Covering health and health policy

When I was a child, my brother gave me the book “1001 Questions and Answers” to keep me quiet. I asked a lot of questions of my older siblings, interrupting them during dinner and while they watched TV. I cried if they didn’t give me a thorough answer. I was… annoying.

These days I still ask questions, but I no longer cry. I am an award-winning journalist who welcomes a challenging assignment. My byline has appeared in a range of media outlets, including NBCNews.com, CQ Researcher, AARP, Medscape Medical News, Monitor on Psychology, Undark, and Next Avenue, among others.

I started my journalism career in television, as the economics reporter and then the assistant managing editor of a national business news program. I shifted to public radio to become NPR’s economics and business correspondent and, several years later, the first senior editor and senior producer of the weekly program “Science Friday.” I missed being on the air and returned to NPR as a grant-funded special projects reporter before moving to print and online work.

Fellowships & Awards

• National Cancer Reporting Fellowship, Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) & NIH

• Journalists in Aging Fellowship Program, Journalists Network on Generations

• Comparative Effectiveness Research Fellowship, AHCJ & Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

• Medical Evidence Boot Camp, MIT

• Kiplinger Fellowship, Ohio State University

• Front Page Award (twice), The Newswomen’s Club of New York

• Global Media Award, The Population Institute

• Best Consumer Journalism Award, National Press Club

• Unity Award, Lincoln University

Professional Memberships

• Association of Health Care Journalists, co-chair freelance committee

• Journalism & Women Symposium