writing

/ˈrīdiNG/ noun

1. the maddening activity of trying to make a string of words coherent.

I have published essays and opinion pieces in Outside magazine and at Shondaland, the site founded by prolific television writer/producer, Shonda Rhimes. My personal essay, Finding Home in the West – by Smokejumping,was annotated on the website of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Longreads included my essay, Love and the Burning West, on its Weekly Top 5 Longreads of the Week, and included the piece in its list of favorite essays about wildfire.

I am also a screenwriter, and has been a finalist for the Sundance Writers Lab three times and a quarter-finalist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ (otherwise known as the folks behind the Oscars) Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting.

My unique perspective on wildland firefighting has made me a sought-after voice for those writing about fire. I’ve been quoted in The Atlantic and in the Huffington Post. Last summer the CBS program 60 Minutes+ interviewed me for an episode about smokejumping and the need for a pay increase for federal firefighters. I’ve also served as the wildfire consultant for the award-winning animated children’s series, The Stinky & Dirty Show, as well as the consultant for the middle-grade book, Smokejumpers.