My name is Samuel Rogerio Espaillat. While I can measure my achievements through a numerical value and point towards legislation to provide the narrative behind the numbers, my passion comes from being in a newsroom and using data analytics to engage all stakeholders of a publication to support editorial endeavors while ensuring that these initiatives are aligned with the target audience and editorial mission. My interest has always been practicing my craft as a public servant.
About
Teaching Assistant
Professor Joseph Suarez, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
March 03, 2020- September 23, 2021
• Produced and edited podcast lectures for asynchronous learning.
• Drafted an anti-racist curriculum, supporting the professor's efforts to advance inclusive pedagogy and social justice in criminal justice education.
• Handled the dissemination of class materials and announcements.
• Collaborated on course design and digital content strategy during the transition to virtual learning.
Web Producer, Photo Editor & Junior Editor
Radar Online – American Media, LLC
September 15, 2014 – March 2, 2020
• Expanded coverage by writing data analytics reports to editorial leadership.
• Supplied the Digital Head of Photo with data analytics to pitch photos that resonated with Radar Online’s audience.
• Chose content based on historical and real-time analytics to boost pageviews through social media posts and push notifications.
• Increased Radar Online’s newsletter audience by 9,000 to 27,000 by identifying trends in readership based on traffic referral data per platform.
• Developed the coding for sponsored content across all entertainment brand publications.
• Oversaw the redesign and hand coded the HTML and CSS for Radar Online, OK! Magazine, Star Magazine and National Enquirer’s editorial newsletters.
• Resolved issues with webpages that required correcting HTML and CSS elements.
• Created press release Email template for Us Weekly, In Touch Weekly, and Life & Style.
• Built landing pages and crafted interactive elements for editorial and marketing purposes.
• Expanded the taxonomy of American Media’s entertainment brands to improve SEO.
• Identified keywords through data analytics to use for SEO purposes.
• Spearheaded effort to create multiple documents with an expansive list of content to be recirculated across platforms.
• Pitched and developed ideas for brand growth and increases in revenue through programmatic advertising to C-Suite executives and editorial leadership.
• Researched in-house and photo agency archives to select photos and build graphics for both editorial and marketing purposes under fifteen minutes or less.
• Produced and updated galleries for live coverage in WordPress CMS.
• Contacted photographers, publicists, and news outlets to either license or gain permission for photos.
• Evaluated copyright risk of using social media photos for editors.
• Conducted interviews in Spanish with Reality TV cast members.
• Wrote copy for articles and galleries for special event coverage.
• Repurposed print content for digital audiences by rewriting headlines, editing copy, and drafting SEO.
Web Editor
Stars and Stripes
September 23, 2021- September 22, 2025
• Orchestrated data analysis initiatives to craft Stars and Stripes’ audience strategy which increased readership from 7 million pageviews to 36 million in four years.
• Empowered the Editor-in-Chief using insights from traffic referral data to change editorial workflow to increase core audience engagement.
• Equipped editorial leadership with both commissioned and self-directed analytics reports to justify or shape coverage decisions and assess the performance of different beats.
• Presided over audience demographic research to create comprehensive analysis identifying Stars and Stripes’ core audience and additional segments that can be expanded.
• Provisioned a data analytics report for the Editor-in-Chief to decrease the cost of the contract for Stars and Stripes’ CMS provider.
• Created audience personas for the marketing team and provided a strategy to engage our core readership.
• Collaborated with development engineers in Japan to implement AI to support data analytics initiatives.
• Proposed and created Stars and Stripes’ Breaking News alert template.
• Furnished the Commander of Stars and Stripes Europe and Expeditionary with analytics regarding content production, competitive market research, and website data to write an award for FY 2025.
• Provided both editorial and development leadership with data analytics reports for C-suite meetings.
• Represented the editorial team in development meetings to formulate and implement new SEO methodology within the newsroom and provide reports on audience engagement and development efforts.
• Reviewed and identified issues with Stars and Stripes' contractors coding in Jira.
• Supplied the Chief Digital Information Officer with performance metrics of Stars and Stripes’ mobile app in both Apple and Android app stores.
• Aided in troubleshooting server issues with Stars and Stripes website.
• Contributed to mobile app testing to ensure functionality and improve user experience.
• Selected and curated top-performing stories related to US military affairs, defense posture, and veterans’ issues from multiple wires.
• Managed and selected stories for Stars and Stripes’ social media accounts on weekends and shared newsletter responsibilities with Web Editor team throughout the week.
• Authored features and reviews to establish US Military veterans in the entertainment industry as a formal beat of Stars and Stripes.
• Penned and pitched articles to support coverage on US Military veteran unemployment, MDMA treatment for PTSD, and special events.
• Served as a photographer for editors assigned to a story to report.
Communications Analyst (Federal Contractor)
Vistra Communications
September 22, 2025 – February 27,2026
• Wrote an analysis to propose social media engagement campaign for government client.
• Built databases and created dashboards using Power Query and Excel formulas for government client.
• Oversaw the creation of two products to be distributed among government client’s workforce.
• Reviewed and selected photos from DVIDS for Legislative and Public Affairs efforts.
• Identified specific passages within appropriations bill directly associated with government client.
• Pitched and developed a collaboration between Vistra leadership and executives at the Call of Duty Endowment to support veteran hiring initiatives in different states.
Professional Experiences
Stars and Stripes Resolution
At Stars and Stripes, I led the audience strategy by proactively researching and synthesizing data across platforms to help tailor coverage, demographic research to align editorial strategy with our audience, and collaborate with the development team as a representative of editorial to implement a more effective SEO strategy. The success of these separate and collaborative enterprises would increase the total pageviews from 7 million in 2021 to reach nearly 36 million in 2025. This team effort with editorial and development was highlighted in a US senate resolution introduced by Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) citing that Stars and Stripes reaches 1,400,000 readers daily through multiple platforms.
My career and life choices are inspired by the intrepid souls that were or are part of my adoptive family. I will forever be grateful for their friendship. The opportunity to support the hometown newspaper of the US military is one of many ways in which I have tried to give back to those that have given me everything.
Data Analytics Tools & Content Management Systems
Google Analytics
Google Ad Manager
Google Search Console
Chartbeat
Hootsuite
WordPress
Drupal
CUE
Wix
Design & Multimedia Editing
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InCopy
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Express
Pro Tools
Audacity
Canva
Social Media & Email Marketing
Constant Contact
Sailthru
PostUp
MailChimp
Meta Business Suite
X Pro
Editorial & Development Software
Microsoft Office Suite
Microsoft SharePoint
Google Docs
Google Sheets
Google Slides
Jira