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{I wrote this piece for Tyee's new "What Works" column.} Maggie Harrison would often stop at her fenceline in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, fantasizing about buying a few acres of property next door. A winemaker originally from California, Harrison purchased a 40-acre hillside property outside Salem, Oregon, that eventually became Antica Terra, a winery that today sells 36,000 bottles per year and has fans in LeBron James and Pink . From the beginning, she farmed the land orga

I wrote this story about three female founders of NA beverage companies for Oregon Business Magazine. When Marla and Liam Hoban were living in a small German village outside of Nuremberg, they noticed something curious at the local gasthaus.  “Nonalcoholic beer was presented just like regular beer. It was served in a nice big glass,” Marla says. “What was fascinating to us was seeing folks seamlessly switch between alcoholic and nonalcoholic. You’d be at a table of people, an

I wrote this feature about the primary care doctor shortage for the fall 2025 issue of Oregon Business Magazine. The number of primary care providers in Oregon is flatlining — especially in rural areas. But experts say the problem is curable. Two years ago Connie Cloyed was living in Corbett when she finally found a primary care physician she liked who was covered by United Healthcare. Cloyed, who is almost 70, had been on Medicare a few years at that point and had changed i

Amid false narratives of urban collapse, the homegrown nonprofit Literary Arts is investing in Portland’s renaissance, one book at a time. I wrote this article for Fast Company on Oct. 9th, 2025. The bookstore cafe at Literary Arts’ new headquarters in Portland, Oregon was a hive of activity on a recent weekday morning. A few 20-somethings gathered for coffee in a corner, while at a nearby table, New Yorker  cartoonist Tom Toro discussed his new book, And to Think we Starte

SNAP-Ed will be terminated in October, adding to federal cuts that are impacting national efforts to curb obesity and instill better...

Dozens of Oregon wineries are bottling their wines in Revino’s signature glass containers, which can be used up to 50 times. I wrote this...

Michael Curry (PNCA class of ’81) is best known for his work designing the masks and puppets for The Lion King, in collaboration with Julie Taymor. But he’s also designed costumes and puppets for everything from Las Vegas shows to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. At Michael Curry Design, his 55,000 square foot workshop in Scappoose, Oregon, he and 63 employees work repair well-worn costumes and tinker on designing new ones. Over half of his team studied as fine artists, as he himsel

My story on the Columbia Gorge's buzzing wine scene is in the July/Aug. issue of Condé Nast Traveler . Magazine space being what it is...

I wrote this essay about my experience co-founding and running the Sunnyside Shower Project for Portland Monthly's fall 2023 issue. ...

The Port of Portland created a showstopping destination in the Portland International Airport by embracing all things Pacific Northwest....

Patty Arvielo built her company, New American Funding, to weather uncertainty and she still finds time to pay it forward.  P atty Arvielo had her full-circle moment 15 years ago. At a sales meeting in Downey, California, she ran into the owner of a real estate business whose offices she used to clean. “I remember those offices,” muses Arvielo, who as a teen used to help her mother, a Mexican immigrant, with her cleaning business. Arvielo isn’t ashamed of her career history.

I did this interview with hunter/outdoorsman Billie Ritchey for Portland Monthly in 2019. I met Ritchey through our friend Wendy Temko,...

Earlier in January, I interviewed Mónica Guzmán for Reasons to be Cheerful to ask her how opposing beliefs can connect and find common...

The new PDX terminal—filled with entirely local brands—has become a boon for some of Portland’s most beloved businesses. I wrote this story for Fast Company in Dec., 2024. When travelers step into the stunning wing of the Portland International Airport (PDX), which opened to the public in August, they’re greeted with a massive tree-lined hall and a  showstopping timber roof , made with wood sourced from  regeneratively-managed Northwest forests . But the terminal includes an

The founders of InnerTrek are lighting the path for psychedelic therapy in Oregon and beyond. This story appeared in Fast Co. in March,...

To overcome ingredient shortages and high food costs, some restaurateurs are rethinking their staple ingredients and strengthening their...

This story ran on Reasons to be Cheerful September 16, 2024. A cross the country, fall is synonymous with the new school year: sharpened...

This article on Past Lives in Portland, Oregon appeared in Reasons to be Cheerful on July 23rd.  When Brandon Morlock was released from...

In early May, 2024, I was interviewed by Dave Miller on Think Out Loud (a show on Oregon Public Broadcasting) about the Sunnyside Shower...

If you’re concerned about the climate crisis and you drink wine, there are some things you need to know. Curl up with a glass and read...