Dan Itel CV

Achievements and Experience

Award-winning digital storyteller with expertise in:

Content Strategy – Craft compelling brand narratives that engage audiences; leverage analytics to inform content creation, distribution, and optimization.
Editorial Leadership – Lead cross-functional teams and agencies, driving content excellence and aligning storytelling with business objectives.
Creative Problem-Solving – Develop innovative, data-driven content solutions that enhance engagement, brand consistency, and marketing performance.

Brand Consultant/Copywriter/Digital Marketing - Freelance

November 2019 - present

Craft compelling, results-driven content across diverse digital platforms, including email, web, social media, video scripts, and case studies, ensuring brand consistency and audience engagement.
Collaborate cross-functionally with clients, designers, creative leads, strategists, and media teams to develop and execute content strategies that align with business objectives.
Leverage data insights and SEO best practices to optimize content for target audiences, enhancing brand storytelling and maximizing engagement across multiple channels.

August 2022 - February 2025

Drive the content strategy and execution for Salesforce’s industry team, managing content creation, distribution, and performance to enhance engagement and business impact.
Develop and implement a comprehensive content strategy, aligning messaging with industry trends, audience insights, and business objectives.
Oversee the end-to-end content lifecycle, from ideation and editorial planning to execution and optimization across multiple channels.
Write, assign, and edit high-quality content, ensuring consistency in brand voice, thought leadership, and storytelling.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product marketing, creative, and external agencies, to create impactful, audience-centric content.
Own and manage editorial guidelines, content calendars, and governance frameworks to maintain a consistent publishing cadence.
Leverage SEO, data analytics, and content performance metrics to optimize engagement, measure success, and drive strategic improvements through test-and-learn initiatives.

April 2017 - October 2019

Promoted to overall newsroom leadership position after one year at The Tribune. Among leadership team selected in company-wide implementation to a digital-first newsroom. Was nominated to and selected for Leadership SLO, Class of XVI, a comprehensive year-long leadership program organized by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce.
Led implementation of investigative and enterprise projects across newsroom. Honored for projects supervised include: Society of Professional Journalism Northern California chapter’s James Madison Freedom of Information Award for shedding light on sexual abuse by a high school coach through public records obtained via lawsuit; McClatchy President’s Award for investigative project detailing mistreatment of a county jail inmate who died after being held in a restraint chair for nearly two days; and CNPA awards for best sports section in 2016 and general excellence in 2018.
Led modeling, planning and execution of all news operations for website that receives more than 2 million page views per month and 25,000 circulation print product. Directly supervised team of 10 reporters in addition to 10 indirect reports, consisting of social media editors, designers and photographers.

April 2016 - April 2017

Led modeling, planning and execution of The Tribune’s local and national sports coverage. Directly supervised team of three reporters and a designer.

June 2011 - April 2016

Responsible for daily maintenance of MLSsoccer.com, North America’s foremost soccer web site and the online face of Major League Soccer. Duties include copyediting, headline and blurb writing, photo and video selection and blogging. Work closely with other editors while managing writers across the globe to shape digital soccer coverage.
Position requires first-class news judgment, strong editing skills, along with a smart social media presence. Skills developed in the position include CMS management, SEO knowledge, project management, high-level research skills and use of analytics to understand and better target audiences.
Work closely with MLSsoccer.com’s C-suite team to develop comprehensive, engaging and informative products that set MLSsoccer.com apart from the competition.

August 2011 - June 2013

Responsible for coordinating a variety of editorial content for two regional publications and an online audience, including coverage of professional, college and high school athletics.
Developed and maintained relationships with high-level team sources, coaches and players. The ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, while researching and understanding a wide range of information and topics, is crucial.

2007-2011

Leader of a staff of four full-time reporters and one photographer while acting as the public face of the newspaper at community events, meetings and functions.

2000 - 2007

Led coverage of local sports, including college, high school and community athletics.