Professional history
EDITOR FOR THE WORKBACK
4/22-6/23
-
Over 15 months, I executed the creation of a magazine about the future of work for Asana at the direction of its marketing leaders, a position for which I was recruited.
-
I inherited a corporate blog and transformed it into The Workback at the direction of marketing leaders. (Launch letter here.)
-
I created verticals that focused on innovation, leadership, the science of work, and collaboration—which were marketing areas for Asana. I developed story frameworks and elucidated its mission.
-
Stories were a mix of interviews with respected business leaders, academics, and authors, narrative stories, reports on new scientific research, and thought leadership essays.
-
The Workback included a corresponding monthly newsletter that generated 1,000+ new subscribers without promotion and dozens of marketing-qualified leads. The response was strong.
-
For the second time in my career, I successfully contributed to launching a digital magazine focused on what the future looks like.
-
In June 2023, the Asana brand marketing organization shelved The Workback magazine, which is still viewable via the Internet Archive.
-
In addition to creating The Workback for Asana, I was a lead writer, editor, and interviewer for the Anatomy of Work Global Index for 2023. This 45-page report was based on a survey of 10,000 global knowledge workers. I selected and interviewed thought leaders, worked closely with designers, and executed key marketing messages selected by leadership.
-
In addition to producing thought leadership content of a journalistic style, I performed ghostwriting for Asana leaders in Inc. magazine, interviewed Asana customers, created promotional content for Asana events, and wrote the introduction to a Work Innovation Lab report.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, INTERESTING ENGINEERING
Building out an org chart, establishing beats, expanding coverage, copy editing. OKRs, KPIs, SEO, paywall prep, redesign planning, getting to know everyone's talents.
Creating an infrastructure for shared success in IE's editorial pursuits.
2/22-4/22
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, INVERSE
01/21-1/22
-
Making Inverse a platform for various stories that make people a little more thoughtful about themselves, their world, and the entertainment they love.
-
Managing a team to bring 20-25 million UVs to Inverse.com monthly while keeping a singular brand identity.
-
Writing the Digiday-award-winning Inverse Daily newsletter Monday-Friday (20.2% UOR; 297k sends).
-
Connecting writers with sources, assigning contextual angles, creating 360-degree coverage plans.
-
Created Musk Reads+, a premium newsletter with original reporting for supporters, on Substack. It quickly drew 500 paying subscribers, creating $50k in annual revenue.
-
Collaborating with section editors to shepherd through traffic-driving, meaningful, investigative features.
-
Ideating various month-long series and countdowns that bring reliable, consistent readership over the term of the series.
-
Iterating on successful article constructions and coming up with new article frames to grow Inverse's authority in emerging beats.
-
Pushing forward our approach to newsletters, article construction, and content deployment.
-
Developing a culture of accountability where every writer knows what good looks like.
-
Leading a team of 22 full- and part-time editorial employees, plus more than a dozen freelancers, to push the boundaries of what they can achieve.
-
Utilizing the most of a $250k freelance budget to put more stories in areas where we can touch a new audience. Also, using it to take bigger swings on weird, remarkable, or innovative stories.
-
Line-editing with writers and doing work that finds them an audience.
-
Developing pitches for and producing advertiser-sponsored special issues and content. Look at our 2021 Superhero issue, edited by a genius you might not expect to take on such a project.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR, INVERSE
10/17-01/21
-
Reorganized newsroom processes and rebooted editorial workflows, priorities, and culture.
-
Worked to bring traffic from 8M UVs in Nov 2018 to a peak of 32M in Nov. 2020.
-
Developed an editorial brand with a recognizable, differentiated identity.
-
Saw newsroom through acquisition by Bustle Digital Group and subsequent reorganization.
DEPUTY EDITOR, INVERSE
03/17-10/17
-
Managed story assignments, scheduling, and editing.
-
Worked on traffic goals for writers and established beats.
-
Contributed to larger projects as the newsroom mission evolved under a new executive editor.
-
Began a Musk Reads newsletter about the news surrounding the polarizing figure. Moved to 2x week after early demand data.
NEWS DIRECTOR, INVERSE
09/15-03/17
-
I was the veteran in the newsroom at this startup at the age of 32.
-
Taught early-career journalists interview skills and the power of not waiting for a source to call back.
-
Helped an unknown website get credit for major stories, like the discovery of water on Mars, from outlets such as the Houston Chronicle through dogged reporting and attention to detail.
-
Made Elon Musk's various pursuits a point of focus.
SENIOR WEB EDITOR, VILLAGE VOICE MEDIA
04/11-09/15
-
Took on various editorial and management roles from Denver and, later, New York to manage goals and story execution across this chain of alternative weeklies.
-
Assigned and edited stories, photo galleries, and video projects.
-
Regularly surpassed traffic goals.
-
Ran Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll in 2013 and 2014.
-
Wrote dozens of headlines a week.
-
Produced a film podcast, Voice Film Club.
-
Researched ways to die in New York one week, and they made it a cover story.
WEB EDITOR, DENVER WESTWORD
07/10-08/12
-
Assigned and edited stories, photo galleries, and video projects.
-
Regularly surpassed traffic goals.
-
Wrote across the paper.
-
Managed the website.
-
Produced the 2012 Denver Web Awards, cover story, poll, and 300-person ceremony
-
Hired and managed freelancers and journalism interns.
WEB EDITOR, RIVERFRONT TIMES, ST. LOUIS
03/08-07/10
-
First web editor at this Midwestern alternative weekly.
-
My first year was marked by producing videos, photo galleries, and stories to accompany print content.
-
Getting the stories of one writer linked on Drudge Report so much that she asked me to stop.
-
Assigned and edited stories, photo galleries, and video projects.
-
Regularly surpassed traffic goals. Built out a freelancer network for the web from nothing.
STAFF WRITER, THE ALTON TELEGRAPH, ALTON, ILL.
10/05-03/08
-
Cops, contentious school boards, fires, parades, kidnappings, jail escapes, school graduations, festivals, and human interest stories. And a sex scandal involving one cocaine-addicted lawyer/political powerbroker.
-
I wrote a story a day for three years, put 100,000 miles on my car, and wore out a few pairs of budget dress shoes.
-
My first job out of college. I did whatever they told me to do.
WEBSTER UNIVERSITY, 2005
Major: Journalism
Minor: Political Science
Bachelor's Degree