The Content Studio manages a wide variety of projects for Principal's global audiences of businesses, institutional investors, individual consumers, financial advisors, and others. We collaborate across the enterprise to produce campaigns tailored to the needs of each audience. Much of my work helps small and midsize businesses continue to grow by retaining their employees and navigating economic volatility. Our team helps produce videos, articles, social campaigns, programs with external media brands, live events, and many other types of content. I helped launch Principal's first podcast series. I'm a staunch advocate of focusing on customer need by bringing more authentic customer and client voices into content. Exploring new creative partnerships with clients on content marketing projects is one way to cut through the noise and produce effective campaigns that help differentiate your brand in a crowded market.

I was chosen from among a national search to become the fourth Iowa columnist since World War II. I roamed not only the 99 counties but all the way to China and back in search of colorful characters and intriguing stories. I was known for exhaustive reporting, well-crafted narratives delivered on deadline, and effective branding and audience engagement in digital media. I also took seriously the journalist's mission to fight for the public good. My wide range of skills included documentary filmmaking and investigative work. This was an entrepreneurial role that required me to continually devise, plan, and implement ambitious projects while collaborating with a wide array of stakeholders. I also simply loved to meet people and share their stories, whether reporting from inside a prison or among world leaders. In my last full year as columnist I was responsible for three of our newsroom's five most popular news stories.

I managed entertainment coverage and coordinated with our national network of business partners. I supervised full-time and freelance staff and led special projects. This role represented a significant growth and leadership opportunity during legacy media's transition to digital.

I developed an original curriculum on the fundamentals of reporting, writing, and digital news to teach an Introduction to Journalism course for a class of sophomores, juniors, and seniors who also worked for the campus newspaper. I provided a bridge between full-time faculty at a time when many journalism programs still were catching up with the rapid transformation in professional media.

I was Iowa's leading pop music critic for reporting, reviews, profiles, investigations, and trend stories of national and regional artists alike. I spent a day with Bono, interviewed Paul McCartney, chronicled the rise of Slipknot, and partnered on projects with local TV and radio. I also wrote a wide variety of news stories and general features as well as a Gen X lifestyles column, "Life So Far."

I helped produce a range of lifestyles and entertainment content. My responsibilities quickly grew and included the launch of my own column. This was the era of lively and sprawling metro newsrooms full of indelible characters, where from the first day I learned the importance of attention to detail in every stage of the craft.