Leah Shepherd
JOB EXPERIENCE:
* Senior legal editor for SHRM. Wrote and edited stories on employment law, covering court cases, federal regulations, government agencies and state laws. Topics included discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, worker classification, workplace safety and wage-and-hour claims.
(May 2022 to February 2024)
* Full-time freelancer, self-employed. Author of middle grade novel called "Seeing Carter."
Provided writing, editing and proofreading services. Freelanced for newspapers, magazines, websites and corporate communications. Edited and proofread three nonfiction books.
(September 2009-April 2022)
* Managing editor for Employee Benefit News, a nationwide trade magazine for human resource professionals with a circulation of 70,000 (January 2004 to September 2009)
· Co-authored a book called “The Three Rs of Employee Benefits: Recruiting, Retention and Rewards,” published by SourceMedia in 2009.
· Edited staff-written and contributed articles for the magazine, publishing 15 issues per year.
· Edited electronic newsletter that published twice per week.
· Produced podcasts on employee benefit topics.
· Moderated live and online seminars on employee benefit topics.
· Initiated and developed intern program and supervised intern performance.
· Covered many national conferences and congressional hearings.
· Helped to judge submissions to annual benefit and communication awards from EBN.
· Helped to develop and analyze reader surveys.
· Was quoted in Baltimore Business Journal story on health care trends.
* Staff writer for The Gazette in Montgomery County, Md. (April 2000 to January 2004)
Covered Kensington, Garrett Park and about 100 schools in Montgomery County, Md. Wrote breaking news about the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a train wreck in Kensington and the 2002 sniper attacks in Montgomery County, Md. Other stories chronicled court cases, crime, politics and zoning issues.
* Reporter for Capital News Service (Annapolis bureau), a wire service run by the University of Maryland, serving 14 dailies and nine weeklies in Maryland. (January-April 2000)
Covered the Maryland state legislature in stories about new bills, political speeches and budget developments that impacted my two beats: education and southern Maryland.
* Part-time reporter at the Patriot-News, a daily newspaper in Harrisburg, Pa. (summer 1999)
Covered news in Dauphin County and wrote profiles of students and volunteers.
* Features intern for the Patriot-News. (summer 1998)
Wrote feature stories and covered the implosion of the Labor and Industry Building in Harrisburg.
* News intern for the Sentinel, a daily newspaper in Carlisle, Pa. (summer 1997)
EDUCATION AND HONORS:
* My coverage of the train wreck was part of a package that won The Gazette a first-place award for breaking news from the Suburban Newspapers of America in 2002. It also was part of a package that won The Gazette a second-place award for spot news from the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association.
* I graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2000 with a 3.49 GPA. I majored in print journalism, minored in French, and completed the Honors Humanities program.
PERSONAL INTEREST:
* I taught SAT prep classes for RLK Education Services in Bethesda. (2002-2004)
* I am a certified yoga teacher.
* I was a gymnast for 17 years, including three years on the University of Maryland's Gymkana Troupe. I coached at Hills Gymnastics in Gaithersburg, Md.
* Senior legal editor for SHRM. Wrote and edited stories on employment law, covering court cases, federal regulations, government agencies and state laws. Topics included discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, worker classification, workplace safety and wage-and-hour claims.
(May 2022 to February 2024)
* Full-time freelancer, self-employed. Author of middle grade novel called "Seeing Carter."
Provided writing, editing and proofreading services. Freelanced for newspapers, magazines, websites and corporate communications. Edited and proofread three nonfiction books.
(September 2009-April 2022)
* Managing editor for Employee Benefit News, a nationwide trade magazine for human resource professionals with a circulation of 70,000 (January 2004 to September 2009)
· Co-authored a book called “The Three Rs of Employee Benefits: Recruiting, Retention and Rewards,” published by SourceMedia in 2009.
· Edited staff-written and contributed articles for the magazine, publishing 15 issues per year.
· Edited electronic newsletter that published twice per week.
· Produced podcasts on employee benefit topics.
· Moderated live and online seminars on employee benefit topics.
· Initiated and developed intern program and supervised intern performance.
· Covered many national conferences and congressional hearings.
· Helped to judge submissions to annual benefit and communication awards from EBN.
· Helped to develop and analyze reader surveys.
· Was quoted in Baltimore Business Journal story on health care trends.
* Staff writer for The Gazette in Montgomery County, Md. (April 2000 to January 2004)
Covered Kensington, Garrett Park and about 100 schools in Montgomery County, Md. Wrote breaking news about the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a train wreck in Kensington and the 2002 sniper attacks in Montgomery County, Md. Other stories chronicled court cases, crime, politics and zoning issues.
* Reporter for Capital News Service (Annapolis bureau), a wire service run by the University of Maryland, serving 14 dailies and nine weeklies in Maryland. (January-April 2000)
Covered the Maryland state legislature in stories about new bills, political speeches and budget developments that impacted my two beats: education and southern Maryland.
* Part-time reporter at the Patriot-News, a daily newspaper in Harrisburg, Pa. (summer 1999)
Covered news in Dauphin County and wrote profiles of students and volunteers.
* Features intern for the Patriot-News. (summer 1998)
Wrote feature stories and covered the implosion of the Labor and Industry Building in Harrisburg.
* News intern for the Sentinel, a daily newspaper in Carlisle, Pa. (summer 1997)
EDUCATION AND HONORS:
* My coverage of the train wreck was part of a package that won The Gazette a first-place award for breaking news from the Suburban Newspapers of America in 2002. It also was part of a package that won The Gazette a second-place award for spot news from the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association.
* I graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2000 with a 3.49 GPA. I majored in print journalism, minored in French, and completed the Honors Humanities program.
PERSONAL INTEREST:
* I taught SAT prep classes for RLK Education Services in Bethesda. (2002-2004)
* I am a certified yoga teacher.
* I was a gymnast for 17 years, including three years on the University of Maryland's Gymkana Troupe. I coached at Hills Gymnastics in Gaithersburg, Md.