Journalism

I write essays and reported work on the intersection of travel with LGBTQ identity, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and outdoor/nature. I’m a rural travel writer, based in the Hudson Valley, and pitch stories from my travels throughout the US and overseas. Browse selected clips:

AFAR: Why I’m Grateful for Global Entry, as a Gender Non-Binary Traveler. Essay on the benefits of Trusted Traveler programs for gender nonconforming, nonbinary and trans travelers.

GayCities: The Comprehensive LGBTQ+ Guide to Bend, Oregon. A list-style guide covering LGBTQ things to do in Bend, Oregon.

TripSavvy: To Complete a Bucket List, I Needed to Go Where Queer Travelers Weren’t Welcome. Essay on a Kentucky road trip and whether LGBTQ+ travelers should visit places where we aren’t welcome.

TripSavvy: The Best LGBTQ+ Hidden Gem in Every State. Queer travel roundup of the best LGBTQ landmarks and tourist attractions in every state.

Undomesticated: On a Closeted Honeymoon, the Chance to Be Seen. Personal essay on my experience as a gender nonconforming person getting custom-made clothing in Hoi An, Vietnam.

Mashable: The best online tools to trace your genealogy from home. This article discusses using genealogy as a substitute for travel in the pandemic, then compares three popular genealogy apps for tracing one’s roots.

Fodor’s: I Survived Getting Lost in the Florida Swamps. This “travel fail” essay chronicles a disastrous hiking trip to Florida’s Apalachicola National Forest.

Conde Nast Traveler: For Gender Nonconforming Travelers, Airports Are Particularly Stressful to Navigate. This article shares what it’s like to travel as a gender nonconforming person who’s often viewed as suspicious in airports due to the way air travel enforces the gender binary.

AFAR: Why I Did a Vacation Redo. A terrible trip to Key West when I was a teenager didn’t leave me eager to return. Then I went back as an adult, recreating that awful vacation so I could let go of the past. What I found surprised me.

Groups Today: How To Ditch Single-Use Plastics While Traveling. Feature article on ways to reduce plastic use while traveling.

Groups Today: Heritage and Genealogy Tourism: an Opportunity for Growth. Feature article on the increased interest in heritage and genealogy tourism and opportunities this creates for group tour providers.

My LGBTQ writing centers on queer identity, community-building and empowerment, personal and financial. It’s a blend of personal essays from lived experience and researched/reported work. Browse selected clips:

Synchrony Bank: 7 Tips To Curb Overspending When You’re LGBTQIA+. A deep dive into LGBTQ financial disparities and how to curb overspending.

AFAR: Why I’m Grateful for Global Entry, as a Gender Non-Binary Traveler. Essay on the benefits of Trusted Traveler programs for gender nonconforming, nonbinary and trans travelers.

GayCities: The Comprehensive LGBTQ+ Guide to Bend, Oregon. A list-style guide covering LGBTQ things to do in Bend, Oregon.

Synchrony Bank: Here’s How Much LGBTQIA+ Family Planning Costs. Personal finance article breaking down the cost of LGBTQIA family planning by method.

TripSavvy: To Complete a Bucket List, I Needed to Go Where Queer Travelers Weren’t Welcome. Essay on a Kentucky road trip and whether LGBTQ+ travelers should visit places where we aren’t welcome.

Bold Culture: On the Continued Importance of National Coming Out Day. Reported article on National Coming Out Day and how it’s still relevant to LGBTQ+ people.

Indy: Why are Queer Millennials More Likely to Freelance? Unpacking the reasons LGBTQ millennials flock to freelance work with two interviews with queer freelancers.

TripSavvy: The Best LGBTQ+ Hidden Gem in Every State. Queer travel roundup of the best LGBTQ landmarks and tourist attractions in every state.

Queer Money: The Hidden Costs of Staying Closeted at Work. Reported article on the complicated reasons many LGBTQ people stay closeted at work despite having access to employment protections.

Queer Money: Gay Affluence is a Myth. Essay with a personal lens on the myth of gay affluence and the systemic and individual reasons LGBTQ people tend to be poorer than cis, straight counterparts.

Undomesticated: On a Closeted Honeymoon, the Chance to be Seen. Personal essay on my experience as a gender nonconforming person getting custom-made clothing in Hoi An, Vietnam.

Condé Nast Traveler: For Gender Nonconforming Travelers, Airports Are Particularly Stressful to Navigate. This article shares what it’s like to travel as a gender nonconforming person who’s often viewed as suspicious in airports due to the way air travel enforces the gender binary.

Greatist: Pride’s Canceled — Here’s How Radical Queer Organizers Are Celebrating. Reported feature article on alternative ways LGBTQ organizers and activists are celebrating Pride 2020 in the wake of canceled Pride parades, and the ways queer people can perform allyship by standing up for racial justice and Black lives. July 2020

Stylecaster: The Pride Parades Are Canceled This Year—And Maybe That’s A Good Thing. Short essay on Pride 2020, the commercialization of Pride parades, and what LGBTQ pride might look like in a post-COVID world. July 2020

The Slowdown: Job Hunting While Gender Nonconforming. Reported article with a personal lens on job seeking while gender nonconforming, and how employers can support job seekers who are gender nonconforming and may identify as queer, trans, or non-binary.

I love demystifying personal finance basics for audiences traditionally left out of finance, with the goal of empowering marginalized people and closing the wealth gap. Browse selected clips:

Synchrony Bank: 7 Tips To Curb Overspending When You’re LGBTQIA+. A deep dive into LGBTQ financial disparities and how to curb overspending.

USA Today: What is insurance underwriting? Service article on insurance underwriting, written for a beginner finance audience.

USA Today: What is an accelerated death benefit? Service article on accelerated death benefits, their benefits and drawbacks.

USA Today: What Does it Mean to Self-Insure, and Should I Do It? Service article explaining the concept, with pros and cons.

Synchrony Bank: Here’s How Much LGBTQIA+ Family Planning Costs. Personal finance article breaking down the cost of LGBTQIA family planning by method.

Altruist: How financial advisors can create an inclusive space for LGBTQI+ clients. Service article for the finch industry on how financial advisors can better serve the LGBTQI+ community by offering including services and educating themselves about the barriers to wealth for LGBTQI+ people.

Business Insider: After a health scare slashed my income, I’m happy to pay less than $20 a month for life insurance to protect my wife. Essay on one queer couple’s decision to purchase life insurance, which was informed by a health scare that reduced income and created financial uncertainty.

The Penny Hoarder: 3 Ways to Protect You and Your Partner From the LGBTQ Wage Gap. LGBTQ Americans earn less than straight peers and are more financially vulnerable. This article uses a personal lens on the gay wage gap to explore LGBTQ workplace discrimination and financial insecurity, then offers tips to help LGBTQ individuals increase their financial stability.

The Penny Hoarder: My Wife and I Finally Stopped Fighting About Money: Here’s How We Did it. Merging money didn’t teach my wife and I how to spend it wisely. We realized we needed to talk about our spending and saving habits if we were going to stay on track with student loan and mortgage payments. Here’s went from fighting about money to mastering a budget and saving for goals.

In addition to writing features on the business of restaurant operation for Restaurant Owner (formerly Restaurant Startup & Growth), I also write about food entrepreneurs, tea and coffee, and plant-based cooking. My food stories go beyond ingredients to explore the relationships behind what we eat, why, and how we share meals. Browse selected clips:

Albany Times-Union: Rice paddies in New York? African farmer adds crucial wetlands and crop. Interview with local farmers who developed New York’s first commercial rice farm, adapting traditional Jola practices to a new climate.

Eater: It Took Leaving the Restaurant Industry for Me to Understand How Wrong I Was to Stay Silent About Its Abuses. A personal essay on dysfunctional kitchen culture and the factors that keep restaurant workers from speaking up about toxic working conditions.

The Penny Hoarder: Here’s What You Need to Know to Start a Food Business From Your Home. This article provides a guide for food entrepreneurs to start an at-home cooking business, covering topics like safe food handling, business insurance, licensing, supplies, and sales options.

Greatist: These Fall Lattes Each Have a Secret Ingredient Your Body Adores. This recipe roundup offers seven healthy latte recipes that include herbs with wellness benefits. With superfood ingredients and adaptogens like chaga, maca root, or turmeric, these caffeinated and caffeine-free drinks nourish mind and body.

Greatist: 5 Rejuvenating Herbal Iced Tea Recipes to Try Before The End of Summer. This reported article rounds up iced teas that have health benefits, such as promoting better sleep, more energy, or stress reduction. The article includes quotes from wellness experts and tea vendors and recipes.

Vittles: Cooking for Labor, Cooking for Love. Essay on the division between those who cook because they must and those who cook out of love, and how the pandemic has altered these dynamics.

National Culinary Review: Dairy-Free Desserts: Short article discussing the growing trend of vegan desserts, including an interview with Chicago pastry chef Juan Gutierrez, who enjoys creating vegan restaurants desserts like this passionfruit and coconut cheesecake.

Let’s work together

I’m selectively available for new clients or one-off assignments for clients in food, travel, and finance who want to include LGBTQ perspectives. If my clips have caught your interest, use the form below to reach out.