Natuza Olen has joined the Glenwood Springs Post Independent team as its new digital engagement editor.
In this role, Olen will be responsible for managing the PI’s social media accounts, website and community engagement efforts, and assisting with news and feature reporting, video and photo production.
Olen, “or just Naty,” as she prefers, was born and raised in Brazil. She joined the Post Independent in December, after having earned an associate degree in digital media from the Issacson School for New Media at Colorado Mountain College. She also worked for CMC before taking the PI position.
She has a B.A. in journalism from southern Brazil, and moved to Carbondale in 2015 to attend CMC. Olen says the “bold move” was encouraged by the great experience she had in the Roaring Fork Valley as an au pair for a local family back in 2010.
Olen said she loves to travel, and she speaks three languages — English, Portuguese and Spanish.
“We happily welcome Naty to our newsroom team,” PI Editor John Stroud said. “We have a saying here that ‘we are not just a newspaper, we are newspaper media.’ We have digital-first mind-set as we go about the business of reporting news and sharing people’s stories with the community.
“Naty brings a solid understanding of what it takes to engage with our readers in the digital age, and how to grow our readership both online and in print,” Stroud said.
Olen was asked to share a little bit more about herself and what she hopes to accomplish in her new role with the PI.
What attracted you to the Post Independent?
Since I moved to this valley, it always surprised me how many newspapers are still available around here, and actually thriving, when they continue to disappear in other markets. Being a journalist myself, I knew this was a good sign, and that an opportunity could eventually come my way to join one of them. One day I grabbed a copy of the Post Independent and went straight to the job listings page, there I saw the ad for this position and it felt just right.
What kind of work were you doing immediately before this job, and what did you like about that experience?
I left my career, friends and family behind to go back to school in a different country and start from scratch. I initially came to the U.S. with a student visa, so I was not allowed to work, which was a huge setback for my career. But during my two-year degree at Colorado Mountain College I landed an internship with them, creating social media and video content. Right before graduating, I received my permit to legally work and started freelancing as a videographer for a few clients in the valley, until I was hired by CMC as their brand coordinator.
At CMC, I got to collaborate with amazing people from their marketing, public information office and foundation team. I will always have a soft spot for CMC. I’m very thankful for the opportunities they gave me and I’m glad they are present in our small mountain communities.
What attracted you to journalism, and especially to the digital engagement aspects?
I grew up wanting to be a journalist. Nothing sounded cooler to me than telling stories for a living. I got my bachelor’s in the state of Parana in Brazil, and soon after I realized that most jobs looking for journalists were actually for marketing positions. So, I spent a few years in marketing, and that was when I learned how to use different digital tools and platforms to optimize content and analyze markets and metrics.
This position of digital engagement editor for the Post Independent allows me to combine my marketing experience with my passion for journalism and digital media production skills.
What one thing, on a personal level, do you want to accomplish in the next 12 months?
For the first time in a while things will not be so uncertain in my life (knock on wood). From coming to America, to getting married, to graduating from college, to going through an exhausting immigration process, moving from Carbondale to Glenwood to Battlement Mesa … I hope 2019 can bring some stability and balance to my life. I want to focus on being present, thankful and giving back to this community that has brought so many positive things to my life.
Tell us a bit about your family:
I come from a very diverse family — black, Italian, Portuguese, Austrian, native Brazilian, and probably more. I truly believe that embracing cultural and racial diversity can make us happier, more successful, creative and loving people. I can find great diversity among my friends, as well, and I would have missed so much in life if I wasn’t open to love them for who they are.
What do you like to do for fun?
I’m slowly but surely learning how to snowboard at Sunlight, in Glenwood. If anyone wants to help me with some tips, I would greatly appreciate. If you are really good at teaching, hit me up and your day pass is on me!