Samantha Leal

Coverage includes: travel, beauty, health, wellness, food/drink, interior design, personal finance, fashion, and more lifestyle topics. I'm an award-winning travel and health journalist, cover story writer, and have written everything from commerce/affiliate pieces to op-eds to reported features. I've held project-based editing positions at Remezcla, Forbes, Apartment Therapy, and The Bump. I've worked on native/sponsored/branded client content for Vox, Dotdash-Meredith, Hearst, and more. I've worked on brand copy for Two24 (shoes) and select wineries. My writing has been published by: Women's Health, Vogue, Travel+Leisure, Fast Company, Byrdie, ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Wine Enthusiast, VinePair, Teen Vogue, Eater, Yahoo!, Modern Luxury, Barneys, Apartment Therapy, MyDomaine, InStyle.com, Business Insider, Bustle, RealSimple.com, THE/THIRTY, DuJour, What to Expect, Glamour, Bankrate, HipLatina, Latina, The Atlantic, BULLETT, HelloGiggles, Refinery29, AskMen.com, PureWow, Teen Vogue, Girls' Life, mom.me, momtastic, The Nest, The Knot, among others. I've contributed to MedMen (Ember), Equinox, and Hone Health (The Edge) blogs. See my portfolio here: www.samanthaleal.com | muckrack.com/samanthajoleal

• Support Executive Editor and SVP of Content, Growth, and Brand on a day-to-day basis as needed as well as on big-picture strategic initiatives • Oversee day-to-day operations for 10+ person editorial team • Manage the editorial calendar • Recruit and commission articles to new contributors and talent • Manage execution of the SEO strategy, including SEO content creation and managing deadlines • Project-manage tent poles and new initiatives, delegating and assigning to senior editorial staff as needed • Provide editorial oversight for the email program • Work closely with social, design, and video departments to create content across platforms

• In conjunction with PR and marketing departments, oversaw and handled all of Wilson Daniels' social channels and digital content, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and the website's blog. • Worked with our 46 winery partners to optimize and promote their brands in partnership with Wilson Daniels. Honed and crafted a focus and digital strategy for bringing premium wines to key consumers, distributors, partners, and a broader audience. • During tenure, Instagram up 36% in followers and 56% in engagement organically (i.e. no paid promotions); Facebook and Twitter both up 34% in followers and engagement organically

• Top-edited all site content (20 – 30 pieces daily), including contributor, branded, and print pieces • Worked with Site Director on traffic strategy and social strategy, oversaw the editorial calendar • Oversaw, managed, and edited web staff • Worked with the print team on any digital components and extensive package builds • Wrote pieces for the site, with a particular focus on lifestyle categories, including travel, food, and drink • Created and executed the popular "Weekend Trip Guide" franchise that is still running • During tenure (and alongside Site Director) oversaw the daily operation of the site, that boasted a growth of 300% in uniques YoY • Oversaw all branded/sponsored content until 2016, working with sales and marketing to establish angle and POV for brand cohesion

• Lead online team responsible for highest daily and monthly traffic in the history of Latina.com • Grew uniques by 803% and pageviews 1054% during my 2.5 year tenure • Managed the editorial calendar for Latina.com • Ideated and guided junior staffers in content creation during weekly meetings • Assigned stories to freelancers, editors, and interns and ensured that all writers met their deadlines • Assisted in managing junior editors and staff • Implemented and managed SEO and social media best practices for the Latina brand • Secured content partnerships with other websites • Top-edited all content and managed posting schedule • Conducted interviews with celebrities and experts for exclusive print and video opportunities • Planned and hosted celebrity social media chats and events with the goal of garnering new followers and fans • Sent content to partner sites and outsourced additional pieces of content to fan sites and portals as needed • Edited headlines, promo slider and category channel pages to improve site traffic • Recruited, trained and hired writers and video contributors for Latina.com • Served as point person for all beauty, fashion and lifestyle content that goes up on site • Wrote and edited monthly "Latina Loves" BOB page for print; edited fashion and beauty pages in-book as needed

• All duties outlined below with TheNest.com • Responsible for money site channel content (career, budgeting, investments, insurance, etc.) and food site channel content (recipes, spirits, wine, entertaining) • Tripled impressions to these two channels • Ran Twitter and Tumblr for brand • Pitched and wrote beauty articles (roundups, how-tos) for The Knot national magazine • Wrote fashion and beauty articles for TheBlush.com, in preparation for site launch

• Wrote copy and built content (articles, slideshows, quizzes, etc.) for the site using Sitecore CMS. Content categories included: food/recipe, money, decor, real estate, pets, and love/sex. • Programmed homepage and tracked analytics for the site using Coremetrics • Built, test and deployed weekly newsletters, along with the once-monthly "Nest News for Knotties" newsletter that goes out to members of The Knot • Wrote Living Q/A and Real Couples for the digital issue • Handled all reader submissions for use on various projects • Updated recipe gallery, managing all recipe contracts and usage license • Collaborated with the ad team, photo team, design team, art team, and PR team • Built content for syndication partners Yahoo! and MSN, testing and building in feed (XML)

• Pitched and wrote fun, sometimes snarky content for site, with a focus on college humor

• Edited and oversaw management schedule for national global culture and study abroad magazine (20,000 copy distribution, published twice a year) • Previously section editor and associate editor • Communicated with EIC, Publisher and Assistant Publisher on shaping of the magazine • Ran the content flow of magazine • Handled submissions from writers, sent out author forms, macro-edited • Oversaw staff of 20; assigned pieces (writing and editing) and made sure the magazine was ready for press on time • Managed annual writing contest in 2009

• Worked as a fact-checker and helped to copy edit manuscripts • Credited in acknowledgments section of published book "The Film That Changed My Life"

• Transcribed interviews with industry experts and noteworthy individuals • Wrote profiles of both businesses and individuals • Wrote about industry news

Coursework includes: Intro to 21st Century Media Editing & Writing the News Enterprise Reporting in Diverse Communities Magazine Writing Magazine Editing Intro to Integrated Marketing Communications Consumer Insight (IMC) Media Law & Ethics History departmental research (U.S. History pre-thesis): “Understanding Rhetoric and Framing of Female Vietnam Nurses and War Trauma”