Experience
Santa Clara University
Associate Editor of Santa Clara Magazine, Feb. 2020–Present
Assistant Director of Storytelling, Nov. 2018–Feb. 2020
Shape the story of Santa Clara University—the oldest operating university in California and Silicon Valley’s original incubator of ideas—through the award-winning Santa Clara Magazine
PHOENIX magazine
Associate Editor, Sept. 2016–Sept. 2018
Covered the weird, quirky, kooky, otherwise intriguing goings-on around the Valley of the Sun for Arizona's longest-running, largest city magazine
Freelance Reporter
Ongoing
Write news and lifestyle features for print and online outlets, such as PHOENIX magazine, The Washington Post, The Arizona Republic, and more
KJZZ News
Digital Producer, Nov. 2015–Sept. 2016
Oversaw website and social media handles for Phoenix, Ariz. National Public Radio member station, formatting audio stories for web consumption and creating data visualizations, such as heat maps and quizzes
The Washington Post
Features Reporter, Summer 2015
Pounded the pavement of our nation's capital as a general assignment reporter for the Style section, covering lifestyle news, food and pop culture—from profiles of a professional sports mascot maker and a millennial congressional candidate to an essay of standing in line to enter the Supreme Court on judgement days
Cronkite News
Reporter, Aug. 2014–May 2015
Manned the social issues beat for the Arizona State University Cronkite School’s digital media outlet, covering topics from Arizona's legalization of same-sex marriage to revenge porn to the opioid epidemic
Carnegie-Knight News21
Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Fellow, Summer 2014
Covered the pro-Second Amendment cohort—specifically female gun owners and entrepreneurs, and a town in rural Colorado that required guns in every home—for Gun Wars, an in-depth investigation into gun rights and regulations in America
Arizona State University
Graduate Assistant, Aug. 2013–May 2015
Revised official style guide on reporting on disabilities and issues faced by the disability community for the National Center on Disability and Journalism and organized expert webinars; graded essays and tests as teaching assistant for undergraduate journalism courses
Grand Canyon University
Copywriter, Nov. 2012–Aug. 2013
Authored print and online communications for undergraduate colleges and enrollment at the Phoenix campus
Clear Channel Communications
Producer, Jan. 2009–June. 2012
Wrote daily news summaries and edited stringer content for radio stations across the country under the 24/7 News Source umbrella
The SAN DIEGAN
Staff Writer, Jan.–July 2008
Reviewed restaurants and retail for annual travel book
Education
Arizona State University
Master of Mass Communication, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, May 2015
Outstanding Graduate Student award; Kappa Tau Alpha national honor society
University of San Diego
Bachelor of Arts in English literature, minor in political science, Jan. 2008
Magna Cum Laude; Phi Beta Kappa; Blackfriars scholarship, University of Oxford
Other noteworthy stuff
Adobe Creative Cloud (currently: InDesign & InCopy); CMS, HTML & CSS (currently: Wordpress); Web data visualization; Wikipedia; conversational Spanish; photography
Led Phoenix networking chapter of national Riotrrs movement to promote companionship, support and mentorship among female-identifying journalists
Conferences & Classes: Investigative Reporters & Editors, 2017; Stanford University Continuing Studies, Writing Creative Nonfiction, 2019; Power of Narrative, Boston University, 2020; CASE Editors Forum, 2023
Awards
CASE District VII Awards 2023
Best of, Writing/News Feature (1,000+ Words): “And How Does That Make You Feel?” Summer 2022
Best of, Overall Magazine>Alumni/General Interest: Summer 2022 issue
CASE Circle of Excellence Awards 2022
Bronze, Writing/News Feature (1,000+ words): “Value Proposition,” Spring 2021
CASE District VII Awards 2022
Best of, Writing/News Feature (1,000+ words): “Value Proposition,” Spring 2021
San Francisco Press Club Awards 2021
Second place, Magazine Series or Continuing Coverage: “Wine,” Spring 2020
Third place, Magazine Series of Continuing Coverage: “Race,” Fall 2020
San Francisco Press Club Awards 2020
First place, Feature Story/Light Nature: “Adam, Eve, and the Apple of Intelligence”
Arizona Press Club Awards 2017
Second place: Community and Statewide Short-Form Writing
FOLIO: Eddie & Ozzie Awards 2017
Honorable Mention, City & Regional Cover Design, Free PHX, PHOENIX magazine, June 2017
EPPY Awards, Editor & Publisher Magazine 2015
Best College/University Investigative or Documentary Feature, “Hooked: Tracking Heroin’s Hold on Arizona”
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Rocky Mountain Southwest 2015
Governor’s Award, “Hooked: Tracking Heroin’s Hold on Arizona”
Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards, Regional 2015
Finalist: in-depth reporting, online feature reporting, best use of multimedia; News21 Gun Wars
Bill Muller Memorial Scholarship, Phoenix Press Box Association Scholarship 2014-15
University of San Diego Trustee Scholarship 2004-08
Mayo Foundation Scholarship 2004-08
Nice things people have said
(via ZipRecruiter)
As associate editor at PHOENIX magazine, Lauren Loftus wrote several news, lifestyle, and feature articles every month. She also managed our blogs during her tenure, working directly with writers to vet, assign, edit, and post their pieces online. Lauren is a talented reporter and writer and consistently delivered excellent work for the magazine – always on time or ahead of schedule. She was an asset to our team and company and would be the same for any company she works with!
—Leah LeMoine, Managing Editor, PHOENIX magazineLauren is a rising talent in the field of storytelling. She's a thorough and thoughtful journalist and one of the finest long form feature writers around. Lauren thinks about storytelling in a big way, looking to incorporate audio, video, and dynamic layout to make a story pop.
—Matt Morgan, Director of Storytelling at Santa Clara UniversityLauren was a star reporter in the 2014 News21 national student investigative reporting project that I directed. She did outstanding reporting and writing, particularly on a groundbreaking story at that time about the growing involvement of American women with guns. She was hard-working, mature, collaborative and showed initiative. I recommend her highly.
—Leonard Downie Jr., Professor at Walter Cronkite School of Journalism; former Executive Editor at The Washington PostLauren is a first-class writer and reporter who also is adept at digital story-telling. She is especially good at spotting trends and stories that have not previously been told. She is responsible, ethical and a great team-player with all the qualities it takes to develop into a great leader.
—Kristin Gilger, Senior Associate Dean at Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University