Writer and editor for a diverse client mix across a range of styles and topic areas, including personal profiles, New York Times style obituaries, medical reporting, and feature writing.

After coming to Stanford in 1999 to edit the law school’s quarterly, I was hired by the alumni association 18 months later to lead a team of 12 in producing the university’s flagship magazine, which at that time consisted of a bimonthly print version and a rudimentary website. Over the next two decades, we transformed that inheritance into a dynamic portfolio of award-winning properties. We expanded into several new areas; for example, developing a monthly email newsletter that evolved from a simple text-based digest to a lively and popular biweekly installment delivered in native format. The website underwent a complete overhaul and was relaunched in 2018, complete with a 25-year archive that dramatically extended the magazine’s reach. Meanwhile, the print magazine was redesigned to embolden its look and feel and improve its organization. We developed a podcast series, integrated a robust social media program, and migrated our operation from a legacy print orientation to a digital-first, modern publishing shop. As a result, in addition to more than 150,000 readers of the print magazine, we attracted more than a million views each year on the website, newsletter open rates hit an all-time high, and our social channels engaged thousands more.It was all made possible by a team of people whose skill, inventiveness and creative mojo drew the admiration of colleagues throughout the university, our readers/users, and counterparts elsewhere in higher education. I hired them, and then mentored, coached, nurtured and inspired them to reach their individual potential while also contributing to a culture that valued excellence and collegiality. There was a rare and special bond among the team, which I consider a key part of my legacy. I departed the job feeling gratified by both our accomplishments and the experience itself.

I left an enjoyable role in public affairs (noted below) to edit a quarterly at Colby, a highly selective liberal arts college. My scrappy team and I produced magazines characterized by heart, wit and spirited enthusiasm for the life of the mind and life in general. Some of the stories I wrote there remain career favorites, especially a feature profile of Linda Greenlaw, the captain of a legendary swordfish boat that survived one of the worst Atlantic storms in history. That story was part of an award-winning issue found here: https://issuu.com/colbycollegelibrary/docs/v87_n1_19-full/1?e=4376882/8545631

I spent the first several years of my career as a reporter and editor at newspapers in three different Midwestern states before accepting an invitation from my alma mater to direct its communications efforts. The job provided a stimulating learning laboratory; several areas under my purview were unfamiliar to me when I arrived but when I left six years later my colleagues and I had accomplished a great deal. The short list: I developed and launched the college’s first alumni magazine; led an institutional branding and identity effort; wrote and oversaw the design of award-winning admissions publications; and wrote a successful $500,000 grant proposal for a technology upgrade of Geisler Library.