I am an award-winning journalist, author and Web site director. My first book, Shut Up and Let the Lady Teach, is a memoir about a year I spent teaching in a poor public school in Flatbush, Brooklyn, near my home in Park Slope. Published by Simon & Schuster, my book was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. I love my work. I love to write. I also love to create Web sites, large and small. What do I love most? Your next project!
My career? Here's a start!
WEB SITE DIRECTION: I worked from 2000-2006 as on-staff site director for major destination Web sites tied to nationally recognized magazine brands. Among them:
Before that, I was editor-in-chief of SPACE.com, a site devoted to space and planetary science launched by Sally Ride, the first woman astronaut, and CNN anchorman Lou Dobbs.
EDITORIAL DIRECTION: Prior to entering the Internet world in 1996, I served as editorial director of the classroom magazine division at Scholastic Inc. spearheading the overhaul of Scholastic News magazines for grades 4-6, as well as science, math and health magazines used by hundreds of thousands of students in the United States, Canada and overseas. I led the magazine division's foray onto the World Wide Web.
REPORTING: I spent 14 years as a reporter and columnist for Newsday and New York Newsday. I am most widely known in journalistic circles for reporting work in the field of education, focused primarily on the New York City public school system. I am the winner of the prestigious Peter Kihss Award for Outstanding Reporting on New York City Government (see Awards ) for my coverage of the New York City Board of Education, and I am a two-time winner of the national Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting, conferred by the Education Writers of America.
I have also covered the state's criminal courts, focusing on such high-profile cases as the Central Park Jogger trial, the Utah tourist slaying case, the fatal Union Square subway derailment and the Meir Kahane murder trial. On the Union Square story, for which New York Newsday won the Pulitzer Prize, I anchored all criminal justice coverage. My award-winning investigative work as a transportation writer, notably in the area of drunk driving, led to far-reaching Legislative reforms, making it far more difficult for those convicted of driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated to escape jail time. I also received widespread recognition for a series of stories on 54,000 subway delays, for which I did database analysis on every line in the system (at the time, databases were a new thing in investigative journalism!)
FREELANCE WORK: I have pursued a busy freelance career. I've written for corporations, such as IBM and The New York Times, and for non-profits. Current or recent clients include Columbia University, Asia Society, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), The McGraw Hill Companies, the City University of New York (CUNY), and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. My writing has appeared in both consumer and trade press for more than 20 years. I currently am a contributing editor to Cowboys & Indians magazine, for which I write long-form features and a monthly gardening column; I am the legal columnist for AARP, for which I also write feature stories; and I am a writer of major national publications for Asia Society. For CUNY, I write articles for CUNY Matters, the publication for CUNY faculty, staff and alumni. I've also written for Electronic School, the American School Board Journal, Family Circle, Family PC and Teacher Magazine, among others.
PUBLIC SPEAKING: I have lectured widely and served as commencement speaker at colleges and universities, coast-to-coast. I also have made dozens of radio and TV talk show appearances.
EDUCATION: I hold a BA in Economics from Stanford University. I am currently earning my master's degree in art history, part-time, at CUNY's Hunter College in New York. In addition, I have studied Information Architecture for the Web at New York University (NYU); studied for my MBA at NYU's Stern Graduate School of Business; and studied Chinese history and Communist political thought at Brooklyn College.
HOBBIES:
- Scuba: I am a passionate SCUBA diver who holds PADI advanced open water and underwater photographer certifications. I have participated in reef clean-up projects throughout the Caribbean .
- Running: I finished my first New York City Marathon on November 5, 2006 and raised more than $9,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
- Art: I was a docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, from 2003-2007, touring for both Highlights and the renowned Impressionism collection.
- Writing Juror: I have twice been a juror for the National Magazine Awards.
- Etc: I love to cycle, garden and tend to 17 tropical fish and three cats. I have two grown daughters.
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