Every communications organization would likely welcome a few more full-time employees, and those looking for jobs certainly would happily fill them, but our budgets don’t allow this. Come to this panel discussion to learn how some of Utah’s most prominent employers are using volunteers, interns, and freelancers strategically to expand the reach of their organizations, and how students and young professionals can enter a pipeline to meaningful, sometimes full-time, employment.
Panelists
Sheena McFarland, Communities/Close-Up editor at The Salt Lake Tribune. Sheena utilizes interns and freelancers to produce content for The Tribune’s weekly Close-Up section, which focuses on hyperlocal news. She has been a mentor at The Daily Chronicle at the U of U since she served as editor-in-chief several years ago. Through this mentoring, she is able to determine who may be intern-worthy candidates to bring in to The Tribune to work as news clerks, news room assistants and freelance writers. Sheena offers a strategic look at developing a feeder program of quality interns that can someday become paid freelancers for an organization.
Kathy Wilets, Associate Director of Media Relations at University of Utah Health Care. Kathy currently employs freelancers and the occasional intern to augment her staff when they are fully utilized. Prior to her work at the University, Kathy was a producer at KUTV-2 and managed their internship program. Kathy offers a critical look at how much time and effort a good internship program takes, as well as a valuable perspective on how freelancers can be an effective way to flex staffing to meet content demands.
Sean Crossland, Community Partnerships Coordinator, Thayne Center for Service and Learning, Salt Lake Community College. Sean oversees the Thayne Center’s Volunteer Management Training Series, a valley-wide collaboration with United Way of Salt Lake, the Bennion Community Service Center at the University of Utah, and the Center for Civic Engagement at Westminster College. Sean can provide a clear understanding of what it takes to start and maintain a strong volunteer program at your organization, and how this can benefit communications professionals, in particular.
Stacey Closser (Freelance Writer)
Stacey has been a professional freelance copywriter and magazine feature writer since 2005, after serving as an editor and staff writer at multiple organizations. Her clients range from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to the Prism Media Group. She has written for AARP the Magazine, The Sports Page, Park City Magazine and a variety of national and local publications.
