Resume
Charles Berret
Professional Profile
Demonstrated ability to write clear, precise, and engaging prose on technical subject matter for a variety of different audiences.Extensive experience editing and mentoring other writers for 15+ years.Talented public speaker with 10+ years experience delivering talks, lectures, and workshops.Ability to use data, computation, and visualization to find stories in structured information.Deep understanding of digital security, privacy, and the broader ethics of technology.Forthcoming book from MIT Press is a cultural history of cryptography.
Experience
Linköping University, Sweden
Postdoctoral Fellow in Critical Data Visualization (2022—Present)
- Unique research and teaching position bridging Computer Science and Gender Studies.
- Developed, coordinated, and taught a new course on “Gender and Diversity in Engineering” for a class of 27 master’s students.
- Conducted qualitative research using content analysis to examine assumptions about the nature of data in different fields.
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Postdoctoral Fellow in Computer Science (2020-2022)
Visiting Assistant Professor of Journalism, Writing, and Media (2018-20)
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Conducted and supervised research on data journalism, information
visualization, data cleaning, and the history of information
technologies.
- Taught ten courses on data visualization, ethics, investigative journalism, and basic news reporting.
Global Reporting Center, VancouverDigital Security Lead (2019-22)
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Trained reporting staff in cybersecurity and operated a SecureDrop
system to safely handle documents delivered by confidential sources.
Institute for Investigative Journalism, MontrealData Editor (2018-21)
- Planned and supported data gathering efforts for a team of investigative reporters.
- Team was awarded the 2020 Data Journalism Award by the Canadian Association of Journalists.
Google, New York
Writer (Contract) for Google Fonts and Google Design (2017-18)
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Wrote five articles using interview-based research to understand the
development and impact of Google’s open-source typography.
- Edited technical materials written by Google engineers for Android developers.
Yeshiva University, New York
Writer-in-Residence, Department of English and Media Studies (2018)
- Delivered a public lecture to the university community.
- Designed and taught a new course on digital journalism for upper-level undergraduates.
Brown Institute for Media Innovation, New York
Research Fellow (2016-2017)
- Collected archival data at eight sites to use as primary source evidence for historical research.
- Mentored journalists, scholars, and artists working on new modes of digital storytelling.
- Coordinated and publicized a conference with 12 speakers and 60 attendees.
Columbia Journalism School, New York
Curriculum Researcher (2015-2017)
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Conducted interviews and gathered survey data as co-author of a 90-page
report assessing the state of data journalism education at 116
universities in the US and Canada.
- Designed the curriculum for
Columbia J-School’s new MS program in Data Journalism and coordinated
the approval of this program with the Provost and NY State Education
Board.
Tow Center for Digital Journalism, New York
Research Fellow (2015-16)
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Conducted ten long-form interviews and wrote a 50-page report offering
the first published study of SecureDrop, an emerging media platform now
used in nearly every major newsroom.
- Gathered original data by scraping websites using Python, then visualized the data with Tableau.
TriQuarterly, Chicago
Book Review Editor (2010-11)
- Commissioned, selected, and edited book reviews during the transition to online format of a longstanding literary journal.
Info.com, Chicago
Information Taxonomist (2010-11)
- Composed and sorted web search keywords for SEO and search engine aggregation.
Egypt Today Magazine, Cairo
Assistant Editor and Copy Chief (2007-08)
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Coordinated monthly publication of a magazine (circulation 14,500)
covering public affairs, business, and tourism in the Middle East’s
largest city.
- Managed a team of 10 copy editors in the week leading up to publication each month.
Skills
Writing and editing: technical, journalistic, online, scholarly.
Coding: working knowledge of Python, R, Bash, JavaScript, CSS, MySQL and many others.
Research: fluent in a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods.
Teaching: workshops, curriculum development, mentoring.
Public speaking: talks, lectures, media training, audiences of all sizes.
Leadership and teamwork: project planning, effective collaboration, giving constructive feedback.
Awards
My work has been funded by grants and fellowships from the Wallenberg AI Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP), Knight Foundation, Brown Institute for Media Innovation, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, McConnell Foundation, and Columbia University.
Education
Columbia University, New York — PhD in communications, 2018.
Northwestern University, Evanston — MS in Editorial journalism, 2010.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor — BA in Philosophy, 2007.