poverty in Western North Carolina. Awarded an H.F. Guggenheim Reporting Fellowship for ongoing coverage of race and policing.

Kigali, Rwanda

Oversaw the work of 22 regional malaria volunteers and the development of the STOMP Rwanda Program. Mobilized volunteer malaria prevention and control work nationwide, increasing activity by 42 percent. Used social media, online resource sharing, targeted communication and bilingual training to inspire action. Collaborated with an international team of malaria experts to reach global malaria elimination goals. Developed monitoring and evaluation frameworks for impact assessment and programmatic growth. Authored proposals and secured grant funds for national malaria prevention and control projects.

Nyakigando, Nyagatare, Rwanda

Conducted a 2-month needs assessment with local leaders and residents to build public health programming in a rural Rwandan village. Taught healthy living and sports to 90+ Rwandan secondary school students. Integrated health education into existing services at the health clinic; collaborated with community health workers for village outreach. Developed and delivered 50+ hours of malaria prevention and community mobilization training. Co-Directed a Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) Camp for 100+ participants. Authored proposals, secured and managed grant funds for health and education related projects.

Wrote destination features, cover stories and news for group travel industry trade magazines between Peace Corps assignments. Developed supplemental online multimedia packages, including interactive audio and visual content. Assembled regional and international travel itineraries. Cultivated and maintained relationships with industry sources. Copy edited pages for publication.

Zhanakorgan, Qyzlorda, Kazakstan

Served as an education volunteer is a remote Kazak town, teaching English to adult and student learners. Trained teachers in new methodologies to promote positive changes in the classroom. Organized extracurricular activities focused on critical thinking, youth empowerment and leadership. Facilitated volunteer training sessions on English language education and volunteer safety. Led efforts to construct a Peace Pole, bringing together Russians, Kazaks and Americans in the village of Taldy Bulak.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Developed and maintained donor relations for a statewide nonprofit agency, serving 24,000 girls and 6,000 adult volunteers in 34 Michigan counties. Oversaw fundraising activities for two regional offices, securing major donor funds and grants awards supporting the positive development of young, female leaders. Presented to community organizations and civic groups to mobilize and energize support. Planned and implemented large fundraising galas and small donor recognition events. Led team in a company-wide strategic learning process as mandated by Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Wrote cover stories, features and news for a weekly print and online city alternative newsweekly magazine. Awarded first place for short form news writing by the National Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (50,000+ circulation category). Articles republished by Northwestern University Press in "Best AltWeekly Writing 2009 and 2010."

Las Vegas, Nevada Area

Wrote news, features and briefs on deadline for Nevada’s largest daily newspaper. Cultivated government sources, covering crime, traffic and fire. Conducted investigative research and legal document review. After three month internship, hired and given a 35% raise to work as paper’s temporary night police beat reporter. Offered full time reporting job and additional raise one month later.

Kalamazoo, Michigan Area

Co-wrote and managed pilot program aimed to decrease sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy among college students. Trained collegiate resident advisers to provide first year students with accurate information and resources to lead healthy sexual and reproductive lives. Developed a monitoring and evaluation framework. Recruited, trained and retained volunteer educators and staff.

Kalamazoo, Michigan Area

Taught writing strategies to undergraduate, graduate, special needs and ESL students at the university writing center. Trained new consultants to successfully teach rhetorical and grammatical concepts to writers. Developed specific methods for working with international and visually-impaired students. Developed and presented seminars for campus community promoting the center’s work.

Kalamazoo, Michigan Area

Taught composition for students with remedial and below average writing abilities so they could reach University benchmarks and pursue chosen majors of studies. Developed course curriculum using class, small group and individual learning techniques. Trained and managed course tutors to assist with student skill development.

Mclean, Virginia

Selected as one of four newsroom interns for competitive summer internship at national paper. Wrote features, news and briefs on deadline, including two front page stories. Secured post internship freelance work. Recipient of USA Today’s Hainer Award.

Holland, Michigan

Reported local news, writing daily articles, features and briefs as a part time staff writer for Holland, Michigan's daily newspaper. Covered local city councils and area schools. Authored weekly “Neighbors” column, highlighting local leaders and active community members.

Fayette, Maine

Taught journalism and creative writing to students ages 8-17 at a summer camp in Maine. Published a three-day-a-week camp newspaper. Assisted with the creation of camp public relation materials. Cared for a group of 8-year-olds throughout the summer, building a sense of team and family.

Washington, D.C.

Authored content for the website of a national political journal. Copy edited and fact checked articles for publication. Reviewed submissions. Co-coordinated C-Span's broadcast of New American Strategies and Securities for Peace Foreign Policy Conference.

Holland, Michigan

Authored and designed press releases, advertisements, brochures and newsletters for nonprofit serving survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Assisted in developing the organization’s website, providing and editing copy for online pages. Served as crisis volunteer, offering immediate support to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Master'S Degree, International Development & Administration, Department Of Political Science, Gpa 3.82

Bachelor'S Degree, English Journalism And Women'S Studies

Washington Semester, Journalism