Traci G. Lee

Reverse Job Listing: Traci Lee

Hello! I like to build new things. Let’s talk – but first…

The “TL;DR” rundown: After nearly 8 years of editorial management and growing digital audiences across NBCUniversal’s news groups, I pivoted to digital marketing and business operations in the entertainment industry – from significantly increasing engagement and audiences at Sony Pictures Television to monetization and revenue growth at The Walt Disney Company. Over the last decade, I’ve freelanced as a journalist and digital media consultant, produced a successful independent podcast, and continued to mentor and speak on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the media.

Visit my LinkedIn profile here.
Download my portfolio here.

ABOUT ME
I’m a storyteller, whether it’s writing the narrative or helping others find their stories. I've worked across multiple mediums over the last decade, beginning with a career in journalism that took me across the country as a reporter, documentary producer, and editorial director. My work has always been focused on building bridges between legacy and “new” media in order to reach audiences wherever they are. I'm passionate about digital audience engagement and how data can tell a story, and I believe in creating content that connects people – no matter their backgrounds.

I am extremely organized. I can balance long-term and short-term projects simultaneously, while thinking ahead to challenges or road blocks that may hinder progress or success.

• Example: NBC Asian America Presents…, a digital video channel with consistent original programming for 3 years straight – I created and supervised production on every project – which required managing a variety of teams’ calendars, budgets, and publishing/promotion plans – while simultaneously overseeing daily coverage on NBCNews.com.

• Example: At The Walt Disney Company, I helped lead onboarding of the Amazon Associates e-commerce program for our news properties. In order to secure preferred commission rates and manage multiple affiliate programs, our team needed a way to sort commission rates across hundreds of vendors/categories, and also track articles and categorize them based on products featured. Using Airtable, I built multiple tables and interfaces, engaged automatic sync tools to bring Trello and Google Sheets information into the base, and established relationships across our external partners in order to create a “one-stop shop” solution in order to help our business and editorial teams easily find information and report results.

I am curious, and a quick study, with the ability to pick up programs and platforms quickly. I’m always seeking opportunities to build new skills.

• Example: I am a Certified Scrum Product Owner, earning my certification in order to further enhance my skills while working at USA TODAY. As the Emerging Platforms Director, my role focused on experimentation and test projects to grow audience and engagement on non-owned and operated channels (such as social livestreaming). Working in Agile methodolgies greatly increased the quality and efficiency of my projects, and I was able to effectively build cross-functional teams that worked in sprints to maximize the value of new products to the company’s business goals.

• Example: Dawson’s Speak, an independent podcast my friend and I started in an effort to learn how to build a podcast – In the nearly 4 years we did the podcast, I learned to edit and produce, as well as manage the organic growth of an audio project. Within a year, the podcast grew into the most-reviewed “Dawson’s Creek” podcast on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, with thousands of weekly listeners around the world. It also propelled me to dive further into audio journalism and production during my year-long fellowship at USC.

I am a team player. I thrive in environments where collaboration is essential, and know that no one person succeeds in a vacuum.

• Example: “A to Z,” a project I shepherded at NBC News that celebrated rising stars and emerging voices during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – This multimedia project required months of planning in order to fulfill the concept of “the alphabet, as told by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.” For two years in a row, I worked with a team of producers who traveled the country to film original video interviews with 26 people or groups – from celebrities and public figures to community heroes. I then worked with in-house teams at NBC on web production, publicity/marketing, and a variety of distribution efforts in order to successfully get the project online on May 1.

• Example: At Sony Pictures Television, I led cross-functional collaborations on digital initiatives which required leading and participating in pre-production meetings, communicating with a variety of departments (including broadcast, promotions, marketing, publicity), building and executing social and digital plans, executing content, and monitoring and analyzing performance. My recommendations and insights helped, among other things, increase time spent on Jeopardy.com +20% YoY and increased minutes viewed on "Wheel of Fortune" Facebook videos +77% YoY.

I am a problem solver. When facing challenging situations, I know how to stay calm and organized in order to address every issue that may arise.

• Example: In 2020, while completing a year-long fellowship at USC’s Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, the school had to pivot to an online learning environment in order to ensure the safety and health of the USC community during the COVID-19 pandemic. To convert a hands-on lab course into one that could be continued online was a challenge, but I adapted quickly and suggested tools and organizational methods that helped my colleagues and my students adjust to the situation. I was successful in transitioning from teaching in-person to teaching virtually, which was reflected in the feedback and course reviews by my students. Solutions included the quick and efficient implementation of shared Google Drive folders, checklists via Google Sheets, and dedicated Zoom rooms and Slack channels for teams.

My experience working in large media spaces in a variety of capacities has helped me build a strong and diverse set of skills that is useful in all environments: I am quick to pick up new platforms and programs, I know how to research and fact check, I understand the importance of deadlines, and I am an efficient and transparent manager (from people to projects).

PROGRAMS/SKILLS

• Project management: Airtable, Trello, Asana, Wrike, Notion, Mural, Figma

• Editorial production (writing, editing/copyediting, SEO; broadcast production): Web production/CMS (Drupal, Wordpress, Arc Publishing), iNews

• Social (production, management, organic engagement, and growth): Meta (Facebook/Instagram), X/Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, Discord, Twitch

• Engagement (search and social listening): Google Trends, Answer the Public, Sprout, Dataminr, CrowdTangle, Tubular

• Creative: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Audition, Premiere), Final Cut Pro, Audacity; LucidLink, Frame.io

• Analytics: Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Parse.ly, Omniture, Datorama

LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS

• Certified Scrum Product Owner® – Scrum Alliance

JOB CRITERIA

• WHO: A passionate, driven, and forward-thinking team.

• WHAT: I’m open to a variety of opportunities, including leading social/digital strategies, audience development, or editorial management.

• WHERE: I’m currently based in Los Angeles and am interested in local, hybrid, or remote work.

• WHEN: I am available to start talking whenever you’re ready!

CONTACT
Email: hire.traciglee@gmail.com (Please note: This email address is intended for work opportunities only. All other types of inquiries will not receive a response; instead, please refer to the Contact form for all other communications.)

REFERENCES
What people are saying on LinkedIn:

“Traci has all the qualities of an ideal employee: creative, an excellent communicator, a team player, analytical, conscientious, and always takes initiative. You never have to worry about projects getting completed in time because Traci always goes above and beyond to execute the projects she is working on.”

“She is an excellent leader who puts the interests of her team before her own. She is quick to identify people's strengths, and delegates tasks and assignments based on those strengths.”

“She has a keen understanding of storytelling across multiple mediums and has fingers firmly on the pulse of news, social justice issues, entertainment and culture.”

“She dedicated herself to learning as much as she could from every possible stakeholder, enabling her to quickly move from her transition period to becoming a vital player in every meeting.”

“Traci’s understanding of the delicate balance between facing obstacles head on and maintaining a level headed approach is priceless.”

Contact information for references – including supervisors, colleagues, direct reports, and mentees – are available upon request.