Resume
Career Milestones
Ohio Valley ReSource - Managing Editor
Feb. 2016 to Aug. 2021
I built and managed a regional journalism collaborative with seven public media outlets in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, covering energy and environment, health, and the workplace. I edited and developed the broadcast, web, video, and data products and managed a team of seven journalists. The work regularly appeared on national programs and partnerships with NPR and the Center for Public Integrity resulted in award-winning investigative projects. In 2020 my team and I co-authored a book based on our reporting about coal country and climate change: “Appalachian Fall” was published Aug. 2020, by Simon & Schuster. In Spring, 2021, we launched a podcast, "Welcome to AppalachAmerica," which I produced and hosted.
The Pew Charitable Trusts - Communications Officer
July 2012 - Jan. 2016
I developed communications strategy, coordinated messages for a team of scientists, policy analysts and advocates, and developed a wide range of communications products and advertising. Much of the work focused on the effects of climate change on marine life, including seabirds and the New England cod fishery. My content for Pew campaign directors appeared in the New York Times, Huffington Post, National Geographic online, and numerous regional outlets. In 2015-2016 I directed communications for a successful campaign to establish the first Marine Monument along the U.S. Atlantic Coast, the Northeast Canyons & Seamounts Marine National Monument.
PRI's Living on Earth - Host & Washington Correspondent
Aug 2003 - June 2012
As program host, I interviewed leading scientists and politicians, reported from the field for major projects, and managed the editorial direction of this nationally-distributed environmental news program. As Washington correspondent, I covered climate change and energy before Congress and the courts, and reported on presidential and major congressional races in 2004 and 2008. Major areas of coverage included: Mass. v EPA case before the Supreme Court; the first major UN Summit on Climate; various climate bills including Waxman-Markey; Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Major interviews: NASA scientist James Hansen; V.P. Al Gore; then-Senators John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, John McCain; DOE Sec.’s Steven Chu, Ernie Moniz; EPA Administrators Carol Browner, Lisa Jackson, Christine Todd-Whitman.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - Reporter
May 1996 - July 2003
I created a beat on the environment, focusing on the state’s coal and chemical industries. My investigative work exposed the failure of regulators to adequately inspect a mine where workers died in an explosion, and showed how coal mine operators try to intimidate mine inspectors. I also provided coverage from the region for NPR programs, including the rescue of trapped coal miners in Pennsylvania (2002); and the crash of United Flight 93 on Sept. 11 (2001).
Resume
Education & Professional Development
April, 2019
Editorial Integrity & Leadership
I was part of the first group of public media editors selected to participate in the Editorial Integrity & Leadership Initiative at Arizona State University's Cronkite School.
Aug. 2011 - May 2012
Nieman Journalism Fellow, Harvard Univ.
As the Donald W. Reynolds Nieman Fellow in Business Journalism I focused on energy policy and emerging trends and challenges in journalism. My studies there included presentations, symposia and studies in the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School.
1986 - 1991
Marshall Univ. & The University of Charleston
I earned a B.A. in Journalism at Marshall Univ. (Huntington, WV) with minor studies in Political Science and Spanish. I studied biology at the University of Charleston (Charleston, WV).