Hi -

I was born curious and believe that exploring is as much about people and ideas as it is about places.

I inherited a deep love of words, language, maps and storytelling from both sides of my family. Curiosity and a broadly dispersed family led travel opportunities and nursed a passion for travel that continues to challenge me.

I moved frequently during the first five years of my life before my family settled down in Lawrence, Kansas. There, I survived junior high school and later completed a double major in political science and international studies at the University of Kansas.

I enrolled in Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School because I wanted to tell stories to the best of my ability. I knew that reporting skills from interviewing to fact checking and technical skills from photography to video editing would help me transform my storytelling passion from a hobby into a craft.

I learned those skills and more while collecting a few anecdotes of my own. I visited festivals and prisons, rode with border patrols and hiked with humanitarians. I did interviews in parking lots, morgues, shelters and at the Arizona state capitol; I met politicians, professors, addicts and activists, and countless more fascinating people.

I want to bring back stories that include sights, sounds, smells and tastes. I hope to combine my interests, skills, and training for collecting multimedia and telling diverse stories. I use tape recorders, video cameras and still photography - but never without my notepad and pen.

I love :

about portrait credit : Lauren Gilger / background graphic credit : Squidfingers