Resume

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EDITOR . WRITER . CREATIVE 

Carolyne Whelan | Portfolio: carolynewhelan.com/portfolio | yourpalcarolyne@carolynewhelan.com 

Education

MFA: Chatham University 2009 (Poetry/Travel Writing and Publishing)

Extras: Grant Writing certification, Leadership training

Highlights: Published in: ESPN, Sierra Club, Women's Adventure, Backpacker, High Times, Gear Junkie, Bicycling 

Editor-in-Chief at: Dirt Rag magazine (a major mountain bike lifestyle magazine), Adventure Cyclist magazine (a legacy bicycle travel magazine)

Boxes checked: Biked Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (Banff to Mexico), through-hiked East Coast Trail in Canada, hiked/kayaked from Chile to Argentina, eight-day bikepacking trip through mountainous southern Arizona (all trips self-supported, all women), Idaho Hot Springs southern loop bikepacking trip, Alaska Golden Circle bike tour, two bicycle tours down West Coast, published poet/author, bass player, amateur vegan/vegetarian chef 

Editor-in-Chief, Adventure Cyclist magazine April 2021-June 2024 

● Managed redesign and rebrand of legacy publication to save organization $100,000 per year in printing costs while adding value to members 

● Increased diversity in content by roughly 75%, including regular contributors of color, para-athletes, queer writers and visual artists, immigrant voices, and others to create a much more representative spectrum of the bicycle travel community while also elevating the quality of written and visual storytelling

● Instated publication calendar to reduce stress among staff and allow more time to proof and tweak the work, ensuring more creative content and eye-catching design with virtually error-less final products

● Built a culture of communication between contributors, staff, and editor so the freelance staff was better able to manage time and create content that was on-theme in each issue 

● Managed staff and represented team in director- executive, and board meetings 

● Managed multi-tiered budget with short- and long-term viewpoints and goals, oversaw payment of freelance contributors, ensured timely and accurate payments including offering raises to regular contributors

● Oversaw ad sales team and provided necessary information for them to sell the best possible spots, communicated with advertisers as needed

Web Editor, Editor-in-Chief, Dirt Rag magazine May 2018-Oct 2019 

● Promoted from Web Editor to Editor-in-Chief after two months; maintained web responsibilities 

● Coordinated redesign of new, modernized web design; communicated with web developer to ensure each department's needs were addressed 

● Increased web readership from 80,000 per month to 200,000 per month within first five months 

● Instated publication calendar that merged web and print deadlines so staff could meet previously overshot deadlines, ensuring more creative content and eye-catching design 

● Built culture of communication between writers, copywriter, and editor so the freelance staff was better able to manage time and create content that was on-theme in each issue 

● Brought in fresh voices that better represent the modern mountain bike community, reignited the spark of interest in the publication, widened readership and broadened diversity 

Whelan Writes, Self-Employed 2014-current 

● Mentor and consult writers on how to edit their own work, how to read their own stories with a distance necessary to identify places for improvement, and on finding their own voice

● Assist independent contractors with discovering their voice, industry niche, and target audience; develop branding and marketing strategy to position them as best option for audience, including web copy and blog posts

● Published in online and print publications such as ESPN, Sierra, Roads and Kingdoms, Backpacker, High Times, Women’s Adventure, Bicycling, and more 

North America Regional Editor, Pink Pangea 2015 

● Brought international voices to one platform to give a holistic perspective of North America 

● Worked with EAL (English as an Additional Language) writers to help brighten stories and make language readable to native English speakers without overwriting their unique voices 

● Edited content to maximize SEO; managed artwork, photography, and layout; fielded submissions to create a cohesive and engaging web publication 

Associate Editor, Autumn House Press/Coal Hill Review 2007—2009 

● Enhanced book sales revenue while mitigating overhead costs by hosting events sponsored by community organizations 

● Organized multi-event reading series for visiting authors 

● Screened manuscripts for writing contest, edited winning manuscripts for publication 

● Edited, designed, and published chapbooks