About Me
A gifted storyteller who firmly believes that even the most mundane nonsense can be Interesting
For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by stories. It wasn’t fiction I was attracted to, but more just the recollection of events and, most importantly, the way they were relayed. As the old adage (and one of my favorite punk rock lyrics) goes, truth is stranger than fiction, and this is how I found myself at university studying for a history degree. Once that degree was obtained I learned that being able to name all of the Russian czars and having very strong opinions about the brilliance of William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea are not exactly marketable skills. But being able to tell a story—something I learned to do while spending hours in the library researching through primary sources and preparing research papers—was a skill that could translate into work and personal fulfillment.
Throughout my career I’ve written about camping with the Juggalos and the murderous history of New York City. I’ve built a classical music playlist to be listened to during the Super Bowl and spoken with a musician about writing ragtime music to be listened to during a session with a dominatrix. I’ve crafted rankings of NFL teams, Star Wars characters and the 50 best state-themed tattoos. I once did an April Fools’ Day prank for a publication that nobody noticed for six months, then out of nowhere I became a meme. My career has always been a little bit odd, but the connective tissue through it all is the passion I have for telling a good yarn.
When I’m not behind the keyboard, you can find me either shouting about the Premier League on the Association Fantasy Football Cast United or at a table in Chinatown attempting to eat all of the dumplings.
Experience
Tasting Table, Editor
December 2023 - Present
I’ve always had a passion for food and the culture surrounding it, and as an editor at Tasting Table I’m finally turning that passion into a job. In this role I work alongside an enormous team of talented writers to produce a variety of stories covering every aspect of food culture — from fine-dining to at-home cooking tips to recipes to fast food menu hacks.
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Inked, editor in chief
November 2019 - September 2023
After some years in the wilderness, I returned to Inked, first as senior editor and currently as the editor in chief. I work in close coordination with my creative director as we lead the editorial team for both print and digital. As we have a small team, I do a bit of everything, from writing to editing to planning social strategy to coordinating branded content. I have also had a major role in creating multiple video series for our popular YouTube channel.
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Freelance Writing/Substitute Teaching
October 2017 - November 2019
Since working at Tattoodo I have been doing a combination of freelance work and substitute teaching. On the freelance side of things, my writing has appeared in Time Out (primarily in Time Out New York, but also in Boston and San Francisco), WQXR, Inked Magazine and Fantasy Football Hub. Most recently, I’ve been editing the Things to Do section for Time Out New York on an interim basis.
In addition to the journalism-related work, I’ve been substitute teaching at Notre Dame Academy in Palisades Park, New Jersey. For a few months, I filled in teaching 7th and 8th grade history, and since then I’ve filled in teaching math, gym, Spanish and more.
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Tattoodo, Managing Editor
August 2016 - October 2017
As the managing editor at this tattoo-focused app/site, I put together a team of writers and helped mold the startup into a journalistically sound publication. My responsibilities included creating an editorial calendar, running pitch meetings, assisting the creative director develop our strategy, editing our team of staff writers and freelancers, pitching and developing branded content, conceiving and writing for video projects, overseeing our social media strategy. In my time with Tattoodo not only did the quality of content went up tremendously, but so did the brand’s respect and reach within the industry. The achievement I’m most proud of from my tenure here is the way that I was able to mentor younger writers as they found their voice and grew as writers.
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Freshly Inked, Editor
November 2015 - August 2016
While still working as web editor for Inked, I took on the role as editor of Freshly Inked, a title aimed specifically towards tattoo artists. The production of Freshly Inked was basically a two-person operation where I did all of the writing, interviewing and editing of the magazine, while the layout was done by the creative director. During my time at the magazine I was able to transform it from a cookie-cutter layout where every interview had the exact same questions, to a more interesting and intriguing magazine. I’m particularly proud of the final issue of Freshly Inked, the first tattoo magazine to feature only female artists.
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Inked Magazine, Web editor
October 2013 - August 2016
After serving as a contributing writer for a couple of years I became full time staff at Inked as the web editor. Here I was in charge of everything that went onto Inkedmag.com—from longform articles to daily news pieces to photo shoots with tattooed models. In addition to creating content for the website, I also had a very significant hand in crafting our social media strategy across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. During my tenure we built up our total social following from roughly one million followers to over 35 million across all platforms. In my role as web editor I also managed a small team of writers and interns. In addition to my role as web editor, I still contributed significantly to the magazine and also served as the copy editor for each issue.
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Headlines & Global News (HNGN.com), Staff writer
April 2012 - October 2013
As the staff writer in charge of the politics vertical, I wrote primarily about politics and the 2012 election. This was a high-volume website where I was responsible for writing at least 8 articles a day, so there was very little in-depth reporting, although there was some on occasion. In addition to politics, I also wrote about sports and television, as well as helped edit other material that appeared on the site.
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Inked Magazine, Contributing Writer
June 2010 - October 2013
As a contributing writer for Inked I wrote about pretty much every possible topic that had even a tangential relation to the tattoo industry. I conducted interviews with musicians, artists, actors, sports stars and more. From short reviews of comic books to lengthy 3,000 word interviews with notable tattoo artists, I did a little bit of everything for Inked as a contributing writer.
My Five favorite things to write about
History
2. Pop Culture (Music/Comics/TV)
3. Sports (Baseball/Soccer/NFL)
4. Food and Drink
5. Ska. Seriously, I love ska.
Education
University of Illinois at Chicago
B.A. HISTORY
Graduated June 2006