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Testimonials:
“Tekla
was an amazing team member in a fast moving campaign. Her work was thorough and
well written. She added a new dimension to the group and fit well into the rapidly
changing demands of the project. She is highly recommended as an asset to anyone
lucky enough to work with her.” 
“Tekla
showed her creativity, reliability, flexibility, judgment, and all-around superior
website skills when we worked together. [It] required Tekla to function independently
but as part of a far-flung team working on a rush project to build and support
a content-rich advocacy website. Her professionalism is impeccable. I highly recommend
her for any similar project.”
“At
a time touted as an "either-or" situation — new media versus old
— Tekla has launched a business that very wisely marries the two. I met Tekla
about two years ago through New York Women in Communications and have been impressed
by her vision, dedication, talent and willingness to seek out a solution to every
situation."
Tekla’s
skills and talents are vast, as well as precisely specialized and interconnected;
however, what impresses me most about her is her deep desire to problem solve
for the greater good of society, media and communications. Meetings are always
better with Tekla in them because she’s someone we can always trust to not
just get the job done, but to do it the right way because she truly wants things
to be the best they can be. I love having Tekla on our team and would recommend
her for any organization looking for someone who’s essentially drama-free
with immense skill and mindful dedication.”
“Tekla
is a committed individual, extremely knowledgeable and highly creative. She brings
a wealth of knowledge to anyone's organization.”
“Tekla
is extremely intelligent, resourceful and hardworking. Oh, and did I mention she
speaks 5 languages? She's also dedicated and pays strict attention to detail."
“Tekla
is an excellent reporter. She has interviewed prominent women such as Helen Thomas
and Arianna Huffington, developing provocative questions to ask and framing the
answers into interesting and readable articles. She is highly intelligent, very
well informed, and a pleasure to work with. Her articles are always on time and
meet the editors' requirements for length, style, etc. I can recommend her highly.”
“Tekla
can do it all: She can write well, edit perfectly, and understands how the content
works in the context of the web. Because she's knowledgeable about the workings
of Web sites, her content is right on the mark. And she's a pleasure to work with,
because she's so smart and a really nice person.”
“Tekla
consulted me on my company's Web site. We're an international company, targeting
Fortune500 companies. She provided me with quick and accurate feedback that helped
me fine-tune our message. She's quick to understand how to best convey a message
in a succinct, easy to follow way. Tekla understands the target audience and is
able to tailor the writing to best convey the essence of the story.”
"Tekla
has the ability to know what the right story is for the moment. Her coverage of
the Middle East was always a step ahead of the rest. Her editing abilities enabled
her to transform very complicated issues into articles that resonated with young
and old, from around the world."
"I
have a deep and abiding admiration for her as a person and professional. She is
a thorough researcher and a clear and elegant writer." |
Ha'aretz
Galei Zahal
|
•
Offline/online editing, writing, online publishing, web design and content conceptualization,
development and management •
Extensive
domestic and international newspaper, magazine, new media and radio experience
•
Scripting (client and server side) •
Incorporating social media (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs etc) in web campaigns to
enhance print media; moving offline brands online •
Lived in Italy, Germany, France and Israel; now based in New York
•
Profound understanding of global affairs, macroeconomics, international media,
modern art, women's issues
•
Fluent in English, German, Hebrew; Italian and French •
HTML, XHTML, basic XML; CSS; PHP and MySQL; Ajax, LAMP Technologies; JavaScript;
Dreamweaver; QPS Desktop Publishing; Photoshop; QuarkXPress; Adobe Contribute,
Drupal and other CMS; Wordpress; Twitter and other social media platforms; Google
Analytics; video editing; PC/Mac platforms and a little on UNIX. •
Cultural/political expert in Western Europe, the Middle East; American and German
Jewry; American-Israeli and American-German relations
CURRENT:
EDITING, WRITING, WEB DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT & CONTENT MANAGEMENT, CONSULTING Member
of NYWICI's Communications Committee, Web Development Committee, Career Development
Committee and Digital Media Committee. Regular contributor to NYWICI's print newsletter
Connect (formerly The Matrix) — read
the Fall
2005 and Fall
2006 issues here — and to NYWICI's Web site (sample piece here
and here)
as well as its blog.
Involved in the organization's Web site development and redesign.
•
WWW.TEKLA-SZYMANSKI.COM
Designed,
launched, maintain and provide content for 100+ page Web site encompassing cultural,
social, and political topics written in German, English, and Hebrew. •
TRIBÜNE
QUARTERLY, Frankfurt, Germany
USA Correspondent / Columnist
Provide commentary and analyses on issues related to American Jewry, German-Jewish-American
reconciliation and American-Israeli affairs.
Recent pieces include coverage
of the U.S. presidential race and the American-Jewish vote. •
NotUnderTheBus.com
— Web campaign, launched in December
2009 by the Women's Media Center
Content
Developer, Editor and Writer •
Pink Magazine
Contributing Writer •
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, New York, NY
Freelance editor
in the museum's editorial department (books, catalogues) •
http://www.bloomadv.com
Web
Designer and Content Manager
•
THE NEW YORK TIMES WEEK
IN REVIEW, New York, NY
Conducted research on the German-language
press reaction to the abuse in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad; provided visuals
for the supplement's May 9, 2004, issue. •
LITERATUREN,
Berlin, Germany
Contributing Writer
Write articles on
cultural topics for this literary monthly magazine. A recent article
for the June 2004 issue analyzed the heated discussion in Israel over a controversial
book by a former Israeli military guard on the conduct of Israeli soldiers at
Gaza checkpoints. •
THE
INTERNATIONAL RAOUL WALLENBERG FOUNDATION, New York, NY
Media
and Public Relations Advisor
•
LEO-BAECK INSTITUTE, Jerusalem, Israel
Contributing Writer
Author of the chapter
on German-Jewish immigration to New York in the 1930s (Der
Aufbau: 'Unser Aller Tagebuch') for the Institute's German-language annual
publication Jüdischer Almanach (release date: October 2005, Suhrkamp
Verlag, Germany). •
SIMON-DUBNOV INSTITUT, Leipzig, Germany
Contributing
Writer for the Jewish Encyclopedia,
to be published in
2010.
PAST:
EDITORIAL STAFF POSITIONS
Senior
Editor for Middle East and Western Europe
@
WORLD
PRESS REVIEW Magazine, New York, NY
Correspondent for worldpress.org
(ongoing)
For
more than 30 years, World Press Review was the only English-language magazine
giving readers a firsthand look at the issues and debates that occupied the world's
newspapers and magazines. WPR published its last issue in May 2004.
Drawing
upon publications around the globe, and a network of correspondents in dozens
of countries, WPR illuminated the issues that barely saw the light of day
in the mainstream U.S. press. It translated, reprinted, analyzed, and contextualized
the best of the international press from more than 20 languages.
Scanned
the international foreign-language media in five languages, translated and wrote
Western European and Israeli press reviews for a monthly nonprofit compendium
of international news and commentary, circulated among 80,000 readers worldwide.
•
Expanded coverage of European and Middle Eastern affairs. Drew early attention
to Germany's economic downturn. Increased coverage of the Palestinian/Israeli
peace process.
•
Increased the use of online and alternative news sources from Israel and Western
Europe.
•
Wrote in-depth analyses on foreign affairs and major breaking news stories for
its Web site, including coverage of how the Western European press reacted to
George W. Bush's election and the war on Iraq.
•
Conceptualized, edited, and fact-checked features and cover stories and copy-edited
in QPS.
Associate
Editor, then Managing Editor
@ Aufbau,
German-Jewish biweekly, New York
Aufbau
was the only German-Jewish publication in the U.S.A. Founded in 1934 by German
Jews who had fled Germany into exile in New York.
It ceased publication in 2004. Managed
the day-to-day production and generated content, supervised editors and interns.
•
Wrote commentary, feature articles, and foreign news analyses in German and English
on cultural, political, and social affairs.
•
Supervised a team of three editors and served as writing coach to five interns.
•
Initiated and implemented the modernization/computerization of the paper.
Established new target audience in Europe of younger, non-Jewish readers.
•
Launched the paper's first Web site.
Foreign
Editor
@ Globes,
financial daily, Israel
Single-handedly
edited six international news pages for Israel's #1 daily financial newspaper.
•
Expanded copy on global macroeconomics
and world affairs from two to four pages.
Foreign
Editor/Analyst
@ Telegraph, financial daily, Israel
Scanned
wire services (Bloomberg/Reuters/dpa/AP), tracked breaking news, and translated
articles from French, German, and English into Hebrew for this financial daily.
•
In charge of graphic design, visuals, layout,
and setup of four foreign news pages.
•
Member of the team that set up the foreign
desk, which went on to number five editors.
•
Represented foreign desk on op-ed page
with analyses of macroeconomics and international political affairs.
Reporter/Adviser
@ Radio Galei
Zahal, Israel
Scanned
foreign TV channels and chose news items for radio broadcast on world desk.
Wrote
and recorded news and feature stories and prepared them for broadcast. •
Specialist at the station on European affairs.
Translator
(German, English, French into Hebrew)
@ Ha'aretz,
daily, Israel
Translated
feature articles from British, U.S., German, and French publications into Hebrew
for this daily newspaper.
1-year Certificate in Web Technology Solutions (Client and Server Side), University
of Washington, Seattle Op-ed
Master Class, Mediabistro,
New York Internet
Journalism,
The
New School,
New York 3-year
Diploma in Journalism (print media, radio, TV), Koteret
— School of Journalism, Tel Aviv, Israel B.A.
in Liberal Arts (Humanities, Social and Political Sciences), Tel Aviv,
Israel 
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