Broadcast Journalist

Where It Started

Before I became a nonprofit executive and strategic communicator, I was a television journalist.

I spent the early part of my career in newsrooms, reporting from the field, anchoring newscasts and covering stories that ranged from everyday community issues to major breaking news. Journalism taught me how to quickly understand complicated situations, ask better questions, communicate clearly and make decisions when information is incomplete and the clock is running.

Those skills never really left me.

Reporting Under Pressure

Television news is an unusual training ground. Deadlines aren't theoretical. You have to gather information, determine what matters, verify what you know and explain it clearly — often within minutes.

I covered everything from searches for missing hikers on Mt. Hood, major windstorms hitting the Oregon coast and the aftermath, major criminal trials, the Little League World Series and American Idol. I reported live, interviewed people experiencing some of the most consequential moments of their lives and learned how important credibility and trust become when circumstances are changing quickly.

From Journalism to Leadership

Eventually, my career moved beyond the newsroom, first into strategic communications and then into nonprofit leadership and operations.

It wasn't as dramatic a transition as it might sound.

Much of what made me effective as a journalist still shapes how I lead today: curiosity, listening, asking direct questions, separating signal from noise, understanding different perspectives and translating complexity into something people can act on.

Journalism also taught me something that's become increasingly important throughout my career: the story an organization tells and the way an organization actually operates can't be separated for very long.

Strong communication depends on understanding what's really happening inside an organization.

What Journalism Still Brings to My Work

Curiosity. Clear communication. Calm under pressure. Good questions. Fast synthesis. An instinct for what matters.

I don't work in a newsroom anymore, but I use those skills every day.