My resume’

Suzette M. Cook
803 SW 255th St.
Newberry, FL 32669

352.260.2511

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Managing Editor Alachua County Today (Current position)
Oversee content and production of 5,000 circ. weekly that covers the small heartland communities surrounding
Gainesville, Fla. Photograph events, write and develop content, copy edit, mentor UF journalism student interns.
Production using InDesign.
14804 Main St., Alachua , Fla. 32616

Owner/Publisher Art & Soul Magazine (2013-2014)
Artsy Smartsy Shops and Art & Soul magazine in Newberry and Gainesville
Purchase, display and manage contents of a vintage art shops that fund an art magazine. Pricing and researching merchandise, highest standards in customer service. Publish Art & Soul magazine, write and photograph stories about local art programs and artists.
402 NW 10 Ave., Gainesville and 25050 W. Newberry Rd., Newberry

Publisher/Owner/Editor
Suzette’s Gazette
October 2011 to January 2013
Publisher and Editor of a non-profit hyperlocal bimonthly 2,000 circulation broadsheet newspaper as a thesis
project for UF graduate school. Ad sales, promotion, reporting, photography,
design using Adobe InDesign and PhotoShop.

Design/Copy Editor
The New York Times Company-The Gainesville Sun
October 2011 to March 2012

Page Designer/Copy Editor . Design People, Business, Weather and Opinion pages. Choose stories and photos,
write headlines and proof pages. Download Associated Press photos, Accuweather, Stock Charts. Design, photo
processing and download using MediaDesk, InDesign, InCopy, IntelliTune, Accuweather, StockExchange and
AP programs.

Digital Photographer
January 2001 to present
Photograph sports, weddings, newspaper assignments, portraits, stock images and events. Contract work with
digital imaging and color correction as well as graphic design.

Marketing Manager
Mendocino County Alliance, Ukiah, Calif.
2001 to 2002
Responsible for developing marketing strategies and supervision of print materials such as brochures, tourism
books, advertisements used to draw visitors and consumers into Mendocino County. Helped promote events
such as the yearly Wine & Mushroom Fest and kept website updated at http://www.gomendo.com

Features Editor
The Record, Stockton, Calif.
May 1999 to April 2001
Responsible for content planning of daily feature sections, supervision of reporters, assistant editors who produced
Special Sections, Travel, TV Guides and a weekly entertainment section. Worked closely with reporters
and section editors to connect with readers through topics and presentations that piqued interest. Teamed up
with senior editors and the news desk to plan special projects and Sunday A-1 presentations.

Design/Photo Editor
Contra Costa- Tri-Valley Business Times, Pleasanton, Calif.
February 1998 to May 1999
Chief Designer for startup weekly business publication. Duties include overall design and presenta-tion, copy
editing, developing maps and charts, centerpieces and news pages.
Picture editing, color/tonal correction of images.

Projects Editor
Alameda Newspaper Group, MediaNews
January 1997 to February 1998
Designed Sunday centerpieces, photo pages and special report series for The Oakland Tribune, (Hayward) Daily
Review, (Fremont) Argus, Tri-Valley Herald and San Mateo County Times. Copy edited stories, wrote headlines.
Worked with photographers, graphic editors, reporters and remote city desk editors to coordinate special projects.

Page Designer/Copy Editor
Alameda Newspaper Group, MediaNews
January 1996 to January 1997
Designed pages, copy edited stories, wrote headlines. Worked with photographers, graphic editors, reporters and
remote city desk editors to design and paginate section fronts, jump and wire pages.

Image Desk Supervisor
Alameda Newspaper Group, MediaNews
June 1994 to January 1996
Responsible for the organization, work flow and procedure development of the Image Desk which processed
over 200 images daily for The Alameda Times Star, The Argus, Hayward Daily Review, The Oakland Tribune,
Tri-Valley Herald and San Mateo County Times. Duties included the digital color balancing and quality control of pre-press images, consulting with Page Designers, Photographers, Editors and Graphic Artists on photo usage
and selection. Monitoring and managing digital CD photo libraries, development of archiving system, receiving and transmitting and caption writing images for The Associated Press.

Chief Photographer/ Photo Editor
The Independent, Fort Pierce, Fla.
June 1993 to May 1994
Photographer for the weekly entertainment publication. Created photography illustrations, devel-oped picture
story ideas and wrote feature articles.

Photo Editor/ Graphics Editor
Exclusively Boynton News, Boynton Beach, Fla.
July 1992 to May 1993
Chief Photographer for the weekly broadsheet publication. Duties included picture editing, design using Page-
Maker. Photographed sports and events.

Photo Intern
The Syracuse Newspapers, Syracuse, N.Y.
1991
Handled daily schedule of sports, spot news and feature assignments.
Photo Intern
The Ann Arbor News, Ann Arbor, Mich.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Journalism Teacher
College for Kids at Santa Fe College
July 2013 to August 2013 and July 2012 to August 2012 and July 2014 to August 2014
Teach middle school students digital journalism, photography and entrepreneur classes.

Adjunct Journalism Teacher
P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, Gainesville, Fla.
August 2012 to June 2013 and August 2010 to June 2011
Taught Newspaper and Yearbook classes. Students learned reporting techniques, AP Style, page design,
yearbook production, business management and employee skill development. Students produced
the Wavelength tabloid newspaper and a 250-page yearbook covering kindergarten through senior classes.

Graduate Teaching Assistant

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, Gainesville, Fla.
August 2011 to September 2012
Teaching Assistant for JOU 3220 Visual Journalism with Dr. Amy Zerba. Teaching duties include presentation
of design software and photography concepts, grading projects, mentoring students during class and in lab
sessions and instruction of multimedia, photography, page design and visual data concepts.

Digital Design Teacher

Newberry High School, Newberry, Fla.
August 2009 to June 2010
Taught 120 business, digital design and yearbook students each daily. Advised Future Business Leaders
of America club, managed school website and taught Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe InDesign,
PhotoShop and Illustrator software. Program was aligned with Santa Fe College’s graphic design program. Students
tested to gain college credit for design and computer technology courses.

Digital Photography Teacher

Ukiah High School, Ukiah, Calif.
September 2006 to June 2009
Taught 130 high school juniors and seniors a year the fundamentals of photography through basic introduction
to composition and camera technique. Taught digital photography, multimedia slideshow production
and desktop publishing. Converted the program from darkroom to digital, and developed curriculum aligned to
California State Board of Educaton’s fine arts standards.

Photography Teacher

Clear Lake High School, Lakeport, Calif.
September 2002 to June 2006
Taught 120 high school juniors and seniors a year film photography through basic introduction to composition
and camera techniques. Taught black and white processing and printing and portfolio presentation.
Maintained camera equipment (30 slrs, 8 flashes, portable lighting, etc.), and supervised photo lab, mixed chemistry
and maintained darkroom equipment and supplies. Introduced Digital Storytelling and multimedia production
to the program. Expanded the program from 60 to 120 students yearly.

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
August 1991-June 1992
Teaching Assistant duties involved picture editing, lab management and teaching basic photography to
undergraduate students. Graduate course studies included graphic design featuring Quark Xpress, picture editing,
studio photography using large and medium formats. Supervised camera equipment and managed darkroom
chemistry and supplies.

EDUCATION
MAMC University of Florida May 2014
Specialization in coverage of the arts, research in community journalism
and participatory journalism.

Graduate Study at Syracuse University 1991-1992
Specialization in photography
Beginning Teacher Training Program (BTSA)

Humboldt State University 2004
Awarded Free and Clear Credential in Commercial Photography from the
California State Board of Education

Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE)
Sonoma State University

Certification in teaching English Language Learners. (ELL)

Educator Workshop
http://www.storycenter.org
Teacher training on creation of Digital Storytelling using Adobe Premiere and Windows MovieMaker.
Digital stories incorporated script writing, voice narration, music, still and video imaging.

Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Communications
University of Florida 1990
Specialization in Photojournalism, Minor in Business

AWARDS
Journalist Teacher of the Year 2010 Florida Scholastic Press Association District 2
California Newspaper Publishers Association First Place in News Picture Story 2006 for Willits News coverage of funeral for Army Sergeant Jason J. Buzzard
Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Feature Photography, 1st Place 1990