bio

I'm an independent journalist based in Durham, NC. I’m the author and creator of The View from Somewhere, a book and podcast about the history of journalistic "objectivity" and how it has been used to uphold the status quo and exclude voices from oppressed communities. T he book is now available from University of Chicago Press and the podcast is available, too! My new book project, Radical Unlearning, is focused on the relationship between information, interconnection, and social change and is forthcoming from Beacon Press.

I am currently a Ford Global Fellow and the Abolition Journalism Fellow at Interrupting Criminalization, an initiative led by researchers Mariame Kaba and Andrea J. Ritchie. The project aims to interrupt and end the growing criminalization and incarceration of women, girls, trans, and gender nonconforming people of color for criminalized acts related to public order, poverty, child welfare, drug use, survival and self-defense, including criminalization and incarceration of survivors of violence. Through Interrupting Criminalization, I offer trainings, Office Hours for media-makers and communicators, and publications and guides for journalists. My work in this area emerges out of nearly two decades of abolitionist organizing with formations including the Transformative Justice Law Project, Project Nia, and Black and Pink.

When I’m not writing and talking about journalism, I’m doing it: I am a regular contributor and former political editor at Scalawag Magazine, and I previously worked for public radio's Marketplace in the New York bureau. From 2013-2016, I was the economics reporter and managing editor at WYSO Public Radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and I got my start in radio as a Pritzker Journalism Fellow at WBEZ in Chicago. I focus on the voices of people who are geographically, economically and politically marginalized, and I love stories about water, place and collective action (here's one that touches on all three).

I have a B.A. in religion from Northwestern University (summa cum laude), where I focused on gender variance in medieval Christianity. Before becoming a news hound, I spent many years as a community organizer around prison issues, a queer youth activist, a barista and a sex educator. I was born and raised in Michigan and have deep family roots in South Carolina and New York; in all places, I connect to rivers, estuaries, and the ocean through spiritual practice and a more recent exploration of SCUBA diving.

My audio work has aired on the Nancy Podcast, Scene on Radio, NPR, Marketplace, WBEZ, WYSO, WKAR, Ohio Public Radio, Michigan Radio and in the 2015 National Queer Arts Festival, and my written work has appeared in the Columbia Journalism Review, Environmental Health News, Scalawag, The Outline, Nieman Reports, Quill, and many others. I've published creative and academic non-fiction in a wide variety of magazines, journals and anthologies, including Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora (2015, issues 41.1-41.2), The Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion (2014, Vol. 30, Number 1), Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline (2012, Harvard University Press), Why Are Faggots So Afraid Of Faggots (2012, AK Press), Unsquared; Ann Arbor Writers Unleash Their Edgiest Stories and Poems (2006, 826Michigan) and From the Inside Out; Radical Gender Transformation, FtM and Beyond (2004, Manic D Press).

I value truth, rigor, curiosity and humility, and I believe we make journalism to make meaning, build community and transform our surroundings. I'm also a poet and an accordion player, and I write a lot of real letters that I send in the mail. Go figure. I'm white and transgender, and my pronouns are "he," "they" or "ze." I'm agnostic, even anarchistic, on the Oxford Comma, and believe it is a matter of personal choice.

fellowships, awards and honors

Ford Global Fellow (2021-2022)

Member of U.S. cohort for the Ford Global Fellowship, which supports leaders challenging the root causes of inequality internationally.

Nieman Visiting Journalism Fellow, Harvard University (2020)

Attended a five-week residency at the Nieman Journalism Lab to study “movement journalism.”

William P. Heidrich Research Fellow, University of Michigan (2018)

Recipient of the inaugural research fellowship in the Labadie Collection at University of Michigan for research on the history of "objectivity" in reporting on queer and trans communities.

New Economies Reporting Fellow (2017)

Recipient of a reporting grant from the Media Consortium to cover new economies for Scalawag Magazine.

Public Radio News Directors Incorporated: Best Long Documentary (2017)

Awarded first place (small station) for long documentary for "Women's Voices from Dayton Correctional Institution," a series produced with women incarcerated in a local state prison.

Radio Television Digital News Association Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Documentary (2016)

Awarded regional prize for “A Matter of Seconds,” a radio documentary about Black Lives Matter in Ohio.

AIR New Voices Fellowship (2016)

Participated in Association for Independents' in Radio fellowship for individuals with a goal of diversifying public media.

Public Radio News Directors Incorporated: Best Use of Sound and Broadcast Writing (2015)

Awarded first place (small station) for use of sound, and second place for broadcast writing.

Ohio Associated Press: Best Journalist, Broadcast Writing, Feature Reporting and Continuing Coverage (2015)

Awarded first place (Radio II) for best journalist and best broadcast writing. Produced as well as edited features and spots for first-place best feature and best continuing coverage awards.

Public Radio News Directors Incorporated: Best Continuing Coverage and Feature Reporting (2014)

Awarded first place (small station) for continuing coverage, and second place for news feature.

Ohio Society of Professional Journalists: Best Feature and Health Care Feature (2014)

Awarded first place (all radio) for feature reporting and health care feature, and second place for spot news.

Metcalf Institute Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists (2013)

Studied science journalism for a week with the prestigious Metcalf Institute.

Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources Mining Country Institute (2013)

Studied mining and environmental reporting for a week in upper Michigan and Wisconsin.

Pritzker Journalism Fellowship (2012-2013)

Participated in competitive fellowship designed to train community workers in media skills at WBEZ/Chicago Public Media.

Academic honors

Graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa (Northwestern, 2010)

Received Northwestern University 2010 Perry Award for Best Undergraduate Paper in Religion for The Bearded Woman on the Cross: St. Uncumber and Medieval Women’s Religious Devotion