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Social Justice Issues
Stories about houselessness, racial justice, food justice, and more.


How Books Not Troops are Reviving Central Portland
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
Oct 167 min read


What’s at Stake for School Food-Literacy Programs
SNAP-Ed will be terminated in October, adding to federal cuts that are impacting national efforts to curb obesity and instill better...
Sep 199 min read


How One Portland Neighborhood Partnered with a Homeless Encampment
I wrote this essay about my experience co-founding and running the Sunnyside Shower Project for Portland Monthly's fall 2023 issue. ...
Mar 214 min read


How to Reach Across a Divide With Curiosity Instead of Hate
Earlier in January, I interviewed Mónica Guzmán for Reasons to be Cheerful to ask her how opposing beliefs can connect and find common...
Jan 318 min read


All Aboard the Electric School Bus!
This story ran on Reasons to be Cheerful September 16, 2024. A cross the country, fall is synonymous with the new school year: sharpened...
Sep 16, 20247 min read


The Maker Space Where Members Are More Than Their Pasts
This article on Past Lives in Portland, Oregon appeared in Reasons to be Cheerful on July 23rd. When Brandon Morlock was released from...
Aug 17, 20246 min read


Billie Jean King Wants to Change the Playbook for Female Founders
I got to interview tennis legend Billie Jean King and her wife Ilana Kloss for Inc.'s April 2024 Female Founders issue. Billie Jean...
Apr 15, 20245 min read


They Didn’t Just Want to Build a Housing Shelter. They Wanted to Shift Public Perception
From the exterior, the new PorchLight Eastgate facility in Washington isn’t immediately recognizable as a 100-bed shelter for unhoused...
Mar 13, 20245 min read


Portland's Art of Feel-good Densification
I wrote this piece back in June for Reasons to be Cheerful, David Byrne's publication. When it comes to the US housing crisis,...
Nov 14, 20239 min read


The opening of a luxury hotel in downtown Portland has divided the city
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...
Sep 26, 20238 min read


Can Tiny House Villages Be a Homelessness Fix?
It’s well known that many people experiencing homelessness won’t go to “congregate” shelters—shelters that put everyone in one large...
Aug 22, 20231 min read


Phil Knight ponied up $400 million to help historically Black areas of Portland. Meet the woman investing it.
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...
May 14, 20231 min read


When Tackling Homelessness, Prevention is Often the Best Medicine
By intervening early, often with small rent payments, a Portland shelter kept nearly 100 families out of homelessness last year, saving...
Apr 20, 20235 min read


How Emma Grede Showed the Fashion World One Size Doesn’t Fit All
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
Apr 3, 20235 min read


Villages for Unhoused People Are Popping Up in More Cities. What’s It Like to Live in Them?
I wrote this story for Dwell's March/April 2023 issue. On a single night in January 2022, 582,462 people were experiencing...
Mar 15, 202310 min read


Black Joy Is Propelling a Rural Racial Justice Movement
In conservative parts of Oregon, one protest group is betting that a celebration of Black culture will capture more hearts than anger....
Feb 2, 20236 min read


I'll Be There
For Bon Appetit 's May issue, I wrote about a new continuing education program for Latinx vineyard workers in Oregon's Willamette...
May 15, 20221 min read


Running to Win
I wrote a profile of two powerhouse Mount Holyoke alumnae: Tami Gouveia ('96) and Kristen Elechko ('97) for the Mount Holyoke Alumnae...
Oct 8, 20213 min read


How helping my houseless neighbors helped me
This op-ed appeared in Street Roots in April. Me, cleaning the sink after someone has showered at the Sunnyside Methodist Church. If...
Apr 30, 20215 min read


The Tiny-House Village That’s Changing Lives
I wrote this story about Agape Village in Portland, Oregon for Reasons to be Cheerful . Agape Village is a place where people find...
Feb 22, 20212 min read
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