Michelle Weidman: Associate Editor & Community Reporter

Hello there, my name is Michelle Weidman, I am an Associate Editor and Community Reporter for Shasta Scout.

I am a Northern California local, born in Oroville, California and raised in Redding and Happy Valley. My father was a teacher in the Happy Valley school district until his retirement in 2019. My mother is a grocery checker and a mean card player. 

I have been an editor, arts writer, and journalist for nearly 15 years. My previous work can be found in The Picture Professional, F Newsmagazine, Art Practical, and Zombie Ant. I have filled a variety of other roles including business manager, policy analyst, laundry attendant, and community organizer.

Most recently I was employed at Shasta County Health and Human Services as a Community Organizer and then as a Policy and Program Analyst. In this role I learned a lot about County and City government and the way that decisions are made. 

I hold a Bachelor of Arts from Portland State University in Art History and a Master of Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in Visual and Critical Studies with an emphasis in Arts Journalism. Visual and Critical Studies is a hybrid field that is most closely related to Art History with a focus more on contemporary visual culture. While in Chicago, I was the Web Editor for F Newsmagazine, an award winning student run magazine of SAIC. 

I am very grateful to be back working in my preferred skill sets of writing and editing full time with Shasta Scout. In addition to contributing reporting, I look forward to working with our contributing writers to help develop strong and thought-provoking stories. I am also looking forward to supporting Annelise in the continued organizational development of Scout.