A JOURNALIST WHO FINDS THE STORY IN THE DATA

I have been the Associated Press’ Orlando correspondent for more than two decades, and since 2019, I've been reporting on the census and U.S. population change.  I started my career in Missouri in 1993 and worked in Maryland before moving to Florida in 1997.
While working in Orlando, I have covered the space industry from Kennedy Space Center, as well as been the lead reporter in AP’s coverage of the Pulse nightclub massacre, the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent trial of his shooter, George Zimmerman. The coverage of the Orlando nightclub massacre won the 2017 Associated Press Managing Editors award for deadline reporting and was a 2017 Deadline Club spot news award finalist.
I also have covered the 2000 presidential recount in Florida, the death of Terri Schiavo, the fight over slugger Ted Williams’ body, the Casey Anthony saga and numerous hurricanes.
I specialize in stories that involve mapping data, such as demographic changes and business indicators. My work helped produce the Associated Press Stress Map and Index, a series of interactive maps, stories and index used for measuring the health of the U.S. economy following its collapse in 2008. The Stress Map and Index was a winner of a 2010 SPJ Sigma Delta Chi award; chosen as one of 21 “notable entries” in the 2009 Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism; winner of the Associated Press Managing Editors’ award for best interactive in 2009; winner of the Best in Business award for online projects in 2009 by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers; winner of a bronze Malofiej award for online feature in 2010.
My work also won Green Eyeshade and Society of Professional Journalists Sunshine State awards in 2014.
I am a native of St. Louis, Missouri and hold degrees from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Pennsylvania. In my free time, I play racquet sports and serve on the board of a professional theater company.