Lauren Mack | Resume - Lauren Mack

Work Experience

MAR. 2015 — PRESENT

St. Francis College Brooklyn, NY

Social Media Coordinator, Admissions
Assist in the cultivation of new student enrollment through social media and oversight of on campus
visits by prospective students; collaborate with Office for Government Relations to coordinate, create,
produce and execute social media content for Enrollment Services on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
and other social platforms; research new technologies and uses of social media to enhance the
recruitment process; draft content for external communication, blogs and social networking platforms;
develop and oversee the Student Ambassador Program.

FEB. 2015 — PRESENT

Cheapflights.com New York, NY

Writer
Report, write, edit, and post 10 stories per month for www.cheapflights.com/news/. Write feature
stories on travel news, travel trends, quirky travel, weekend getaways, and inspirational travel. Also
write travel-related quizzes.

MAR. 2013 — PRESENT

The Daily Meal New York, NY

New York City Travel Editor
Report, write, edit, and post four to six stories and slideshows per month on travel news, trends, celebrity chefs, and destination guides for thedailymeal.com. Topics include 150 Best Bars in America, 101 Best Restaurants in Asia, and 11 Worst Airports for Food.

FEB. 2009 — PRESENT

Verve (EVA Air magazine) Taipei, Taiwan

Writer | Proof Reader
Write travel and profile feature stories on Taiwan. Proof read and fact check Verve and other Evergreen publications.

FEB. 2013 — NOV. 2014

Columbia University New York, NY

Weatherhead East Asian Institute | Program Coordinator
Weatherhead East Asian Institute | Annually, planned, managed, and executed 60+ high profile lectures, conferences, and symposia featuring world leaders, ambassadors, and academics at WEAI, an institute at Columbia University that is at the center of graduate-level education, research and outreach on Asia including Southeast and Inner Asia; developed programming; managed programming budget; helped develop the Institute’s communications and public relations strategies to strengthen the Institute’s image through websites, social media, and printed materials; hired and supervised consultants and work study students.

Tow Center for Digital Journalism | Research Associate
Planned, marketed, and executed more than 15 high profile events each semester, including three multi-day conferences with 200+ participants each, lectures with 50 to 800 attendees, single and multi-day workshops, and a variety of meetings; grant administration and compliance including completing and passing an audit; managed and administered four grant budgets totaling $2.5 million and created quarterly and yearly financial forecasts; prepared quarterly grant reports; assisted with writing grant proposals; assisted the Research Director with Scope of Work agreements for research projects; managed the financial and logistical needs for 20 research projects and 35 researchers, including researcher compensation and reimbursements, event planning, report preparation, and travel; updated the Tow Center website and oversaw re-design of the website; conceived, created, and wrote a weekly newsletter, doubling the number of subscribers in four months; established a social media plan which included increasing Twitter followers from 250 to 2,500+ in six months; created and managed the Tow Center Facebook page which gained 400+ likes in eight months; LiveStream, live blog and live Tweet events; prepared media advisory and press opportunities which yielded 250+ articles in print and online; assisted Director Emily Bell with day-to-day needs.

Student Services at Columbia Journalism School | Student Affairs Coordinator
Assistant to Melanie Huff, Associate Dean for Students. Duties included database management, coordinating graduation events and orientation; updating the website; blogging on the Dean of Students’ blog; preparing quantitative and qualitative reports; and posting updates on social media including Facebook and Twitter.

MAY 2012 — FEB. 2013

The Daily Meal New York, NY

Travel Editor | Special Projects Editor
Reported, wrote, edited, and posted four to six stories and slideshows per day for thedailymeal.com, which has over 6 million monthly visitors. Wrote feature stories and slideshows on travel news, trends, celebrity chefs, and destination guides, which were syndicated daily to Yahoo! Shine, AOL, NBC, HuffPo among others. Hired and managed 16 city editors, 100+ contributors, and four interns. Managed social media and audience development through Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Visual Revenue, Twitter, and Facebook quadrupling pageviews in six months; coordinated sweepstakes and story promotions; and oversaw Travel channel redesign and launch of city pages.

MAY 2010 — MAY 2013

About.com New York, NY

Editor, Chinese Culture
Reported, wrote, edited, and posted eight to 15 stories and created 45+ content pages monthly for chineseculture.about.com, which is ranked in the top third of About’s 1,000 sites that have 75 million monthly visitors. Wrote feature stories on Chinese arts, history, books, holidays, food, and news. Wrote 12 blog posts a month, moderated a forum, wrote a weekly newsletter, and promoted the site on social media.

JUL. 2007 — JAN. 2013

Zagat New York, NY

Content Manager
Conducted interviews and gathered data for 350+ restaurants for Zagat’s Singapore web update (2013). Conducted interviews and gathered data (in English and Mandarin) for 400+ restaurants, hotels, and shops for Zagat’s Beijing tour book (1st & 2nd ed.) and web updates. Gathered data and fact checked all restaurants for Hong Kong and Shanghai updates (2007-2011).

NOV. 2011 — SEPT. 2012

GuidePal Stockholm, Sweden

Editor | Writer
Conceived, researched, reported, and wrote 200+ content pages for the Taipei guide (2012). Reported and wrote 200+ content pages for the Miami guide (2011). GuidePal guides are completely offline mobile travel apps for smart phones.

JUL. 2006 — FEB. 2009

Time Out Beijing Beijing, China

Editor | Writer
Edited and wrote features and news stories for the Travel section (Apr. 2008-Feb. 2009). Pitched and wrote three to six stories monthly for Around Town, Consume, Food, Kids, Property, and Sport sections. Compiled monthly listings for Sport and Food (Jul. 2006-Apr. 2008). As Editor-in-Chief of Time Out Beijing’s bi-annual Education Guide: oversaw three to five writers and two interns; planned and wrote education stories; edited all stories and galleys; and worked with art and ad departments (Jan.-Dec. 2007). As Listings Editor for Time Out’s Beijing tour book (1st ed.): fact checked (in English and Mandarin) chapter content and 500+ restaurant, attraction, shop, and bar listings; plotted listings on guide maps; and wrote listings (Jan.-Apr. 2007).

JAN. 2006 — FEB. 2009

Newsweek International New York, NY

Freelance Writer
Pitched and wrote stories on luxury lifestyle, travel, and trends for The Good Life. As an intern from Jan. 2006-May 2006: researched and fact checked stories; facilitated weekly magazine close; including overseeing editing and story rewrites; and wrote stories for The Good Life.

NOV. 2007 — FEB. 2008

Explorer Publishing Beijing, China

Writer
Wrote the entire Education and half of the Exploring and Shopping chapters for Explorer Beijing (1st ed.), a tour book.

OCT. 2006 — MAY 2008

tbj Home Beijing, China

Writer
Pitched and wrote feature stories for monthly magazine on topics like Beijing’s top party venues and the world’s best pools.

SEPT. 2006 — MAY 2008

City Weekend Beijing, China

Writer
Pitched and wrote cover stories for bi-monthly magazine on topics like hypnotism in China and China’s healthcare system.

SEPT. 2005 — MAY 2006

United Press International United Nations

Reporting Intern
Foreign correspondent covering news at the UN; wrote up to five breaking news and 800+ word analysis stories on a daily basis.

SEPT. 2005 — DEC. 2005

HFN New York, NY

Intern
Pitched and wrote stories; researched stories; attended furniture markets; managed product closet; and organized the archives. Awarded the Fairchild First Intern Award.

JAN. 2005 — MAY 2005

Teen People New York, NY

Intern
Researched stories on celebrity news, fashion, and trends; compiled daily news and monthly reader reports; assisted at photo shoots; organized fashion and beauty closets; answered reader mail; managed contests; answered telephones; and filing.

SEPT. 2004 — DEC. 2004

Seventeen New York, NY

Intern
Researched stories; conducted interviews; pitched story ideas; compiled daily news reports; and organized the archives.

JUN. 2004 — AUG. 2004

Marie Claire New York, NY

Intern
Answered reader mail; compiled reader reports; pitched story ideas; organized the archives; answered telephones; and filing.

Education

MAY 2006 | Columbia University New York, NY M.S. Journalism

AUG. 2003 | Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL B.A. Humanities, graduated magna cum laude

MAY 2000 | Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL B.A. Communication, graduated magna cum laude

Study Abroad

Columbia University: Summer in Beijing | Summer 2006

University of Pittsburgh: Semester at Sea | Spring 2003

Eastern Michigan University: European Cultural History Tour | Fall 2002 & Summer 1999

Duke University: Duke Drama in London | Summer 2001

Skills

Languages: Intermediate Mandarin Chinese