Natalie Williams is a photographer and editor based out of Berlin, Vermont. She works as a senior editor at VTDigger, a digital, nonprofit news organization in Vermont. Natalie works with the multimedia team, oversees digital strategy and edits articles from a variety of reporters. She previously held the roles of digital editor and news editor.
Prior to VTDigger, Natalie was the visuals coordinator for the Bangor Daily News — the largest independent daily news source in Maine. She produced photos and videos, managed visually focused social media accounts, created visualizations and served as a graphic designer. She also was a digital editor for the newspaper, where she packaged stories for the website using a variety of online tools, contributed to the company’s social media platforms, and edited incoming copy.
Natalie also taught a digital photography course at Maine Maritime Academy, a small college with more than 900 students in Castine, Maine. She created the course from scratch and saw dramatic improvements in her students throughout the semester.
Before moving to Bangor, Maine, Natalie worked as a reporter for the Big Bear Grizzly in Big Bear Lake, California. She wrote about construction, water, utilities, health, visual arts and more.
In April 2018, Natalie earned third place in the California News Publishers Association journalism awards for her local government coverage. When describing Natalie's article, one of the judges wrote, "This is such a bizarre story that stuck out in my mind long after I read it. Great reporting on the strangest local government issue ever." The Big Bear Grizzly also won second place for its breaking news coverage and third place for its Big Bear Now Magazine, both of which Natalie contributed to. She also took first place in 2018 for her education reporting on a series about mass shootings and school safety.
Before the Big Bear Grizzly, Natalie served as the digital editor for VegNews Magazine, the premier vegan lifestyle magazine in the U.S. She wrote stories for the print and online editions of the magazine, oversaw the company's social media presence, produced weekly and monthly newsletters, managed incoming artwork, and more.
Natalie studied history and English at the University of Vermont. She was an active member of The Vermont Cynic, the university's student newspaper, and ultimately held the position of editor-in-chief. During her time in the role she was responsible for the 4,000-circulation weekly newspaper, a staff with more than 100 members and the annual budget of $50,000. When Natalie was editor-in-chief, The Princeton Review ranked the Vermont Cynic as the 18th best college newspaper in the country. It was the first time the Cynic had made The Princeton Review's top 20. She also worked as the photo editor, multimedia editor, staff photographer and news writer while at the Cynic.
Natalie Williams has been published in The Associated Press, The Bangor Daily News, Seven Days, Big Bear Grizzly, VegNews, Tenderly Magazine, Hello Homestead, Big Bear Now, The Vermont Cynic, Vermont Tech Jam, FYI Magazine, Kids VT, What's Good, The Grizzly Weekender, BTV Magazine and more.
Natalie is available for freelance photography, copy editing and social media work in New England and remotely. Please visit the Contact page. She would love to hear from you!