Biography
Michael P. Hill was born in South Korea and raised in Bloomsburg, Pa.
Hill started his career at the local newspaper, Press Enterprise, as a freelance writer in the newspaper's teen writing program. While still in high school, Hill was hired as an editorial intern and, upon completing the program, was hired part time at the newspaper, where he served as a reporter, editorial assistant, news librarian and interim special editions editor.
After graduating from Central Columbia High School in Bloomsburg one semester early, he increased his hours with the newspaper.
During his tenure at Press Enterprise, Hill worked extensively in the writing, design and customer service areas. He designed the newspaper's 100th anniversary masthead and front page logo, the town's 200th anniversary 356-page book and the newspaper's weekly entertainment guide. In addition, he also redesigned and coordinated the teen writing program.
Hill left the Press Enterprise to pursue a communication degree at the University of Scranton.
While attending college, Hill was selected as one of only 100 students out of 700 nationwide applicants selected to be a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund summer intern. After completing a ten-day residency at Penn state University's main campus, Hill spent two summers working at the Pocono Record in Stroudsburg, Pa. as part of the copy desk.
Also during college, Hill worked as a camera operator for WNEP-TV, the top-rated ABC affiliate in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market, and won a regional young entrepreneur's award.
Hill graduated from the University of Scranton cum laude and, after a stint at The Ithaca Journal in Ithaca, N.Y. as page designer and graphic designer, joined a leading television scenic design firm as marketing and Web manager before accepting a position as Web coordinator for the University of Missouri System in Columbia, Mo.
Hill was then promoted to digital communications director, working with the system president, vice presidents and other high level executives and overseeing the system's Web, social media, graphic design, video production and presentation needs.
In 2011, Hill left UM System to join Veterans United Home Loans, the nation's leading dedicated VA lender, as senior director of content marketing and search engine opitimization.
This combined level of experience has given Hill a unique blend of knowledge in Web, social media, content development and marketing and design. Hill's familiarity with Web development, design, social media and search engine optimization allows him to bring a multifacted approach to digital projects of all types.
Hill is co-founder of HD Media Ventures LLC, a media holding company that owns Fifteenhundred, a news set design firm, and NewscastStudio, the leading resource for television news creative service professionals. Hill also co-founded Equal Creative, a Columbia, Mo.-based graphic design, website design and marketing agency. In addition to serving a wide range of businesses, Equal Creative also donates its time, resources and expertise to local nonprofit organizations.