Freelance editor and data wrangler available

I am accepting new clients from journalism organizations and media outlets, academic institutions, independent scholars and writers, and others in need of writing coaching, editing, data analysis and visualization, proofreading and other services to support getting your ideas out to the public.

FREELANCE EDITOR | Dec. 2021 - present
  • Clients include: The Conversation, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, MIT Technology Review Insights, The Emancipator (Boston Globe/Boston University joint venture), among others.
  • Distill data and technical language into clear prose and compelling visualizations accessible to a general audience.
POLITICS + SOCIETY EDITOR | The Conversation, Boston, Massachusetts | Sept. 2019 - Oct. 2021
SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY EDITOR | Jan. 2016 - Sept. 2019
  • Worked with university academics and researchers to translate their scholarship and insight into timely news articles for a general audience, distributed by the Associated Press and Creative Commons republishing.
  • Key topics included social media and democracy, election integrity, U.S. civics, disinformation and information warfare, history, human rights, understanding extremism.
  • Staff point person for data visualization, including interactive maps, charts and other web-native diagrams.
POLICY ANALYST | Frontier Group, Boston, Massachusetts | March 2014 - Jan. 2016
  • Researched and wrote data-driven analytical reports on a wide range of topics, including water pollution, child poverty, transportation spending.
MANAGING EDITOR | Portland Phoenix, Portland, Maine | Dec. 2005 - Jan. 2014
  • Led Maine's only alternative weekly newspaper and its writers to multiple awards from the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, in categories including investigative reporting, government reporting, health coverage, reporting on religious issues, and sports reporting.
  • Built and coordinated a team of two full-time editorial staffers (a staff writer and a listings coordinator) as well as a regular stable of nearly two-dozen freelancer writers, illustrators, and photographers to produce a must-read publication in Maine's largest city. 
  • Collaborated with the design and production team to publish eye-catching covers, and easy-to-read layouts.
  • Reported news, feature, investigative, and analysis stories on important issues of the day, such as privacy, telecommunications, foreign policy, state and national politics, and local community, arts, and business issues.
  • Wrote a monthly column on media issues, covering local and national developments in business practices, ethics, journalism, and related subjects.
  • Created, organized, and managed supplements (e.g., Best of Portland, Summer Guide, Student Survival Guide) and niche publications (Style magazine, Out In Maine).
  • Executed budget responsibility for all editorial salaries, freelance payments, and expenses.
  • Helped plan and then hosted must-attend special events drawing hundreds of people to Portland venues to celebrate the city's music scene and business environment; participated in community activities and discussions on topics including arts and politics.
    EDITOR | The Current, Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Maine | Feb. 2004 - Nov. 2005
    ASSISTANT EDITOR | Sept. 2002 - Feb. 2004 | STAFF REPORTER | Sept. 2001 - Sept. 2002
    • Ran a community weekly in a very competitive environment, facing two other weeklies and a daily, while leading writers to regional and statewide awards.
    • Reported and wrote independent enterprise and investigative stories; covered local schools, government and elections, police, and courts; took photos to accompany stories. My own work also won honors from the New England Press Association and the Maine Press Association, in categories including Freedom of Information, investigative reporting, spot news, and sports feature.
    • Wrote editorials on topics of local relevance and interest (as editor and assistant editor).
    • Coordinated implementation of new online-print hybrid copy-flow system.
    • Spoke at civic organizations' events; participated in community forums and discussions.
    FREELANCE WRITER | various publications, Portland, Maine | July 2001 - June 2004
    • Portland Phoenix | Weekly theater reviews, occasional news and feature stories | November 2002 - June 2004
    • Interface Business News | News stories pertinent to Maine businesses | January 2002 - October 2003
    • PortCity Life | Travel, automotive, technology, and feature stories | July 2001 - July 2003
    • Interface Tech News | News stories about technology and tech-sector companies | July 2001 - July 2002
    EDITOR  | Antarctic Sun, McMurdo Station, Antarctica | Oct. 1999 - Feb. 2000, Oct. 2000 - Nov. 2000
    • Reported, photographed, wrote, and edited news and feature stories relating to the US Antarctic Program, a broad range of scientific research, life and work in Antarctica, international relations, and logistics.
    • Coordinated with transportation and research staff, as well as National Science Foundation executives, on coverage and resource allocation.
    • Worked with volunteer contributors from other stations and field camps to get information about their activities and distribute the paper to them.
    • Designed, built, and maintained the paper's first website.
    • Contributed to The Antarctic Photo Library of stock images of Antarctica.
    • Earned the Antarctica Service Medal, the only US military award also bestowed upon civilians.
    ADDITIONAL WORK
    • Drug Discovery News, Rocky River, Ohio | News contributor | February 2014 - April 2014
    • Portland Phoenix, Portland, Maine | News, features, and columns contributor | January 2014 - April 2014
    • Global Post, Boston, Massachusetts | News and features contributor | November 2013 - May 2014
    • Money, New York, New York | Contributor to "Best Advice" series | July 2013
    • The Photo Life, Atlanta, Georgia | Interviews and blog posts about the lives and work of professional photographers | September 2012 - February 2013
    • National Geographic Adventure, Washington DC | Feature on travel to Portland, Maine | August 2005
    • IPI Global Journalist, Columbia, Missouri | Feature on freedom of the press in Antarctica | July 2002
    • The Antarctic Sun, McMurdo Station, Antarctica | Features on life and work on station |  December 2000 - February 2001
    • The Addison County Independent, Middlebury, Vermont | Feature, news, enterprise, analysis, and photography for a twice-weekly community newspaper | April 2000 - August 2000, June 1998 - August 1998 | Webmaster | November 1996 - February 2001
    • North & South, Auckland, New Zealand | Feature on Buddhist monastery outside Wellington | November 1999
    • Otago Daily Times, Dunedin, New Zealand | News about a planned development in a small vacation community | July 1999
    • IRE Journal, Columbia, Missouri | How-to article on investigative research using the Internet | November 1997
    EDUCATION
    PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

    Available to support non-fiction writers, authors, journalists and more

    I'm a pretty busy person, working full-time and spending time with family. But if you have a project that needs my help on a freelance basis, I'd be glad to hear from you!

    My award-winning journalistic experience is available to non-fiction writers looking for assistance with their own projects, and as a supporting contractor for media organizations looking to expand the services they offer.

    If you require research, interviewing, fact-checking, I can help.

    If you require structural editing, organizational editing, copy editing or proofreading, I can help.

    If you require data manipulation, analysis and visualization, I can help.

    I specialize in non-fiction work; I've spent more than 20 years as a staff and freelance journalist for publications around the world. You can see my work in my clip file, which is complete from 2006 to the present, and increasingly complete as I add material from 2005 and before.

    Please contact me by email or phone to arrange for my assistance on whatever project you have in mind!

    On the hunt

    It's official. I've finished my time at the Portland Phoenix, which has been a fantastic eight-plus years, and I'm looking forward to the next chapter of my personal and professional life.

    I'm casting a wide net, for full-time, contract, and freelance work relating to journalism, editing, and research. I'll post more here soon, but in addition to regular freelance journalism for general-interest, alternative, and trade publications, I'm interested in helping with book projects, as an additional researcher, interviewer, fact-checker, proofreader, or editor for those authors who don't have the kind of support from their publishers as used to be more common.

    Please get in touch with me to talk about how I can help you!


    Unified look and feel!

    Hooray! I've managed to figure out how to get three blogs to appear a lot like they're different parts of the same one. Same color palette was easy, subdomains were a little more complicated, and getting all the widgets organized properly was rather a pain - but I managed.

    I also have created a new blog, for my portfolio - those stories and photos that are of particular interest, or of which I'm particularly proud. The full clip archive will still be intact, and I'm still working away at getting that stuff all posted. (It'll be a while yet.)

    But I realized while doing that work that I need an organized way to store the special pieces, and the solution was obvious: another free blog!

    I'll get that going here shortly too.
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