I was born in Washington, D.C. to a city librarian and a freelance jazz writer, a combination that pretty much sealed my fate. What with an endless supply of books — professionally selected for my exact tastes and interests — and the example of a close family member who was always bent over a typewriter, I couldn’t help but form the early impression that writing might be a reasonable way to spend one’s time.
When I first went to college (Bard College, in upstate New York), I was interested in studying filmmaking and German (my mother’s native language), but academics did not turn out to hold my attention at that stage of my life. Partly inspired by my experiences on the college’s volunteer emergency-medical service (BEMS), I left Bard after two and a half years to join the Coast Guard. After boot camp in Camp May, New Jersey, I spent the next four years working on two different ships, the first one based in Seattle and patrolling the Bering Sea, and the second one based in Miami and patrolling not only the Florida Straits but throughout the Caribbean. On these ships, I performed a variety of jobs, from mess cook to deck seaman to navigator to federal law enforcement officer, and I met people from an incredible range of backgrounds. I also helped to both deport El Duque (well, almost) and interrupt an assassination plot against Fidel Castro — a poorly thought-out plot, to be sure, but the plotters were in possession of two .50-caliber Barrett sniper rifles. My seagoing years were a crucial part of my education, I have since come to believe, and contributed positively to many aspects of who I am today.
I separated from the Coast Guard in 1999 and returned to college, this time at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where I majored in American Studies (a writing-intensive combination of English and history) and also completed all coursework necessary for Maryland teacher certification. College went much better this time around, and I was even elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 2002. While attending UMBC, I lived in Baltimore, where my ancestors first settled about twelve generations ago but where no other members of my family had lived since the 1960s. I became fascinated by the city’s history and current condition, exploring neighborhood after neighborhood on long-ranging walks, volunteering in an inner-city community center’s after-school tutoring program, and working as a museum guide and outdoor science educator in the harbor.
Once I had completed my B.A., my first job out of college was as a research assistant for the Elementary Science Integration Projects (ESIP), an education-reform project that advocated for the use of quality children’s literature in elementary-school science instruction. My work for ESIP consisted mainly of researching, writing, and editing web content, newsletters, grant proposals/reports, and academic articles for inclusion in project publications. It was while I was at ESIP that I first began to see the possibility of working as a writer in something other than the standard fields of journalism or fiction writing — the possibility, that is, of using my strongest skills to help other people communicate information vital to their own projects and goals. I began to take a craftsman’s pride in getting the voice just right for the intended audience, clearing up logical flaws, inserting missing information, and otherwise creating understated, simple, effective writing, even if my name wasn’t going to be prominently featured on the end product.
When my contract with ESIP ended, I freelanced for a time, doing marketing and PR-related writing and editing for a local public-radio station, a non-profit arts venue, and other clients, in addition to some journalism. In 2004, I joined InterGroup Services, Inc. (IGS), a consulting, project-management, and desktop-publishing firm that specializes in public-health-related research for government and non-profit clients. I started as a contracted employee, was soon asked to join the company on a more permanent footing, and eventually rose to the position of senior editor, supervising the research of two junior employees. In the three years I spent with IGS — in addition to researching, writing, and editing business proposals, policy reports, procedure manuals, organizational bylaws documents, public-information campaigns to support lobbying efforts, and other communication tools — I also had the opportunity to design publications, make presentations to clients, and manage the non-writing phases of certain research projects, such as the facilitation of focus groups and the administration of large-scale surveys.
Having left IGS so that my wife could take her dream job out of state, I am currently freelancing as a writer, editor, and consultant. I remain interested in a wide range of subjects and types of projects and look forward to adding new experiences to this page.