About Me Personally
I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Since 2001 I have lived and traveled around the world. Many places yet to discover!
I enjoy learning about world affairs and philosophy. I usually read fiction for enjoyment, but there are many non-fiction titles I hope to read to gain a greater understanding of history and the world. I am passionate about social justice, resolving economic disparities between the rich and poor, affording universal and equitable health care and education, promoting unity within diversity, gaining a greater understand of myself, and operating as an awake and aware human being who spreads kindness.
About Me Professionally
You could call me a third-generation broadcast journalist.
My paternal grandfather began working for a local newspaper when he was a teenager in the 1910’s, eventually leading a decades-long career as a cameraman. He was one of the first people in the world to operate a video camera with sound. My dad was a photographer in the army and my uncle was the chief videographer for a local news channel in Philly for many years. So when I figured out in college that I wanted to become a video journalist, it just made sense. Today I am a professional journalist and producer based in New York for NBC News.
From late 2005 through late 2016 I was based abroad. There I wore many hats…I reported in print, television, radio and online for international and regional news outlets like the Economist, National Geographic News, Al Masry Al Youm and Reuters. I wrote and researched, took photos and videos, went in front of the camera and into the microphone, and taught journalism. I moved to Lebanon in 2010 to study a second master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies and refine my Arabic language skills. From there I continued journalism and became immersed in reporting on the revolutions that swept the region, from Lebanon and in Syria and Egypt.
In 2016, I returned to the United States to work as a producer in Washington, DC for the PBS NewsHour, where I was responsible for all phases of production from conception to air for in-depth news and feature packages. At MSNBC I have continued to lead productions as a field package producer in prime time for All In with Chris Hayes and most recently as a field producer across dayside and streaming programming by producing tape packages, panels, field anchoring, in-studio segments and live shots. I have worked in long and short formats, for broadcast and the internet, tracked and trackless, live and taped, for national and international audiences.
I received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in business from Temple University in 2004. I was awarded the Jim Gardner Broadcast Jounalism Award in my final year of study and was the founder and president of the university's chapter of the Radio and Television News Directors' Association. I was one of the youngest members selected for Temple's School of Communications and Theater list of notable alumni.
I attended the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University where I received a Master's of Science degree in Journalism in 2005. During my time there I received the Lilly Foundation Award, the Board of Advisors Scholarship, the Medill Editorial Scholarship and third place in the Society of Professional Journalists' General Reporting category. I also filmed, wrote and edited a half hour documentary on HIV/AIDS and Christianity.
At the American University of Beirut, I completed a Master's of Arts from the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CASAR). There I was a graduate assistant at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research and at CASAR. My final project was A Photographic Essay of Advertising and Public Space in Egypt and Lebanon.
At AUC I taught multimedia writing and media ethics. Although I was an adjunct faculty member, I was quite active on campus. I helped form and was the publications advisor for the OneAUC Program, which brought together a number of offices and departments in the university to spread intercultural understanding and foster self-awareness to help students become mature, open-minded adults. I helped a group of 
students create a group called Students Support Staff, which provided activities and education for workers at AUC, under the belief that all the members of the university's community are valuable.I also launched the Bridge Program, a weekly series of sessions to bridge the cultural divide on campus by fostering intercultural discussions and relationships.
<-------------- A poster I designed for workshops during AUC International Day.
With 20 years of professional experience in journalism and video and five years at the network level, I have honed and refined abilities as a creative storyteller. These are skills that also translate into leadership as I have guided other producers and reporters in their careers. I have also tried to grow as a person to develop important soft skills of sensitivity and empathy that enrich the stories I tell. On any assignment I think, “what is the story and how can we tell it through diverse lenses?” Representation matters. I show people from all identities across race, gender, age, orientation, class, and ability. The aim is to not only to bring people to talk about their own identities, but to bring people from a variety of identities to talk about any story we are reporting. Regular people are the pulse of my stories. Hopefully one day you and I will have a good conversation!