My mission is to inspire people to read and watch the news in a whole new way. Through SpaceforGood, I will connect news stories about disease, disasters, and poverty directly to thousands of organizations- small and large- that are making an effort to help affected people and places. I will help these charitable organizations gain the visibility and support they need to continue their work, and even extend their reach.
I feel a strong connection to Italy, where I lived for nearly a year as a graduate student, and remember most fondly the city of Bologna, with its amazing food, the arched porticos, the rust and ochre-colored buildings, and most of all the warm and welcoming Bolognese people. I hope to go back someday with my children to give them a glimpse of the happy life I had there.
Having worked both sides of the media fence, first as a part of a news organization and then as someone trying to capture the attention of the news media, I've grown concerned about the lack of a connection between news about poverty, disease, and disaster, and the people and organizations working to mitigate these crises.
News organizations simply aren’t able to name every group that addresses the human needs brought about by the events and crises covered by the media. Neither can charitable organizations afford to market themselves in every news outlet that covers an issue related to the nonprofit’s mission. I believe that a third party is needed, without an agenda other than to make a connection between bad news and a hopeful solution. This is how the idea for SpaceforGood evolved, and this is why I intend to make SpaceforGood a vehicle through which distressing news becomes a call to action to help affected people and places.
I have had over a decade of experience working both in and with news media. Before launching SpaceforGood, I served as a lead speechwriter and outreach and communications coordinator for Millennium Challenge Corporation, where I traveled throughout Africa and the United States to spread the word about the start-up US government agency that has committed nearly $6 billion dollars in grants to developing countries. As a News Producer for Eurovision, a consortium of television stations representing over 80 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, I produced and edited daily news stories and planned live coverage of news events. I have also worked for the National Journal’s Hotline, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, and CNN.
I have an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of International Affairs (SAIS), where I held the Michael Bloomberg N. Forstmann Fellowship for Journalism Studies, and a BS in International Relations and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I bring my expertise as a communications and public relations advisor, outreach liaison to nonprofits and other charitable organizations, new enterprise “evangelist”, professional speechwriter, video editor and storyteller to this endeavor.
