Haley Shapley

I published my first article in a real newspaper when I was 13 and in eighth grade, just weeks before I got runner-up in the spelling bee on my last stop before nationals. Needing to grieve the loss of my trip to Washington, D.C. (simply the coolest thing I could imagine at the time), I took some time off from journalism, but came back strong as editor of multiple award-winning yearbooks in high school.

At the University of Pennsylvania, I worked as the copy editor and managing editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian, which won both a Pacemaker Award and a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown during my tenure as ME. 

After graduating magna cum laude with a degree in communication, I moved to Texas to work as an assistant editor at American Way, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines. After that, I joined the editorial team at custom publisher PRISM Media Group as a senior associate editor; I was later promoted to managing editor. I enjoyed the office life but decided what I really wanted to do was freelance full-time, so I made the leap and have never looked back. I'm now based in the Northwest, where I grew up, and am never at a loss for beautiful scenery.

I'm passionate about travel, reading, and riding roller coasters, and I've never met a competition I didn't want to win (except for those extreme eating ones). I also enjoy board games and am a master googler. I'm currently training for a marathon, which I don't love nearly as much as any of the aforementioned activities.