Tara Graham

University of California
Center for Middle Eastern Studies / Berkeley,CA

(09/2010-Present)

Publications Director

• Oversee the production, organization and re-design of the Center’s website; write, edit, photograph, film and digitally prep content for the site
• Report on Middle East-related happenings, interview relevant parties and photograph events for the Center's publication materials
• Edited Cairo: Histories of a City, a Harvard University Press book authored by Prof. Nezar AlSayyad

KCET's "SoCal Connected"
Dream Interrupted / Los Angeles,CA

(01/2010-07/2010)

Reporter/Photographer

• Reported on the effects of the Calif. economic crisis and its impact on Orange County’s housing, education, mobility and government sectors
• Digitally prepped content for the KCET website (cropped/uploaded photos, produced audio slideshows, crafted feature summaries)

University of Southern California
Annenberg Digital News / Los Angeles, CA

(03/2009–05/2010)

Co-Editor-In-Chief (01/2010-05/2010) / Executive Producer (03/2009-12/2009)

• Managed a 50-person editorial staff, organized website posting schedules and lead online training sessions
• Selected top content for the day, added spicy titles, wrote interest-piquing summaries and promoted stories to the front page
• Digitally prepped, edited and published multimedia news content to the site
• **Read Los Angeles Times "On the Media" coverage of USC Annenberg's award-winning digital news website

New Statesman / London, England

(06/2009–08/2009)

Web Editor

• Researched and wrote U.S. news stories for the website and contributed book reviews to the print publication
• Digitally prepped magazine content for the website, published daily blogs, managed the front page and moderated comments

Pop and Politics / Los Angeles, CA

(08/2008–02/2009)

Staff Writer/Blogger

• Researched breaking political/pop culture news and interviewed relevant experts to explore the larger issues at play
• Reported news stories with an editorial twist to inform and entertain readers

Sugar Media
GiggleSugar (Now TresSugar) / San Francisco, CA

(11/2006–07/2008)

Associate Editor

• Launched a humor-driven pop culture website in 2006 that grew to average over one million page views per month
• Researched and posted content on an hourly basis, adding editorial commentary to engage, inform and entertain readers
• Marketed website daily by initiating and negotiating a number of traffic exchanges with competitors

The Berkeley Group for Architecture and Planning
NanoCity Haryana Infrastructure Ltd. / Berkeley, CA

(08/2007–10/2007)

Editor

• Wrote and edited the publication used to promote NanoCity, a 21st century Indian metropolis (in development)
• Reported on the global and local circumstances that prompted the city’s founding, the stages of development, the anticipated look and feel of the new city, as well as the design philosophy and overall vision for the project

Public Defender Service / Washington, D.C.

(06/2005–08/2005)

Juvenile Litigation Investigator

• Assisted two attorneys with their pre-trial investigative needs: gathered criminal records, visited crime scenes, documented and photographed evidence, prepared maps and charts for use during trial, served subpoenas, questioned witnesses and obtained statements used in court
• Summarized investigative findings in detailed reports and proposed applicable courtroom defense theories

Children’s Defense Fund / Washington, D.C.

(06/2004–08/2004)

Communications Intern for the CDF National Press Secretary

• Drafted and revised CDF press releases; gathered data on key issues affecting children and tracked legislative activity
• Attended and reported on congressional hearings and press conferences

TEACHING

University of California, Berkeley

(01/2011–Present)

International and Area Studies, Lecturer

• Develop the curriculum for undergraduate courses exploring the demands and techniques of global field reporting in the digital age
• Instruct weekly multimedia workshops to help students package their research and field work findings (interviews/photography/videos) into multi-page website presentations

Middle Eastern Studies (UC Berkeley)

(07/2011–08/2011)

Berkeley Global Summer Program, Lead Lecturer

• Developed the curriculum for a six-week seminar exploring the intersection of (social) media and politics in the 2011 Arab uprisings
• Selected and secured guest lecturers; organized group activities
• Instructed a series of multimedia workshops to help students analyze media from around the world and package their research findings into engaging online presentations

Int'l Alliance of Research Universities (UC Berkeley)

(07/2010–08/2010)

Berkeley Global Summer Program, Media Instructor

• Assisted with planning the curriculum for a three-week seminar exploring the media's coverage of the Middle East
• Instructed a series of multimedia workshops to help students analyze media from around the world and package their research findings into engaging online presentations

Cal Corps Public Service Center (UC Berkeley)

(08/2004–08/2005)

Cal in the Capital, Program Co-Director

• Recruited approximately 60 students for a Washington, D.C. summer internship program
• Instructed weekly workshops (during the Spring '05 semester) aimed to refine students' professional skills and provide cover letter, interview and job search training
• Marketed CITC interns to prospective employers by meeting with internship coordinators in D.C. and negotiating partnerships

MEDIA COVERAGE AND INTERVIEWS

• **05/23/2010: Graham featured on NBC's "Sunday in L.A." to discuss citizen journalism, the tricks of the trade and her viral video footage. Interview picked up by Witty Sparks, a technology and design website.
• **05/16/2010: Graham interviewed for the CBS evening news broadcast to discuss her viral video footage of the chaos that erupted when the Jonas Brothers performed at The Grove on May 15, 2010 in Los Angeles, Calif.
• **05/15/2010: Graham's citizen journalism featured on the USA Today, MSNBC and The Vancouver Sun websites, among others.

PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL

• **December 2010: Accompanied a UC Berkeley delegation to Damascus and interviewed President Bashar al-Assad on matters involving political and economic reform in Syria, along with the Israeli peace process. Also traveled to Beirut, Lebanon to promote and cover (draft press releases and photograph) the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments 2010 conference. For more program information, click here.


• **October 2010: Traveled to Berlin and Munich as one of 10 American journalists selected to attend a one-week press tour organized by the Goethe Institut and the German Foreign Office in Washington, DC. The program provided historical background to inform contemporary reporting on German affairs. Participants also met with political decision makers, scientists involved in the country's renewable energy projects, and artists behind Berlin's vibrant art scene. To read the group's travel blog, click here.


• **March 2010: Traveled to Israel and Palestine as one of 10 Annenberg graduate students selected to report in the region. Participants met with religious, political and human rights activists, as well as educators, legislators, refugees, settlers, and media commentators to explore the ways in which the ongoing conflict affects on-the-ground attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. To visit the project website, click here.


• **October 2009: Traveled to Brussels, Belgium as one of 14 graduate students selected from US journalism schools to attend a week-long press tour organized by the European Union. The program provided an introduction to the EU, with a special focus on EU—US relations.


• **May-August 2009:Traveled around the United Kingdom (London, Cambridge, Manchester, Northern Ireland) for a USC foreign reporting class.


• **July 2008: Traveled to Cairo, Egypt to help research and later edit Cairo: Histories of a City, a Harvard University Press book authored by Prof. Nezar AlSayyad of the University of California, Berkeley. For more information on the book, click here.

EDUCATION

University of Southern California

05/2010

University of California, Berkeley

05/2005

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS