I am a freelance writer and cultural anthropologist. Prior to becoming a fulltime professional writer I was the editor of Expedition magazine, a full-color, Smithsonian-like publication I produced for the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. As Expedition's editor, my mission was to make the research of anthropologists and archaeologists more vivid and readable for the interested lay public. I have a good understanding of the needs, demands, and tight deadlines of editors. I also have diverse prior experience in working in many retail as well as non-profit contexts that help me travel across these terrains with understanding and capability.

After over two years as Expedition's editor, I returned to my work as a freelance writer, continuing to enjoy writing for popular audiences about well-researched and evocative topics. My writing appears in many publications, a few of which I have listed here.

For years I have studied other languages (Spanish, Farsi, French, Arabic, and smatterings of Portuguese, Italian, and German) in an effort to arrive at new places with the skills that allow a person to go deeper than surface observations and conversations with locals. As an anthropologist I have learned to ask the key questions that unlock entry gates to other worlds and to traverse vastly different thresholds towards getting at the critical stories. I have broken bread with many people from many parts of the world: sharing a meal is the best way to understand another.

I love to gather local people's stories, understand the deeper local culture and natural world, tie it in with solid library research in history and folklore, and tell those stories in accessible and lively language. Outside of my native USA I have also lived in and written extensively on Spain, France, Morocco, Egypt, Iran, Germany, and Portugal, offering a global-yet-local perspective in all of my writing.