Recent Work
I love words and stories, interesting people and beautifully designed spaces. I excel at feature writing, particularly profiles, light business reporting, and writing on lifestyle topics including interior design, architecture, regional travel, and food culture. I've won two journalism awards and occasionally I appear on television. I treat deadlines as sacrosanct.
I previously worked in marketing and call on that background to collaborate with companies and nonprofit organizations on content creation that rings with creativity and distinction.
Recent Work
The Baltimore metro area recently ranked fourth in the nation for the highest number of women in the construction industry. Here's why that matters:
The autopsy assistant also is the assistant program director for the Master of Science in Forensic Medicine.
Possibly the fastest growing demographic in the nation's arms race, Black women are finding camaraderie in groups that teach firearms safety and change the narrative around Black gun violence.
While some might think it's police K9 units that accept the call, it's really volunteer dog lovers with a dedication to service-like those with Chesapeake Search Dogs.
Most people associate the word doula with the beginning of life, not the end of it. But end-of-life doulas have become trusted sources of support.
A year after Roe v. Wade's overturn, the nearly 100-year-old local nonprofit-one of the organization's oldest affiliates-has one main message: It's open for business.
Celebrating the father of American landscape architecture on the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Lifestyle: Interior Design, Architecture & Culture
Kacey Stafford is a fixture in Lauraville-a splash of Southern comfort in a Natty Boh town.
Lauren Uhlig's blossoming rose business is nothing short of miraculous.
Lisa and David had a reasonable wish list: For one, they frequently entertain and wanted to be able to leave a mess in the kitchen and not see it when they host a dinner. They also typically have more than 20 guests for Thanksgiving, so they needed a large dining space and commissioned a custom table for that purpose.
A renovation transforms an outdated house in Maryland's Breton Bay area into a bright family retreat Tiffani Johnston's first thought upon moving into her family's current Leonardtown home was that the kitchen was dark. It lacked windows to take in its views of a backyard creek, which meanders all the way to the Chesapeake Bay.
Michelle Knighton and her six siblings grew up on the outskirts of Catonsville on six acres of land abutting Patapsco State Park. Their parents purchased the land in 1962 and, in 1964, completed the construction of a contemporary four-bedroom home.
Luck follows Kelly Walker. When she hitchhiked into Baltimore as a teenager, the North Carolina native was addicted to drugs and alcohol and living out of a backpack. But she found recovery services that saved her life. Then she stumbled into an apprenticeship that led her to start her own decorative painting and faux finishing company, Art Star Custom Paintworks, in 2002.
High style and easy living blend in this family getaway on the South Carolina Coast.
An architectural gem on Gibson Island regains its shine Luis and Cara Medeiros long enjoyed visiting Gibson Island near Annapolis, but when they decided to look for a home to purchase, they were underwhelmed. "A lot of the homes here are like our primary home in Chevy Chase," says Cara Medeiros, noting the abundance of traditional houses and quaint cottages.
As a child, Jim Fielder knew Sophia's Dairy as the big house he couldn't enter. "The farm I grew up on is three miles from here," says Fielder, a Harford County native who is now Maryland's secretary of higher education.
Profiles
Fittingly, it all starts with a cookbook. Chef Cindy Wolf of Charleston fame has long been working on one. So long, in fact, that it has grown into a series. And now she anticipates the first of her Cooking With Wolf cookbooks will publish in time for the holidays this year.
It all began with one girl in New Orleans. In 2005, while covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as anchor and special correspondent for CNN, Soledad O'Brien learned of a young woman who didn't have the money to attend one of the only schools still open, after the disaster had decimated much of the public school system.
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger and others speak about how they keep optimism and integrity in public service and politics in a cynical time.
United States Rep. Eric Swalwell, JD '06, has feared for his personal safety only twice. First on Sept. 11, 2001, when, out of concern that a plane might strike the Capitol building, he was turned away from his job there as an intern. The second time was on Jan.
A profile of the new president of the SoM, Dr. Bruce Jarrell, and the challenges of starting one's tenure in a pandemic.
An interview with renowned pediatrician, virologist and immunologist Paul Offit who shares insights into COVID-19 and the way forward.
General Reported Features
By Christianna McCausland Edited by Ken Iglehart Illustrations by Bett Norris April 2021 N ICK AND KATE COLVIN LOVED their home in Homeland Mews. In their three years of ownership, they replaced the roof, updated the floors, and remodeled the kitchen and baths. They enjoyed their neighbors.
As a bankruptcy attorney, Dennis J. Shaffer sees people at one of the most challenging times in their lives. And with the pandemic-hobbled economy, he's getting busier. Take, for example, his client in the personal service industry (who, understandably, asked that their name be withheld).
Higher taxes and federal spending cuts would begin to hit all Americans Jan. 1. Here are ways to cope with the 'fiscal cliff.' The "fiscal cliff" - that perfect storm of mandatory budget cuts, expiring tax cuts, and new taxes - looms with all the finality of a New Year's countdown clock.
A first-person reported piece on kayaking the "ghost fleet" of Mallows Bay in Maryland (includes my own photos, too).
For more than 50 years, a Wooden Houseboat Moored in Gibson Island Harbor has served as a Baltimore Clan's Summer Retreat
Baby boomers fuel growing interest in the right to die; physicians’ role still hotly debated
When María Giraldo Greene rolls out La Caja de Sorpresas (the surprise box), all eyes are fixed on her. The box can hold any number of wonders, from pompoms to puppets. In this brightly lit classroom at Mount Olivet Methodist Church in Arlington that is home to ¡Hola Baby!, Greene's Spanish...
University, Institutional & Marketing
Devon C. Payne-Sturges, DrPH, MPH, associate professor of applied environmental health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, was already acutely aware of the many ways agricultural workers are vulnerable to unfair labor practices when the coronavirus pandemic brought this perennial problem into stark relief.
A Life of Mentorship Murphy's list of accolades and leadership positions is extensive: vice president of the Women's Law Center; multiple appointments at the Association of American Law Schools; editorial board member at Family Court Review. She received the University System of Maryland's Award for Faculty Excellence and was the first recipient of the University of Baltimore's Presidential Faculty Award.
How a dark horse team made it to the top of NASA competition to design a next-gen space suit for deep space exploration.
As the opioid crisis ravages the nation the University of Baltimore's new Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement looks for solutions.
How two librarians are using social media to showcase some of the strangest items in the George Peabody Library.
RPH is a boutique architecture firm that required a complete overhaul of its existing website. I created succinct copy that highlights their diverse expertise.
This highlights one of the many articles I've written for Overture, the in-house publication of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Television
Baltimore has a rich history of contributing to medical advancements, and a new feature in Baltimore Magazine is a deep dive into the work/inventions of local doctors.
Offered expert commentary to this full length documentary drawing on experience and knowledge from the publication of my pictorial history book, Maryland Steeplechasing, published in 2005.