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PROFILE

Vadim Lavrusik is an award-winning, bilingual, journalist currently working as the Community Manager at Mashable.com. Most recently, Vadim received his master’s of science degree in digital media from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has experience in print, video, photography, design, web development and an expertise in social media.

EXPERIENCE

Mashable.com – The Social Media Guide
Community Manager | May 2010-present
Working directly with the CEO, Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor to create a strategy for engaging readers on-site and off, creating programs for making outreach more effective, cultivating an environment for a strong community, identifying emerging social platforms to build a presence on, and of course, writing.
Contributing Writer | June 2009 – January 2010
Contributing articles about online journalism and social media trends. Articles include: “8 Must-Have Traits of Tomorrow’s Journalist,” which became a trending topic on Twitter after1,800 retweets. Each of the 13 posts received more than 400 retweets.

The New York Times
Social media intern | January 2010 – May 2010.
Worked to implement new social media strategies and platforms while managing the Times’ Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and lists, Google Buzz profile and Flickr photostream. Projects included creating a Facebook page and Twitter account to help curate news surrounding the Chile Earthquake as news broke and launching a Google Buzz profile. Also, made in-depth recommendations and designed mockups for social media integration into NYTimes.com, many of which have been integrated.

The Poynter Institute
Contributing Writer | August 2009 – present
Cover online journalism trends for Poynter.org. Subjects range from a profile of the online magazine FLYP to an analysis of Demand Media’s business model. Both stories were featured as top stories on the site.

On the Commons (nonprofit advocacy organization)
Copy Editor and Researcher | May 2009-September 2009
Helped edit chapters and select art for What We Share: A Field Guide to the Commons (July 2010), a book by author and National Geographic Traveler contributing editor Jay Walljasper.

Star Tribune (daily newspaper, circ. 500,000)
Student Reporter, Minneapolis | January 2009-May 2009
Pitched and published 13 bylined articles, several of which ran on the front page of the Metro section and were among most popular on the Web site. Highlights included a breaking news story about a flu outbreak at an elementary school, a story on the decline of golf in Minnesota, and several stories accompanied by photos and video that I shot and edited.

• Skills: Shooting video and photos with basic editing skills; CAR and database building through Excel.

Business Journal (weekly journal, circ. 57,000)
Editorial Intern, Minneapolis, MN | May 2008-August 2008
Contributed daily stories to the Web site and wrote for the weekly print edition. I also helped report and write enterprise stories and special reports, including an exclusive report on the decline in the number of companies offering pension funds.

The Minnesota Daily (daily newspaper, circ. 24,000)
Editor in Chief and Co-Publisher, Minneapolis, MN | May 2008-May 2009
Oversaw the management, content and production of The Minnesota Daily, a student-run, award-winning newspaper – the fourth largest newspaper in Minnesota. Managed 17 Editors, worked to balance a $2.4 million annual budget, blogged regularly for Mndaily.com and more.

• Managed Mndaily.com: Oversaw re-design of website and increased Web production. Helped implement new enterprises: Blogs, multimedia, forums, Daily Facebook application,Campus Tweets and more.
• Accomplishments: Increased print readership by 5 percent and doubled daily online visits. Oversaw publication of three new special issues: a spring break guide, alumni publication and a graduation issue. under my leadership the Daily was a 2009 SPJ Best Over-all College Daily Newspaper, 2009 ACP Newspaper Pacemaker national winner, 2008 ACP Newspaper Pacemaker finalist, ACP Best of Midwest Special Publication and SPJ Best All-Around Daily Newspaper in Region 6.
• Skills: Basic HTML and Web development, social media, Web design, art selection and blogging.

Managing Editor | August 2007-May 2008
Managed the sports, art and entertainment, freelance and news editors. Facilitated news content, edited stories, led daily and weekly news meetings, organized weekend trainings, managed Mndaily.com, etc. Helped re-design print edition, implemented new daily news schedule, etc.
Staff Reporter | January 2006-May 2007
Pitched story ideas, did beat work and wrote five articles every two weeks. Began working as a freshman intern reporter and was promoted to a staff reporter. Wrote more than 90 stories.

EDUCATION

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism – New York, NY
M.S. in Journalism, digital media concentration | May 2010
Master’s project on the New York City’s technology startup scene included NYC30.com, a Web site incorporating blog posts, podcasts, video, interactive graphics and a five-chapter video documentary. Coursework included Interactive Web site design and navigation workshop, Media Entrepreneurship with Ken Lerer, co-founder of Huffington Post and a Digital Media Newsroom with Pulitzer Prize administrator Sig Gissler.
Leadership: Society of Professional Journalists: Webmaster | September 2009-present | Managed re-design of chapter Web site.

University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
B.A. in Journalism, summa cum laude | May 2009
Research: Thesis: “Getting in-line with online: Has local news video reached 2.0?” (PDF)

SKILLS

• Languages: Fluent in Russian.
• Multimedia: Proficient in digital video, photo and audio recording and editing (Pro Tools, Final Cut Pro and Photoshop).
• Web: Proficient with WordPress CMS and familiar with Drupal. Proficient in HTML and CSS and basic Flash Action Script skills.
• Social Media: Expertise in integrating social tools into Web sites to build community and increase Web traffic. Proficient in using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Vimeo, Digg, Foursquare, Tumblr and more.

ACHIEVEMENT

*2008 Winner of the Top Ten Howard Scripps Scholarship Award
*ACP 2009 Best of Midwest Award In Feature Writing – “On Alert: Student-soldiers in Israel”
*ACP 2009 Best of Midwest Award in Editorial Commentary – “Third party should investigate police behavior at RNC”
*Minnesota Daily Innovator of the Year 2008.
*SPJ Mark of Excellence Finalist – Feature Writing Award for 2007 – “Student wires sustain families abroad”
*Minnesota Daily Spot News Story of the Year 2006 – “Dean of Law School Resigns”