(Photo by Webb Chappell)
Contact
John Higgins
19222 15th Ave. NE Apt. A
Shoreline, WA 98155
Summary
I refined that storytelling ability at The Seattle Times with an approach called “Solutions Journalism,” which blends explanatory, investigative and narrative techniques to highlight solutions to seemingly intractable social problems. That experience taught me that people trust data, but they remember stories. I adapted those techniques to help nonprofit organizations tell their own stories about solving difficult problems.
Recently, I completed the Certificate in Professional Technical Writing program at the University of Washington to reinforce my storytelling abilities with the tools, techniques and strategies of technical communication. The program emphasized audience analysis and research including persona development, empathy maps, user journeys and usability testing.
I want to help organizations of all types tell success stories that recruit support for their missions and inspire action.
Skills
Journalism
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- Reported and wrote award-winning explanatory, investigative and narrative stories for daily newspapers.
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- Collaborated with reporters, photographers, graphic artists and editors using Zoom, Trello and Slack to produce stories with varying lengths and deadlines for digital, print, and social media (including Facebook and Twitter).
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- Produced stories using MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint on various Content Management Systems and publishing platforms, including Méthode and WordPress.
Technical Writing
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- Collaborated on teams as a writer, editor and production manager for variety of technical writing deliverables, including Standard Operating Procedures, a job aide, a quick-start guide and a web-based guide.
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- Worked with variety of production tools including Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Snipaste, and ScreenToGif.
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- Conducted audience research to develop a persona, empathy map, user journey and usability testing.
Work experience
Communications Consultant
Deans for Impact
Austin, Texas
2020 and 2023
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- Reported, wrote and edited two web-based narrative reports (in 2020 and 2023) for Deans for Impact, a national nonprofit organization focused on helping teacher preparation programs instruct beginning teachers in the science of learning and how to apply it.
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- Collaborated with staff throughout the planning and editing process to write compelling, jargon-free success stories for policymakers, donors and the general public.
Education Lab Reporter
The Seattle Times
Seattle, Washington
September 2013 to July 2016
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- Covered preschool, K-12 education, and Seattle Public Schools as one of two main reporters for the Education Lab project, in partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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- Wrote in-depth stories that required the translation and synthesis of relevant academic research from a variety of disciplines including neuroscience, cognitive psychology, economics, anthropology and early childhood development and education.
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- Moderated the inaugural event of The Seattle Times’ “LiveWire” public discussion series, titled “The case for early learning.”
Education Reporter
Akron Beacon Journal
Akron, Ohio
June 1997 to August 2012
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- Covered city government, federal, state and municipal courts, urban development, transportation and housing, children’s protective services, the foster care system, and pre-K-12 education.
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- Reported a wide range of education stories, including two grant-funded explanatory and narrative series about project-based learning and the birth of a new STEM middle school in Akron, an investigative series on the Ohio Autism Scholarship program, and an investigative series on charter schools in Ohio.
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- Wrote narrative series about the tragic outcome of a university campus tribunal, “Degrees of Justice,” which was nominated for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting.
Education
Certificate in Professional Technical Writing
https://www.pce.uw.edu/certificates/professional-technical-writing
University of Washington
August 2023
Master of Fine Arts, Nonfiction (Literary Journalism)
University of Oregon
June 1996
Bachelor of Arts, Journalism & English
Robert D. Clark Honors College, cum laude,
University of Oregon
June 1993
Competitive Fellowships
Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT
Program in Science, Technology and Society
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Academic school year, 2012-2013
Penn Neuroscience Boot Camp
Center for Neuroscience & Society
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 31-August 10, 2011
https://neuroethics.upenn.edu/
Joyce Visiting Fellow
Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media
Teachers College, Columbia University
New York City, New York, 2009
Presentations
Solutions Journalism Masterclass
Discussed my story on preschool expulsions for New Hampshire journalists on panel featuring The Seattle Times Education Lab team, organized by the Solutions Journalism Network via Zoom.
April 13, 2021
Neuroscience & Society 10th Anniversary Reunion
Led breakout session “Neuro-education Fact and Fancy”
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Aug. 1-3, 2019
LiveWire: “The Case for Early Learning”
Hosted and moderated a panel discussion for The Seattle Times’ inaugural LiveWire event, which brought scientists, educators, and political leaders together to discuss the benefits of early childhood education.
Microsoft Conference Center, Redmond, Washington
The Eighth International Summer School on Mind, Brain and Education
Discussed my research into the biological origins of teaching:
“A journalist’s quest to understand how teaching makes us human”
The Eighth International Summer School on Mind, Brain and Education:
“Science Education in the Digital Age,”
Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture
Erice (Sicily), Italy
July 30-Aug.4, 2013
Awards
Best of the West, 2017
Third Place
Explanatory Reporting (with Claudia Rowe and Anika Anand)
School funding package of stories
Best Education Issues Reporting: K-12, 2012
Second Place, Newspapers (100,000 + circ.)
Ohio Society of Professional Journalists
“K-12 Education Beat” (body of work)
Investigative reporting, 2012
Second Place, Daily Newspapers
Cleveland Press Club
“Charter schools go off course” (with David Knox)
Best Human-Interest Writing, 2008
Second Place Newspapers (100,000 + circ.)
Ohio Society of Professional Journalists
“Basketball Plus: A Winning Equation”
Enterprise, Salute to Excellence Awards, 2007
Finalist, (150,000 + circ.)
National Association of Black Journalists
“Degrees of Justice”
Investigative reporting, 2007
Second Place, Daily Newspapers
Cleveland Press Club
“Degrees of Justice”
Best Investigative Reporting, 2006
Third Place, Division V
Associated Press Society of Ohio
“Degrees of Justice”
Cell: 206-595-4324
Website: www.thestoryofteaching.com
Email: jhigginsmit@gmail.com
Twitter: @jhigginsST
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/JohnHiggins-Seattle