N.A.
CONTACT
nivaashkenazi@gmail.com
425 - 516 - 2588
EDUCATION
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Major: Sociocultural Anthropology, Journalism
Dean’s List: Fall 2015 - Spring 2019
Honors Senior Thesis: The Civil Experiment –– Testing Anthropology in Political Journalism
FREELANCE WORK
Copyeditor | November 2019 - present
Historical fiction novel
Fixed grammar, suggested changes for better sentence phrasing, left comments on overall plot and
story in chapter manuscripts
Went through multiple rounds of edits, keeping track of new changes on google docs
Took note of all major plot points and character traits to verify consistency of plot and story
Transcriptionist | October 2019 - present
Book project + general reporting work
Created word-for-word transcriptions of minimum hour-long interviews with subjects from various corners of Israeli society
Inserted time stamps every 30 sections and with every new speaker using the Otranscribe online software
Read through and annotated transcripts with observations of themes for analysis I suggested to the
writer during discussion meetings
AWARDS
Curtis Weinker award | Spring 2017
Awarded for undergraduate distinction from the department of Anthropology in recognition of a paper written for a class on experiential ethnography in winter 2017 titled: The Virtual Reality of Personal Diaspora: Imagining the ninth ethnographic moment through the experience of an Israeli expatriate
Arlene Hunter Scholarship in the Humanities | Spring 2017
For the 2017 - 2018 school year
SKILLS
Microsoft Office: Excel, PowerPoint, Word, OneNote
Adobe: Photoshop, Audition, Lightroom, Premiere
Reporting using sound, photo, and video
Organized research for long-term stories and projects
Collaborative story writing and editing
EXPERIENCE
The Jewish News of Northern California
San Francisco, CA | September 2024 – Present
Via the California Local News Fellowship & University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
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Report on stories for all sections of the paper per assignment from editors, including local Bay Area Jewish news, arts and cultural events, philanthropic ventures, etc.
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Compose articles in both short-form reports and long-form feature stories depending on scale of topic
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Investigate broader topics for more robust feature articles and multimedia projects
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Interview sources both for story quotes and background research / off-the-record information gathering
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Process incoming tips and pitches, distribute to editorial team / corresponding section editor
Legal Assistant | Colvin & Hallett | Seattle, WA | May 2021 – September 2023
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Handled general office admin, high-level paralegal work, and internal bookkeeping for a small tax controversy law firm serving over 100 active clients
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Line-edited, copyedited, and proofread newly-drafted documents (correspondence, legal pleadings, etc.) for clarity and in accordance with standard legal writing style guides
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Managed firm-wide calendar, worked closely with attorneys to ensure important deadlines are met
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Developed a manual detailing instructions for most common legal assistant responsibilities
Production Intern | Israel Story Podcast | Jerusalem, Israel | October 2019 – March 2020
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Conducted background research on episode topics, prepared summaries of articles written in Hebrew
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Edited narration tape and scanned interview recordings to extract notable quotes using Reaper
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Travelled to meet and record interviews with potential subjects and episode participants
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Managed show’s social media accounts using Hootsuite to draft and schedule posts
The Daily (UW student newspaper)
Seattle, WA | January 2019 - June 2019
News editor
Pitched out stories to reporters
Edited, produced, and published stories
Managed a team of three to four beat reporters
Directed the editorial team during breaking news coverage
The Daily
Seattle, WA | Sept 2018 - June 2019
Host: The Civil Experiment podcast
Produced a four-episode podcast about the UW student senate and the overall effectiveness of the student government
Wrote ~30 minute long stories about student activism around food justice, prison divestment, and work to improve on-campus resources for student survivors of sexual assault
Wrote and recorded full voice-over scripts for each episode using equipment in The Daily’s podcast studio
Collaborated with editors to fix any editing errors and finalize each episode using Adobe Audition software
Seattleland Podcast
Bellevue, WA | July - August 2018
Production intern
Transcribed long interviews
Organized story ideas
Produced an entire episode for the show about nudist culture in greater Seattle
The Daily
Seattle, WA | September 2017 - December 2018
Staff reporter
Covered weekly meetings of the board of directors for the student association and student senate
Interviewed and wrote a feature article on Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan during her campaign
Published an in-depth story about the different conservative student groups on campus
Odegaard Writing and Research Center
Seattle, WA | April 2017 - December 2018
Writing tutor
Helped undergrad and grad students with
writing assignments, essays, personal statements, and research papers