STEVEN AMBRUS

** ***** *****

Nyack, NY *****

845-***-****

acqbzz@r.postjobfree.com

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Reporter and analyst with 21 years in Latin America, covering human rights, drug and political violence, the environment and education

Investigator, correspondent, and field producer for television programs and documentaries

Writer and/or editor for World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, WWF, International Rescue Committee, Norwegian Refugee Council and other development and environmental organizations

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS (1993-2014)

"Appeal of Chevron Rico ruling draws support," EcoAméricas, Aug. 2014: Examined the ramifications of a U.S. District Court ruling on rainforest inhabitants in Ecuador, national sovereignty and other issues.

“Border-Crossing Research Lessens the Sting," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 26, 2012: Covered US-Mexican collaboration in biotechnology.

“Winning the Peace,” Newsweek International, July 7, 2008: Reviewed Colombia’s environmental record.

“Dominion of Evil,” Amnesty International Magazine (USA), Spring 2007: Recounted the history of Colombia’s paramilitary death squads for Amnesty cover story

“The Drug Lord`s Dame,” Newsweek International, Aug. 7, 2006: Examined the “devil’s pact” between Colombian elites and drug traffickers.

“Risky Business: Washington sends troops to protect an oil pipeline,” Newsweek International, Nov. 18, 2002: Interviewed foreign oil companies, ELN guerrillas, and government officials for story about conducting business in conflict zones. Also wrote on the coffee and flower trades, corporations and the violent emerald business.

“Taking Aim at the City,” Newsweek International, Feb. 18, 2002: Interviewed death squads, leftist guerrillas, and military intelligence officers for cover story on urban warfare. Wrote other cover stories on guerrilla human rights abuses and drug smuggling.

“Earth’s Blood: A nature-worshipping Indian tribe vows to stop an oil giant,” Newsweek International, May 29, 2000: Traveled into jungle to investigate the U'wa Indians' struggle against Occidental Petroleum. Part of a series of articles on Indian rights, illegal animal trafficking, deforestation and other environmental and cultural themes.

"Casualties of a Dirty War: The deadly risks of promoting peace and human rights," Newsweek International, Nov. 29, 1999: Reported on threats to reporters, human rights activists, and others in the "dirty war" of the cities.

“A Revolt Against the War: peace communities – easy targets for death squads,” Newsweek International, Sept. 4, 2000: Traveled into war zone to write about a farming cooperative's efforts to remain neutral within the conflict. Part of a series of articles on the war involving interviews with the nation's peasant communities, presidents, governors, and top military officials.

"Casualties of War," Steven Ambrus and Brook Larmer, Newsweek International, Aug. 9, 1999: Cover story on Colombia's crisis of internally displaced peoples and the violence that triggers it.

"A New Mood in Medellin," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 8, 1994: Wrote about efforts by civic groups to rehabilitate professional hit-men and gang members. Other articles on civil society include profiles of rural Afro-Colombian communities and a rap group.

Special Investigations

Hired by Carlton Television to uncover fraud in “The Connection," an award-winning, documentary on heroin smuggling.

Assigned by Focus Magazine to investigate possible kidnapping and money laundering activities by two German spies.

Researched for Mark Bowden's Killing Pablo. Also served as field producer for Arts & Entertainment (A&E) documentary, Pablo Escobar: “The Terror of Colombia,” including interviews with the Escobar family and their pursuers and as field producer for A&E documentary on serial killer “Pedro Lopez: The Monster of the Andes,” including investigative reporting in both Ecuador and Colombia.

Reported on kidnapping and military human rights abuses for ABC and CBS news programs

Translations

Translator of speeches, legal documents and special reports, including “Para que se sepa: hablan las personas desplazadas en Colombia,” a book produced for the Norwegian Refugee Council on internally-displaced people in Colombia.

Other Work Experience (1989-2014)

Special correspondent for Chronicle of Higher Education for Mexico and Central America

Special correspondent in Colombia for France 24 television

Special correspondent for LA Times, Newsweek, and EcoAméricas from Colombia. Also published in the Economist, Dallas Morning News and Americas Magazine.

Writing on Mexican legal reform for Management Systems International/USAID

Collaborated with four writers and editors in producing VenEconomy, a Venezuelan journal on economic and political affairs.

Served as section chief in charge of 10 reporters and editors for the Hong Kong Standard.

EDUCATION

1991 Master of Arts, University of Missouri School of Journalism

1985 Bachelor of Arts in English, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

1982-1983 Visiting Student in Anglo-Irish Literature, Trinity College, University of Dublin

SKILLS

Fluent in Spanish

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