About Me

 

I’m a journalist and writer native to the rural South and currently based in Gainesville, Florida. I’ve written about science — especially the weirder side of it — for online publications, newspapers and magazines since 2009. 

 

I enjoy telling stories that broaden our ideas — and blow our minds — about people, animals, places, and issues that are underreported or have stigma/stereotypes attached to them. My work usually focuses on unheard voices and unusual stories that defy our expectations. Storytelling has taken me to places like the deserts of Egypt, the southern tip of the United States and a prehistoric elephant graveyard. 

 

My first reporting jobs were for small-town newspapers in rural North Florida, which led to a 2011 Florida Press Association Award for my reporting on river pollution. I earned a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in mass communication from the University of Florida. I studied environmental reporting and nature writing, with a chunk of my graduate research focused on uncovering the use of stereotypes in media. 

 

As a science writer for the University of Florida and the Florida Museum of Natural History, I broadened the institutions’ inclusion of stories about women and other minorities in science. My series "Becoming visible: Three women shattering stereotypes in science" won a 2018 Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Circle of Excellence Gold Award. 

 

In 2019, I embarked on a new adventure as a full-time freelance journalist and writer.

 

A native Floridian, I grew up running barefoot along the banks of the Suwannee River.  When I’m not telling stories, I love traveling and hiking with my husband, daughter and our two rescue dogs.