I'm a Florida-based contributing writer for Sports Illustrated and the U.S. editorial team manager for StoryTerrace, an international ghostwriting service.
I've covered sports, business and higher ed for magazines and the web since 2007, specializing in immersive narrative stories and detailed explanatory pieces. (And I'm not as stuffy in person as that sounded.) In addition to SI, stops along the way have included BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, the NCAA's magazine and Turner Sports.
Because I don't have the coveted blue check mark on Twitter, here's the requisite shameless self-promotion: I am a three-time Livingston Awards finalist, have won a trio of National Headliner Awards for magazine writing, and have twice garnered "notable" recognition in The Best American Sports Writing.
My work has also been honored by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Indiana Society of Professional Journalists, TABPI and, intermittently, by my wife. Our Shiba Inu remains indifferent.
FEATURES AND PROFILES
A sampling of my work.
THE HARDEST SEASON
Sports Illustrated -- Nov. 19, 2020
For Black teenagers in a region shaped by centuries of suffering, high school football can be both escapism and an escape route. This is what happened when the coronavirus came to southwest Georgia, endangering players’ families and challenging their dreams. The piece was the cover story for SI's Fall 2020 issue.
ACCOLADES
LIVINGSTON AWARDS
Finalist: National Reporting
2019, 2018, 2015
NATIONAL HEADLINER AWARDS
First Place: Magazine Feature Writing
2016
Third Place: Magazine Coverage of a Major News Event
2019
Third Place: Magazine Feature Writing
2022
DEADLINE CLUB
Finalist: Magazine Profile
2021
ASSOCIATED PRESS SPORTS EDITORS
First Place: Video Feature
2020
BEST AMERICAN SPORTS WRITING
Notable Selection
2016, 2015
U.S. BASKETBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION
Third Place: Magazine-Length Feature
2015
TABPI
Awards for Profile Writing, Feature Article and How-To Article
2018, 2017, 2015, 2013
INDIANA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS
First-place awards for Sports Reporting, Profile Writing, Coverage of Minority Issues, and Medical/Science Reporting
2017, 2015, 2013
WORK EXPERIENCE
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Contributing Writer
June 2017-Present
-
Have authored numerous longform features and profiles for the magazine, including the November 2020 cover story detailing COVID-19's impact on Albany, Ga., and one of the city's high school football teams.
-
Multiple stories for SI have generated interest in being optioned for movies or TV.
-
Performed on-the-ground production work and on-camera interviews for a pair of video pieces that accompanied written feature stories.
-
Contributed stories and a podcast interview to coverage of COVID-19's effect on sports.
-
My first two stories — on Clinton Portis's complicated life after football and former NFL receiver James Hardy's suicide — were both Livingston Award finalists and ranked among the publication's most-read stories of 2017 and 2018.
NCAA
Associate Editor
Jan. 2013-Dec. 2019
-
Authored two dozen longform features for Champion magazine, which explored vital topics within college sports: painkiller addiction, concussion research, heatstroke deaths in football, LGBTQ athlete equality and the evolving sports wagering landscape, among others.
-
Frequently collaborated with web designers, social media staff and the video team to translate those ambitious features into dynamic multimedia packages.
-
Oversaw, selected topics and booked guests for the NCAA's podcast, hosted by veteran broadcast journalist Jack Ford.
-
Edited an array of content—on-deadline news stories, magazine feature articles, op-eds, newsletters—and served as a writing tutor for interns and younger reporters.
-
Covered the health and safety policy beat for NCAA.org.
TURNER SPORTS
Contributing Writer and Columnist
Mar. 2012-Dec. 2012
-
Served as NCAA.com's lead college football columnist for the 2012 season, writing two columns and one feature per week.
-
Covered several major events, including the Big Ten Football Championship, Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament and Final Four.
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
Education Reporter
Feb. 2010-Aug. 2011
Wrote three higher education trend stories for USNews.com per week under constant deadline pressure.
Contributed several articles to the magazine, including a feature detailing the intricacies of graduate school loan forgiveness programs.
Edited fellow reporters and regularly used the publication’s content management system.
BUSINESSWEEK
Editorial Assistant/Intern
May 2007-Dec. 2009
-
Began as a summer intern and was asked to stay on in a contract role after graduating Emory, amassing more than 75 bylines and reporting tags in the magazine and online.
-
Covered various topics: retail, finance, the auto industry and sports business, among others.
-
Routinely assisted the investigative team, including earning a co-byline on the award-winning Oct. 2008 cover story “Dangerous Fakes” about the proliferation of counterfeit computer chips in military hardware.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY (INDIANAPOLIS)
M.A., Sports Journalism (2012)
Graduate assistant
Filed FOIA requests as part of a USA Today project on finances in college athletics.
Selected by program administrators to cover Super Bowl XLVI in conjunction with the Salt Lake Tribune.
EMORY UNIVERSITY
B.A., Journalism and Creative Writing (2008)
Worked as baseball and basketball beat writer, columnist and, eventually, sports editor of the Emory Wheel student paper.
Editor-in-chief of the Oxford Review student literary magazine for two years.
MEDIA APPEARANCES
A sampling of TV, radio and podcast interviews about my work.
CONTACT
Want to learn more? Interested in having me join or contribute to your publication or organization? Don't hesitate to reach out.
