As the proud daughter of Filipino immigrants, I have a passion for telling community-driven stories.
PS: That’s my best friend, Toto 🐶
Resume
Education
USC Annenberg
Master of Arts in Specialized Journalism
University of California, Irvine
Bachelor of Arts in Literary Journalism | Minor in French Literature
Experience
Rolling Stone
Night Editor
10/2022-Present
LA Times
Freelance Writer and Photographer
11/2022-09/2022
● Cover race and identity in media and entertainment.
KCET
Freelance Writer and Photographer
01/2022-Present
● Cover social justice issues for KCET's Emmy award-winning arts and culture series, "Artbound."
Wellena
Digital Content Manager, Social Media and Editorial
08/2019-07/2021
● Drove strategy and execution of social media campaigns through content storytelling, ensuring a consistent brand voice across Facebook and Instagram.
● Designed social-first ad creatives to drive audience engagement on Instagram and Facebook.
Temperance Bar
Social Media Strategist
01/2020-12/2020
● Launched strategies on social channels including Facebook and Instagram for Temperance; landing features in The LA Times "Daily Pilot", Orange Coast Magazine, and On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
● Used design thinking skills to execute monthly themed campaigns and collaborate with partner brands to increase social visibility; resulting in sold out events.
OC Weekly
Food and Travel Writer
06/2015-11/2019
● Columnist covering food industry news in Southern California.
Paleohacks
Editor-in-Chief
05/2015-07/2019
● Was responsible for directing editorial content for Paleohacks.com, garnering 2 million monthly sessions and 500K email subscribers.
● Managed social media marketing, growing Instagram to 147K, Pinterest to 200K, and Facebook to 900K followers.
Foodbeast
Managing Editor
10/2012-09/2014
● Increased website traffic from 1.5 million monthly sessions to 6 million monthly sessions.
● Created original editorial, social, and video campaigns for branded content, including features for Taco Bell and Jack in the Box.
Skills & Languages
Social Media
Magazine Writing
Team Management
Content and Copy Editing
Content Marketing
Email Marketing
Mobile Marketing
Photography
SEO Analysis
Google Analytics
Asana
Trello
InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Wordpress
HTML and CMS
English
French
Tagalog
Selected Articles
Selected pieces by yours truly. Click on the links to read the story.
Tia Carrere in “Easter Sunday” Marks a Profound Change for Filipinos in Hollywood | LA Times
‘I Want to Scream’: Stand-Up Comics Around L.A. Rally Onstage Over Roe Decision | LA Times
Westside Love Story Hatches the Crow | LA Times
How the Music of Filipino Youth Continues to Rock the Regime | LA Times
Breaking Bread at the Border | Life & Thyme
Powerful Photo Series Honors Indigenous People of the Philippines | KCET
Mung Beans, Milk, and Sugar Is a Revelation | TASTE
Testimonials
“As an editor and writer, Charisma is second to none. Her creativity is a 10/10 and when we worked together, I rapidly stopped giving her suggestions as to what topics we should write about because simply put: her ideas were always better than mine. She works hard, cares about what she does, and ultimately made our content program one of the top programs in the industry. She also has amazing skills in hiring team players, on top of her editing work. I absolutely recommend Charisma as one of the top leaders in editorial.”
“I worked with Charisma at Paleohacks for over 4 years, first as a writer and then as an editor under her.
Charisma made me a stronger writer and editor because her commitment to producing the best work possible is unwavering. She never settled for “good enough,” and always pushed our team to put forth our best work. Her attention to detail is spot-on, as is her eye for what makes an article shine. She’s an excellent leader and manages an editorial team seamlessly.
It was beyond a pleasure working with such a talented editor-in-chief. You’ll want Charisma on your team, trust me.”
“Charisma inspires you to not only improve your own writing abilities, but to broaden yourself to new experiences every time you tell a story. Her time as my editor established many of the fundamentals that can still be found in my writing today.”
