Communications Leader - Strategic Storytelling & News Editing

CATHERINE MADDUX

Alexandria, VA 571-***-**** *********@*****.*** LINKEDIN PROFILE

CAREER SUMMARY

● Writer-Editor with 10+ years of experience crafting high-impact, strategic communications for organizations including the U.S. Courts, FAA, AARP, VOA, and NPR

● Produced award-winning journalism and digital content, including live coverage of the Osama bin Laden raid and Boston Marathon bombing, COVID-19 vaccine guides viewed by 7M+ readers, and FAA features that ranked among the agency’s top-10 most-read stories

● Skilled at transforming complex or technical information into clear, accessible messaging, with a strong command of AP Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style, and Section 508 compliance

● Managed, evaluated and trained 10-12 interns and news writers over 8 years, and rehabilitated underperforming newsroom staff as needed

● Proven collaborator and leader, known for salvaging critical deliverables, mentoring and evaluating team members, and managing editorial workflows across digital, print and broadcast formats

WRITING PORTFOLIO

CATHERINE MADDUX PORTFOLIO

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

SENIOR WRITER 8/2024 – 3/2025

U.S. COURTS, ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE HYBRID/WASHINGTON, DC The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts is the central support agency for the federal judiciary, employing over 1,000 staff to manage policy and operations across 94 district and 12 appellate courts.

● Restored client confidence and salvaged a critical deliverable by rewriting a 25-page annual report in 10 days, using audio recordings, legacy documents and staff interviews to ensure accuracy and clarity

● Overhauled and edited in-house style guide for the federal judiciary's clerk recruiting system

(first update since 2018), ensuring consistency across manuals, blogs, newsletters, and reports

● Boosted stakeholder engagement by launching a recurring story-gathering process for newsletters, featuring insights from federal judges, law school administrators and law clerk applicants

● Created and edited content and communications for federal judges, law clerks and legal professionals, ensuring technical accuracy and adherence to The Chicago Manual of Style MARKETING EDITOR/WRITER 3/2023– 6/2024

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) HYBRID/WASHINGTON, DC The FAA oversees the U.S. national airspace system, with 45,000 staff, including Air Traffic Services, which ensures safe, efficient flight operations within the Air Traffic Organization.

● Produced 5 of the FAA’s top 10 most-viewed internal stories in 2023 by reporting, writing and creating digital profiles of air traffic staff and a feature on WAAS's 20th anniversary

● Protected leadership credibility by diplomatically flagging major issues in a senior executive’s draft profile, then editing for clarity, grammar and coherence

● Created accessible, high-impact FAA intranet content (news stories, profiles and features) by writing and editing technical and feature material to Section 508 and AP Stylebook standards, based on interviews with in-house experts

● Engaged 37,000+ air traffic controllers by producing multimedia content (newsletters, graphics, videos) using Drupal, GovDelivery, Photoshop and Canva, upholding FAA publishing standards and accessibility guidelines

STATES EDITOR/WRITER 12/2020 – 12/2022

AARP HYBRID/WASHINGTON, DC

AARP is a nonprofit organization with approximately 2,250 employees and a nationwide presence, dedicated to serving the needs and interests of Americans aged 50 and older.

● Led creation of AARP’s digital COVID-19 vaccine guide digital template, collaborating with CDC and state medical officials to ensure scientific accuracy; guides drew 7M+ visitors and informed Spanish-language versions

● Helped maximize reach of AARP’s 2022 voter campaign by reporting and updating 15–20 state guides; coordinated with state officials as voting policies evolved and led adaptation into print for the AARP Bulletin

● Boosted engagement with AARP’s COVID-19 coverage by pitching and producing sidebar digital features, including a top-performing piece on vaccine cards

● Contributed to increased traffic and visibility for AARP’s COVID-19 and voter guides by originating a well-received digital story idea on state-level voting changes during the pandemic

● Strengthened editorial quality by mentoring a new team member and working closely with colleagues to edit and proofread copy in line with AP Style and internal guidelines CONSULTANT WRITER/EDITOR 8/2017 – 12/2020

SELF-EMPLOYED ALEXANDRIA, VA

● Enhanced client communication and engagement by editing and rewriting blog posts, social media content, marketing and email copy, and professional presentations

● Transformed drafts from non-native English into polished, professional messaging REGIONAL DESK EDITOR/JOURNALIST 4/2010 – 7/2017

VOICE OF AMERICA (VOA) WASHINGTON, DC

Voice of America is the U.S. government's largest international broadcaster, delivering multilingual digital, radio and TV content to global audiences in 48+ languages.

● Served as Homepage Editor for VOANews.com from 2010–2014; managed layout, wrote headlines and teaser copy, and adapted content from 48 language services while using CMS to streamline and produce content publishing

● Supervised 2-3 web producers depending on staffing needs

● Won Excellence in Programming Award for increasing East Asia traffic to VOANews.com by converting regional content into English web stories and adding original reporting from Beijing

● Broke VOA’s coverage of the Osama bin Laden raid, alerting leadership after-hours and launching a live blog at 4 a.m. that drove record traffic to the site; earned executive recognition for initiative and high-impact reporting

● Produced real-time blog of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing with text, images, video and verified updates across an eight-hour shift to deliver accurate reporting from breaking news

● Promoted to Senior Editor of VOA’s U.S. opinion and commentary blog during the 2016 presidential campaign; curated and prioritized national content, managed workflow in Dalet, and earned award from senior leadership

PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE

SUPERVISORY NEWS EDITOR

VOA

● Managed editorial operations for VOA’s Africa and South Asia desks, overseeing daily news output, line-editing content, and training and managing interns and new writers to ensure accuracy, clarity and adherence to agency standards

● Served as Acting Pakistan Bureau Chief in active conflict zone, leading 10 Urdu-speaking staff and filing daily digital and radio reports on regional tensions for global audience ASSISTANT PRODUCER

NPR

● Created and produced programming for “All Things Considered” and “Weekend Edition”, directing and digitally producing complex sound stories, radio reports, and host segments

● Set up “Weekend Edition” interview with Beatles producer George Martin; created complex music mixing that was later repurposed for his obituary on “All Things Considered” EDUCATION

● BFA: THEATRE THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

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