I am an award-winning reporter and editor who has spent more than 30 years covering the institutions that define American life.
From the White House and Congress to the federal courts, my work is built to cut through the noise of the 21st century. I’ve specialized in the hard beats — climate change, election security, and the legal complexities of the Trump era — always looking for the angle that others miss.
Most recently, I led the White House, Congress, and campaigns teams at USA TODAY through two of the most tumultuous years in modern political history.
Beyond reporting, I have been tapped by some of the most influential digital media companies in the US to help build their foundations. My track record of launching big new things includes:
National Bureaus: Launching and leading Insider’s first Washington, D.C. bureau and serving as a senior editor for The Messenger.
Digital Powerhouses: Helping build Politico Pro, The Agenda, and the E&E NewsPM edition.
Climate & Policy: Serving as a founding voice for ClimateWire and an expert on the Clean Air Act and federal environmental and energy policy.
My career began before the internet, with a dream job in the Pacific Northwest covering travel and the outdoors for The Olympian. My curiosity has led me into a surreal range of topics: from the search for Sasquatch and avalanche safety to the Tokyo Deadhead scene and domestic violence in college athletics.
A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, I grew up splitting time between South Florida and Chicago. My path to the press room was unconventional: I went to college on a golf caddy scholarship and spent my earlier years as a taxi driver, an English teacher in Japan, and a Baskin-Robbins scooper. (I also waged a successful three-year campaign for high school prom king—my first true foray into political strategy).
My reporting has inspired late-night comedy bits for Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Saturday Night Live - and a cameo in Disney World’s Hall of Presidents. My life was once adapted into a graphic novel, and for a memorable stretch of the Trump administration, I was the unofficial recipient of Rudy Giuliani’s frequent butt-dials.