Journalist · Editor · Reporter
Journalist and editor with a decade in local news, most recently Editor-in-Chief of The Ithaca Voice and now freelancing in the Philadelphia area.
About
Over the last 10 years, I rose from general assignment reporter at a hyper-local alt-weekly newspaper to Editor-in-Chief of The Ithaca Voice, a non-profit digital local news outlet and the largest newsroom in Tompkins County, New York.
I've reported on a wide range of topics, but for the last several years I have focused on local government, public health, housing, homelessness and education. As an editor, I led newsroom operations and set editorial standards at two Ithaca publications. I was awarded second place for the New York Press Association's 2019 Writer of the Year Award. As the leader of The Ithaca Voice, I secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in sustainable grant funding which allowed the organization to expand and introduce employer-provided health insurance for the first time, and led collaborations with The New York Times and New York Focus.
I'm now freelancing in the Philadelphia area while seeking my next role. I'm open to reporting on any subject matter, but I'm particularly interested in opportunities for investigative and enterprise journalism focused on local or state governments.
Clips
An ambitious plan to maintain Ithaca's first conference center alongside one of the city's desperately needed affordable housing complexes has fallen victim to private mismanagement and governmental inaction.
I contributed field interviews from the neighborhood and subsequent protest coverage after a 19-year-old was shot and killed by Wilmington police during a foot pursuit.
As living costs continuously climb, Wilmington's mayor vetoed a bill that would prevent water shut-offs for certain vulnerable households, saying the enforcement mechanism was necessary for system up-keep. The city council attempted to override the veto, but couldn't attract enough members to a special meeting.
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Cornell University faced months of federal investigations and tens of millions in revoked federal grants during the first year of the Trump administration.
This story involved finding the family of a homeless man who died sleeping outside just blocks away from the county's replacement seasonal homeless shelter to bring light to the precarity of the local unhoused population during the fierce Central New York winters.
A Freedom of Information Law request led to the revelation that the City of Ithaca's separation agreement with its terminated city manager included hundreds of thousands of dollars in public money used to provide a payout and salary for months after she was removed from her position.
I broke the exclusive news that Acting Police Chief John Joly was abruptly leaving and taking legal action against the city after his appointment to permanently lead the police department was rejected by Common Council members before it was even introduced.
Acting on a tip, I uncovered video of an Ithaca Police Department officer bragging about previously brutalizing a suspect and joking about planting evidence. The officer was suspended and demoted after the comments became public.
More clips available on request. Get in touch.
Resume
Led editorial operations for a non-profit digital news outlet covering Ithaca and Tompkins County. Oversaw organizational strategy, newsroom operations, staff management, editorial standards and outside collaborations.
Managed daily news coverage and editorial workflow. Edited reporter copy, coordinated story assignments, and handled publication scheduling.
Covered the local health system and K-12 / higher education beats during a defining period for both. Broke news, wrote features, and reported ongoing stories through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Directed editorial content and managed newsroom operations for the local weekly. Edited copy, assigned stories, and oversaw the publication's print and digital output.
Reported across city government, courts, breaking news, and community stories for the local weekly. Built sources, covered meetings, and wrote daily and weekly pieces.
Served as Editor-in-Chief of The Review, the university's student-run newspaper.
Contact
If you're interested in hiring me for a freelance opportunity or think I would fit with your publication, please feel free to reach out.
Email me