All About Me

I tell awesome stories.

It started with journal entries documenting family trips. Then it was the photos I took while documenting service trips to Appalachia. As I grew more confident in my ability to engage with the outside world, the storytelling bug morphed into DJing at my college radio station and interviewing musicians busking on the streets and in the subways of New York City. Two decades later, I have paired an insatiable curiosity about urbanism, sustainability, and equity with stellar writing, photography, and broadcasting skills.

In some ways, this can seem like a solitary craft: One man with a recorder, a mic, or a camera, on a mission to change people’s minds about the role of street art, break down complex scientific concepts, or explore humankind's knottiest challenges. But deep down, this is an endeavor marked by constant communication with others, from those who become sources to those who lend their expertise to help create a finished product.

For me, that first meant working closely with fellow “ink-stained wretches” in the trenches of the newspaper world, as a features writer in Connecticut and Georgia, and then as a freelance reporter in New York City. When I embarked on a career in academia, that world grew to encompass students and faculty members whose labors I was tasked with celebrating. It’s the kind of environment where multiple cooks work in a crowded kitchen, and not only have I succeeded in creating content that gets results, but I have also grown exponentially.

That growth started when I earned a master’s in urban studies and published a book based on my thesis, and continued when I mastered digital photography, ensuring that my pieces were visually striking. Not content with that, I returned to my radio roots by launching a podcast, overseeing every aspect of production.

Finally, I’ve spent the last few years combining all these elements into videos that strengthen, clarify, and complement the storytelling instincts I’ve honed. I’ve also used AI tools to make complex topics more easily accessible to wide audiences. Now that my current role has come to an end, I’m excited to see how I can put all of these skills to use.

Every day when I sit down to write in my Brooklyn apartment, I soak up the words of George Bernard Shaw:

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

Thanks for swinging by today. I hope it’s not your last visit.