Social Justice Issues

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...

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

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

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...

I got to interview tennis legend Billie Jean King and her wife Ilana Kloss for Inc.'s April 2024 Female Founders issue.   Billie Jean...

From the exterior, the new PorchLight Eastgate facility in Washington isn’t immediately recognizable as a 100-bed shelter for unhoused...

I wrote this piece back in June for Reasons to be Cheerful, David Byrne's publication.   When it comes to the US housing crisis,...

I wrote a story about the Ritz-Carlton, Portland for Fast Company a few weeks ago. Hotel rooms at the new Ritz-Carlton will start at...

It’s well known that many people experiencing homelessness won’t go to “congregate” shelters—shelters that put everyone in one large...

I wrote a story for Fast Co. about Rukaiyah Adams, CEO of the new 1803 Fund.  When Rukaiyah Adams took the podium at Nike World...

By intervening early, often with small rent payments, a Portland shelter kept nearly 100 families out of homelessness last year, saving...

Behind the ‘Shark Tank’ judge’s body-inclusive empire, and why she’s paying it forward to new founders. I wrote this profile for Inc. in 2023. Emma Grede  wants you to know that she’s a college dropout . “I used to have a real hangup about not having a formal education — especially when you start hiring great people,” Grede says. “But it takes all sorts. I’ve had a different path — and that’s really worked for me.” It sure has. Today, Grede, 40, guides two powerhouse fashion

I wrote this story for Dwell's March/April 2023 issue.   On a single night in January 2022, 582,462 people  were experiencing...

In conservative parts of Oregon, one protest group is betting that a celebration of Black culture will capture more hearts than anger....

For Bon Appetit 's May issue, I wrote about a new continuing education program for Latinx vineyard workers in Oregon's Willamette...

I wrote a profile of two powerhouse Mount Holyoke alumnae: Tami Gouveia ('96) and Kristen Elechko ('97) for the Mount Holyoke Alumnae...

This op-ed appeared in Street Roots in April. Me, cleaning the sink after someone has showered at the Sunnyside Methodist Church.   If...

I wrote this story about Agape Village in Portland, Oregon for Reasons to be Cheerful .  Agape Village is a place where people find...