Amanda Luke of Huntington Beach, Calif., was recently appointed Communications Manager of the Institute’s Development Department. Luke will direct and manage the Institute’s news periodical, The Loupe: GIA World News, its electronic counterpart, the Loupe Online and the Alumni Association’s professional development magazine InFocus.

Luke has over 15 years experience producing publications for newspapers and magazines, from soup to nuts. Luke received a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature, with a minor in Business Management, from Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. During her four years there, she also worked in the University’s Development Department.

“I knew the reputation of GIA and was attracted to the fact that it was a non-profit educational institution,” Luke said. “I am excited to be here and to contribute to such an esteemed institution.”

A native of New York state, Luke began her career in radio but quickly moved to printed publications. She was an editor at The Times Herald-Record, in Middletown, N.Y., for 13 years. She edited a variety of sections, including a community news section, education page, an entertainment magazine, a Sunday-magazine and special sections.

For the past two years, she was the editor of Cat Fancy, the number one consumer publication for cat lovers in the United States, as well as two annual publications and a Web site for Fancy Publications in Irvine, Calif.