3rd Place Consumer Feature Association of Health Care Journalists in 2023
The Online Baby Sleep Boom
For decades, new parents have been told to “sleep when the baby sleeps.” While that old adage
still exists, the game has changed for a generation of parents that are used to solving life’s
problems with the click of a button. Today, online baby sleep consultants, like Cara Dumaplin of
Taking Cara Babies, promise Millennials and Gen Z moms that their infant’s sleep problems can
be solved if they pay enough money to have access to their secret method.
But what happens when it doesn’t work? And how much of this baby sleep advice is actually
supported by science? As a new mom myself, I became increasingly suspicious of the online
sleep consultant industry which seemed to be ripe for profiting off of parental misery and
isolation. Read my award-winning investigation
USC Center for Health Journalism California Fellowship Project 2020
As a 2020 fellow, I investigated the California Bay Area’s Project Roomkey initiative. What I found was a small sliver of hope amid the chaos: the uplifting stories at an RV park provided by Project Roomkey, which experts hailed as an example of how a housing-first approach could be a means to lift people out of homelessness in the Bay Area. Read how an RV park housing the homeless in San Francisco has become a runaway success story – Salon
Burning Man Investigations
In 2018 and 2019, I investigated how the liberating Burning Man movement provided cover for many predators for Salon.
Burning Man, a utopia for guests was a hell for workers (co-written with Keith Spencer)
Burning Man calls itself a safe space. Sexual assault survivors say it has a sex crime problem.
Death, sexual assault and art controversy color this year’s Burning Man
Writing on volunteering as self-care
I’m fascinated by the science and health benefits of volunteering. The self-care movement, as well-intentioned as it is, often suggests that we engage in activities that keep us focused on the self. I truly believe that we will see organized volunteering and mutual aid groups as the antidote to loneliness in our society, instead of monetized wellness, especially after COVID-19.
Here are pieces I’ve written about volunteering and the pitfalls of the wellness industry.
How the 2010s became the decade of self-care – Salon
Post-election activism is self-care, too – Salon
Why “social distancing” if done wrong can make you more vulnerable – Salon
Why doing good is good for the do-gooder – The New York Times
More Features
When abortion travel becomes a nightmare: A tale of no good choices – Salon, 2024