About Kate Elston

Contact Kate Elston

Education:

University of California, Berkeley

August 2011 -

Expected graduation, May 2013

Universidad Católica de Córdoba

March 2008 - August 2008

Studied abroad in Córdoba, Argentina's second largest city. Classes included Latin-American Literature, History of Modern Argentina, and Cultural Anthropology.

University of San Francisco

August 2005 - May 2009

Major: Media Studies Minors: Journalism, Spanish

Published Stories:

Controversy Erupts Over Zoning Law Exemptions

KUOW 94.9

Dozens of people packed the Seattle City Council chambers Monday evening for a public hearing. They were there to discuss a proposed building and how it fits into an ordinance intended to promote sustainable design.

Youth Shelter Policy To Change July 1

KUOW 94.9

In Washington state, when a child runs away and goes to a shelter, the shelter has three days before it must legally contact parents or the police. But on July 1st, that will change.

Everett Middle School Pushes for Peace in its Halls

Mission Loc@l

From Nov. 14 to 18, Everett Middle School celebrated peace. Staff and students talked about the violence that surrounds them in the Mission and the school’s efforts to curb students from that behavior.

American Indian Kids Fight to Maintain Identity

Mission Loc@l

When Charles applied for a position with the mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program earlier this year, the application asked the teenager to identify his ethnicity. “Every [nationality] was there — South Asian, South American, European,” said the 14-year-old Pima Indian at a youth powwow earlier this month in the Mission. “But not Native American,” he said. “I checked ‘other.’”

Witch Hunts on Valencia Street

Mission Loc@l

Middle schoolers at the San Francisco Friends School prepare for their production of “The Witch of Blackbird Pond”

My Mission: Marta Garcia, Crossing Guard

Mission Loc@l

My Mission is a feature that profiles people that see the Mission District from a distinct point of view.

District Scrambles to Vaccinate Every Student

Mission Loc@l

At Everett Middle School’s back-to-school night on September 7, San Francisco Unified School District nurse Kathy Ward set up a free clinic to vaccinate students for, among other diseases, whooping cough. “Anyone else need to be vaccinated? Doing it for free!”

California Dream Act

CNS News

[starts at 6:55] Berkeley was the first campus in California to establish a privately funded scholarship strictly for undocumented students.

Here Lies Our Toothless Hamster

YouTube

There's a quirky, little-known San Francisco cemetery...for pets.

How Do Panhandlers Spend Your Money?

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Every day for months, Josh Folk would awkwardly smile as he passed panhandlers in Pioneer Square. He felt sad to see men and women standing on corners -- some dirty, some holding signs, some vocal, some silent. But he could never bring himself to drop change into a plastic cup or a ragged hat. Folk wondered whether his money would go toward feeding a stomach or feeding a drug addiction.

Awards:

Father Fred J. Spieler Media Studies Award and Scholarship (May 2009)

Presented to a graduating senior in USF's Media Studies department who excels in the field.

Pedro Arrupe Award and Scholarship (May 2009)

Presented to a graduating senior at USF who embodies Jesuit ideals and social justice in his/her studies.

Work Experience:

News Intern

KUOW 94.9  - Seattle WA  ( May 2012 - July 2012 )

Pitch, report, and produce 1-2 news stories a day at this NPR affiliate in Seattle. Stories involve city politics and social issues.

Visiting Journalist

VmasV  - Viña Del Mar  ( October 2009 - November 2009 )

Visiting journalist at this new site in Chile's V Region. All work--interviews, writing, corresponding--conducted in Spanish.

Freelance Filmmaker

Produce, flm and edit various projects for Bay Area organizations including Akili Dada, The Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, Poor Magazine, One World Children's Fund, Not For Sale and About-Face.

Production Intern

KALW  - San Francisco CA  ( June 2009 - August 2009 )

Worked alongside producers and hosts of this daily political affairs call-in show on KALW public radio in San Francisco. Booked guests, co-produced shows, screened listeners' calls, worked the switchboard and co-directed at least two live shows per week. Produced two shows, which included developing the show's arc, writing the opening script and providing the host a number of questions to pose to the guests and listeners.

Production Intern

KQEDtv  - San Francisco CA  ( January 2009 - May 2009 )

Assisted with the production of the SPARK television program; worked closely with the producers of this weekly arts show: transcribed interviews, pitched story ideas, updated information on the website

Breaking News Reporter Intern

Seattle Post-Intelligencer  - Seattle WA  ( June 2007 - August 2007 )

Wrote more than 20 articles, including breaking news, features, obituaries, and news briefs; collaborated with other reporters, editors and photographers; four stories appeared on front pages of business and local sections; five stories were featured as the lead online story; one story received over 31,000 hits online

News Producer

USFtv  - San Francisco CA  ( May 2007 - May 2009 )

In charge of News for USFtv, the University of San Francisco's only student-run television station. Supervised and coordinated all News 35 reporters, editors and camera crew; assigned and developed stories; edited and compiled all stories and segments; anchored the biweekly show; produced more than 20 news stories

Skills:

• Fluent in written and spoken Spanish.
  Excellent command of Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Soundslides, InqScribe
  Good command of HTML5, CSS, jQuery