I am an American freelance journalist living in Europe for the past three years, which means I know (and love) a lot about the U.S. and my brain is flooded with story ideas about other cultures. I like stories that are complicated (Why Are Americans So Unhealthy?), stories that are useful (What is the Fittest Fitness for the Oldest Old?) and stories that are quirky (Why Isn’t Dental Health Considered Primary Medical Care?)
My work can be seen in Undark, Knowable magazine, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Neurology Today, Physician Leadership Journal, Fast Company, Scientific American, Salon, Smithsonian Magazine, Mother Jones, Discover Magazine, The Week Magazine and others.
My journalism degree is from Missouri School of Journalism, and I have two master’s degrees– English literature and public administration–from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. I am a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ).
I have been fortunate to be selected for some great fellowships, including the Gerontological Society of America Journalists in Aging Fellows Program, AHCJ’s Reporting Fellowship on Health Care Performance, and AHCJ’s Fellowship on Comparative Effectiveness Research. And I have won awards (see below!)
My career started as a city/county government reporter for two daily newspapers. When I was assigned the business beat at a third daily, I found my right fit for the next several years. I moved to the American City Business Journals chain, where I covered many beats–including investigative, real estate, public companies, accounting firms and PR/marketing firms–before landing on the healthcare beat. That proved to be the next sweet spot for me, and I spent many years as a freelance journalist focused on the business of health care and U.S. healthcare policy.
I’m still interested in health and healthcare policy, but I’m also intrigued by the world outside emergency rooms and hospital billing departments. I’ve loved recent assignments about the US parole/probation system, social science experiments, the diagnosis of brain death, gender-based pay gaps, philanthropy, leadership, professional coaching and many other topics. I can’t wait to see what I learn from new assignments coming up!
AWARDS
Azbee Awards of Excellence Finalist in two categories, 2024. Co-author of analysis about the state of value-based care. Sole author of feature about structural inequities in healthcare delivery. (Healthcare Financial Management Association).
Azbee Awards of Excellence Finalist, 2023. One of three authors on a package of stories about the future of healthcare (Healthcare Financial Management Association).
Gerontological Society of America Journalists in Aging Fellows Program, 2020. Support for a long-form article (Undark) on why U.S. life expectancy and many other measures of health status are worse than that of other high-income nations.
Finalist, National Institute of Health Care Management Foundation Health Care Print Journalism Awards, 2019. Awarded for feature about controversies surrounding health care quality measurement (Managed Care).
Association of Health Care Journalists Fellowship on Comparative Effectiveness Research, 2018. Week-long training session at Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Washington DC.
Association for Women in Communications, Clarion Award, 2018. Awarded for series on physician burnout (Neurology Today).
Association for Women in Communications, Clarion Award, 2015. Awarded for series on how government policies have increased cost of cancer care (Oncology Times).
American Society of Business Press Editors, Gold Regional Award, 2015. Awarded for feature about sustainability practices in health care (Hospitals and Health Networks).
Folio Magazine Eddie Award, 2014. Awarded for 27-part series: Profiles in Oncology Social Media (Oncology Times).
Association of Health Care Journalists Reporting Fellowship on Health Care Performance, 2014. Training sessions at The Commonwealth Fund headquarters, New York, and support for five-part series on cancer care costs (Oncology Times).