Narratives, features and profiles.
Employing narrative to investigate complex concepts
Some of my best features struck at the heart of controversial issues using arc, conflict, dialogue and intimate looks at the people-centered. A tour-de-force that shows off these skills include my investigation into how affordable housing tax-credits halted much-needed renovations in a San Francisco subsidized housing project. Other examples include how a pop-up coffee shop reignited tensions over gentrification or how policing does or doesn’t fit into plans to resolve a chaotic metro station.
Quick turnaround enterprise that uses scene, news hooks
I was assigned a feature about gig worker migrants and was given no editorial direction what the angle or theme should be. However, my persistent on-the-ground reporting led to an original and compelling story. This piece, which required several interviews in Spanish, exemplifies my writing skills, my attention to tone, and my ease with nonfiction scene-building. Stories that required similar reporting and writing skills include one about homeless migrant students and a hospital’s favorite Philly cheesesteak shop.
Brief and moving character profiles
One of my favorite parts about being a reporter is that you get to know random people and sometimes share their vibrant personalities on the internet. This led to a Valentine’s Day Q&A package of married couples in business together that I pitched, a mini-profile on a thrift store employee and a Betty Boop-obsessed senior, and rich portraits of subsidized housing tenants. The latter was included in the package that earned me the Emerging Journalist of the Year award.
CLIP: Swan Song: John Ratliff, ‘Lone Star Swan,’ dies at 81 — Mission Local
This obituary about a local San Francisco homeless man caught the hearts of our readers and was a part of a package that earned my Emerging Journalist Award. Besides successfully capturing a man with little to no digital trail, this piece utilizes narrative devices, scene, pacing and quotes to elicit strong emotion. It was a favorite of many Bay Area journalists, publishers and locals, and of Ratliff’s family.
How Dr. Kim Rhoads shows up for the underserved — Harvard Public Health Magazine
This long-form profile demonstrates my ability to dive deep on a person and reveal their unique characteristics and motivations. The piece also blends the larger landscape of Covid-19 inequities using on-the-ground scene and color. Harvard Public Health commissioned this piece after discovering my thorough and consistent reporting on public health and its experts.
CLIP: Unrest in Sudan reminds immigrants why they’re fighting to stay here — The Boston Globe
This Boston Globe feature I pitched emphasizes how I can find and write the people who represent broader social issues. I found and developed Sudanese immigrant sources, and empathetically illustrated their struggles and dreams through poetic prose.