Ronnie spent a lot of time in Latin America but for the last few years, Gainesville has been her home. It’s her second time around here. "I like Gainesville, and I like having Gainesville be the place I come home to when I return from a trip (I also really like to travel!)."
Ronnie is about to have a chapter published in an anthology that focuses on women who have spent time in Latin America, Women Travel Alone Together, with a likely publication date in early 2018.
Like so many of us she multi-tasks constantly, but a lot of her focus these days is on her small business as an editor, writer and translator. As a copyeditor, she has particular expertise in editing the works of journalists, scholars and researchers for whom English is a second language. She has also edited two memoirs by Puerto Rican authors, an environmental education book by a group of authors at Cornell University, and is now editing a book on reggaeton.
She is always looking for more editing, translating or writing work, not just for the money, which obviously counts, but also because she really enjoys the work! When she edits, writes or translates, she learns a lot about the subject at hand and that brings her a lot of satisfaction. She is a veteran journalist who was a correspondent and bureau chief for CNN based in Nicaragua and Chile from 1987 through 1996. She got to Nicaragua as a freelancer in 1984. Her work in Latin America included reporting from all the countries in the region.
She was a Knight International Journalism Fellow in Colombia from 2011 to 2012. She was also the recipient of a grant from Transparency International in Colombia in 2013. Her projects focused on digital tracking of corruption in that country. She began my career in journalism at the San Juan Star in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Currently, she also teaches journalism classes at the University of Florida, and is also a writer for Americas Duty Free & Travel Retail.
Ronnie is fluent in Spanish.