Laura Kelly Wells
Reston,VA
Summary
Meticulous Editor with over 10 years of experience honing detailed understanding of grammatical, style, and syntax considerations for diverse publication styles. Deadline-driven writer and editor with collaborative approach to project completion and time management. Flexible project manager with creativity in juggling numerous projects at once to satisfy rigorous content demand.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Operations Specialist
Leidos
06.2024 - Current
- Supports peer review activities for the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and Office of Justice Programs (OJP).
- Acts as a recorder or backup recorder, which involves recording reviewer comments, tracking reviewer scores, and checking math for accuracy for consensus reports.
- Responsible for the QC of all recorder consensus reports (anywhere between 20-200 files per program).
- Edits OVW Pre-Application Information Webinar transcripts.
- Edits weekly staff meeting minutes and fills in to record meeting minutes.
- Edits the Peer Review Team's Monthly Technical Report that is reviewed by OVW.
- Supports OJP and NIJ peer review as a facilitator, notetaker, and editor. Subcontracted to BETAH Associates.
- Edits OJP and NIJ reviewer reports for spelling, grammar, syntax, and preferred style and format to aid in the grant funding process, which are made available to DOJ and grant applicants.
- Co-leads a 20+ team of recorders with the Senior Operating Team Lead. Recruits, trains, assigns, and manages recorders for peer review consensus meetings. Works with Program Team Leads to ensure recorder support for the OVW program's consensus meetings.
- Communicates with recorders to issue assignments and provide necessary meeting materials.
- Assists with post-OVW grant season letters to peer reviewers and grant applicants.
- Creates and manages Weekly Status Reports and Reviewer Availability Reports to be provided to OVW COR
Freelance Writer & Copy Editor
Self Employed Editor/Writer
07.2017 - Current
- Develops and refines website content for small businesses, generating a 10-20% increase in web traffic.
- Conducts research, edits, proofreads, and fact-checks existing web content and blogs for small businesses.
- Manages social media accounts and creates content to increase web traffic, attracting followers and potential customers.
- Authored web content for a new shoe company, moon d'elle, amassing significant traffic and sales in the United States and Europe.
- Fashioned social media advertisements for small businesses promotion, brand awareness, outreach, and customer attraction, resulting in a 20% increase in web traffic.
- Penned regular entertainment and history features that spotlight notable figures and historical events for the entertainment site Grunge, in addition to researching extensively to gather unique and fascinating details from reputable sources.
- Contributed entertainment articles to Inverse.com on nostalgic media, analyzing, dissecting, and describing selected films and TV shows in an articulate manner.
- Thoroughly reviewed film and TV topics, cites relevant articles and videos, and collates images for a compelling review piece.
- Collaborated with the Entertainment Editor to produce innovative and engaging article ideas, review drafts, and set deadlines.
Editor/Recorder/Facilitator
BETAH Associates/Leidos
03.2020 - 06.2024
- Executed proceedings for government contractors, namely BETAH and Leidos, through editing, recording, and facilitating the grant review process on the Department of Justice's grant programs for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).
- Edited reports submitted by grant reviewers for spelling, grammar, syntax, and OJP-preferred style and format to aid in the funding process and provide feedback to the grant applicants (typically 10-12 reports per panel).
- Edited information session transcripts to be factually accurate and grammatically correct and to be made available to grant applicants, contractors, and the DOJ.
- Acted as a recorder for grant reviewer panel meetings and captured consensus comments and reviewers' scores. Diligently tracked and recorded reviewer scores and checked math for accuracy.
- Created written reports of grant reviewer comments that assist the DOJ in determining which applications will be awarded funding.
- Facilitated virtual discussions of grant applications among panel reviewers.
- Provided assessment of the panelists' performance to help determine future invitations.
- Supported Team Lead with recorder assignments and scheduling.
Content Curator
Medium Corporation
03.2019 - 07.2023
- Reviewed an average of 20-30 posts per shift on various content topics, ranging from entertainment and lifestyle to politics and technology.
- Leveraged editorial judgment and medium curation tools to determine the best posts among submitted stories for widespread dissemination.
- Assessed posts for plagiarism, repetition, AI usage, and overall quality.
- Utilized editorial and copy-editing knowledge to evaluate and promote online posts and articles.
- Ensured the provision of lucid and reader-friendly posts.
Program Coordinator
Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America
11.2010 - 04.2017
- Contributed periodically to the organization's blog and Italian America magazine, the most widely read quarterly for people of Italian heritage in the United States.
- Assisted in article editing for quarterly magazine, Italian America.
- Played a large role in the coordination of the organization's annual event, The National Education & Leadership Awards Gala of over 500 attendees.
- Composed the event script for the National Education & Leadership Awards Gala.
- Spearheaded the National Leadership Grant Competition, OSDIA's scholarship program, managing close to 500 incoming applications.
- Helped to plan and organize annual meetings and conventions.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Communication Studies, Political Science
Christopher Newport University
Newport News, VAParalegal Studies Certificate -
Georgetown University
Washington, DCSkills
- Copy editing & Proofreading
- Content Writing
- Readability improvement
- Quality control analysis
- Syntax Management
- Creative Writing
- Research
- Active Public Trust Clearance
- Style guides (AP, Chicago, MLA)
- Highly-level of organization
- Strong attention to detail
- Grammar knowledge
Certification
Paralegal Studies Certification, Summer Intensive Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Work Preference
Work Type
Full TimePart TimeContract WorkGig WorkWork Location
RemoteImportant To Me
Flexible work hoursWork-life balancePaid sick leaveWork from home optionPaid time offCompany CultureTimeline
Operations Specialist
Leidos
06.2024 - Current
Editor/Recorder/Facilitator
BETAH Associates/Leidos
03.2020 - 06.2024
Content Curator
Medium Corporation
03.2019 - 07.2023
Freelance Writer & Copy Editor
Self Employed Editor/Writer
07.2017 - Current
Program Coordinator
Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America
11.2010 - 04.2017
Bachelor of Arts - Communication Studies, Political Science
Christopher Newport University
Paralegal Studies Certificate -
Georgetown University
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