About Me

Hello! I'm an award-winning writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience in culturally-focused journalism. I am currently the publisher of Unpackd and a contributing editor with Fathom. I trained as a fellow with The New York Times Institute for Journalism and have written for the Times, Condé Nast TravelerTravel + Leisure, Fodor's Travel, HuffPost, Time Out NY, and many more. I have served as managing editor for Further, a luxury travel platform, and as associate editor for the literary press Estreno Plays. In 2021, I appeared on the Break Into Travel Writing podcast to share industry tips with aspiring writers. I hold an M.P.S. in global communications from Georgetown and a B.A. in Spanish from Rutgers. More on my background here.

Best of Arts, Culture & Travel

Softening Attitudes That Are Chiseled in Stone

Michelangelo "saw the angel in the marble" and carved until he set him free. Agostino Malatesta, a sculptor in Trenton, saw his painful past and frightening future and carved to set himself free. Played to perfection by Dan Lauria (of the television series "The Wonder Years"), Agostino — the central character in William Mastrosimone's play, "A Stone Carver" — is a bereaved Italian widower whose unkempt but beloved house is under threat of demolition for a highway ramp.

Contributor - HuffPost Contributing Editor - Fathom

Beyond Barbecue: Debauchery & Diversity in Kansas City

Everything I knew about Kansas City came from song lyrics. “Everything’s up to date in Kansas City!” a perky line from the Broadway show "Oklahoma!" informed my childhood brain. Recently, I’ve been living with an earworm of Bob Dylan’s 1967 song, also called “Kansas City," and there’s the enduring R&B anthem (naturally, with the same name): “Goin' to Kansas City. Kansas City, here I come." Aside from a few lines in a handful of songs, I had no idea what the city was actually about. So I took a trip west to find out what all of the fuss was about.

How to Have a Sustainable Stockholm Getaway (There’s Really No Other Kind)

From the moment I landed in Stockholm, Sweden’s dedication to all things sustainable was clear. Looking to refill my reusable water bottle before even descending to baggage claim, I quickly found a public fountain. Above it, a clean blue-and-white sign proclaimed, “The drinking water at Stockholm Arlanda Airport comes from Lake Mälaren. The water is environmentally friendly, fresh, of high quality. What’s more, it’s good!”

And, honestly, it was.

Is NYC’s Governors Island Shedding Its Tranquil Past for a Glitzy Future?

Once home to little more than a few empty army barracks and an 18th-century fort, Governors Island in New York Harbor may soon become the glitziest spot in New York City. This summer, a sprawling Italian day spa and a Tulum-inspired beach club opened among the 172 acres of rolling green fields that long sat quietly in the waters between lower Manhattan and western Brooklyn, a short ferry ride away from the urban jungles.

The World’s Happiest Country Brings Joy to the Skies

When I think about my happy place, an economy seat on a long-haul flight ranks close to last on the list. But leave it to the Finns, the people responsible for the happiest country in the world, to make air travel not only equitable but thoroughly enjoyable across every ticketing class.

Finnair may be a century old, but it’s one of today’s most design- and climate-forward airlines. With a brand-new business class cabin design and spiffy upgrades to premium economy and economy class, they have not compromised on a sleek Scandinavian design aesthetic in order to go green. Quite the opposite. They’re using innovation and style to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing passengers’ comfort and in-flight happiness.

6 Must-sees in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Averting the crowded apple orchards and bumpy hay rides of autumn, I opted for a high-end weekend in Bucks County. This quaint corner of Pennsylvania is the very definition of the "country" to the proverbial "town," where New Yorkers, Philadelphians and others have come to escape their hectic workaday lives for over a century.

After my own frenzied day in Manhattan, Friday night found me in Holicong, Pa., for a luxurious stay in the 1740 Manor House at the Inn at Barley Sheaf Farm.

Discover the Quirky Charms of Wisconsin's Elkhart Lake

ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — The indigenous Potawatomi once referred to it as "the chosen spot," a serene crystalline lake surrounded by towering cedar trees. Today, Elkhart Lake is the name of not only a stunning body of water in central Wisconsin but also the quirky little town of 900 residents that surrounds it. Just 20 miles west of the shores of Lake Michigan, this village is chockablock with styles and experiences, from a sprawling Gilded

Confronting the Black Experience in Miami

Black artists from London and Philadelphia are making waves in Miami Beach with Aṣẹ, a philosophical concept from Nigeria.

MIAMI BEACH – More than a year has passed since the promise of a global racial reckoning, and it’s time for an update. Vince Fraser, a British digital artist with roots in the West Indies, and Ursula Rucker, a spoken-word poet from Philadelphia, are investigating this and other urgent questions in Aṣẹ: Afro-Frequencies, an immersive new art exhibition taking place in the seemingly unlikely location of Miami Beach, Florida.

I Don’t Belong on Turks & Caicos. But They Do

The indigenous people of Hawai’i are called kanaka. In the state of Indiana, they improbably go by “hoosiers.” And across the azure archipelago of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), the locals are “Belongers,” an epithet that needs no explanation.

These days, it’s never been clearer who belongs somewhere and who doesn’t. Basically, we all belong at home, because, Covid. But like non-Belongers throughout history, humans are compelled to journey to places they perhaps should not.

How to Enjoy the Safe Solace of Sonoma County — Wherever You Are

A damp wine cellar is the last place even the most avid oenophile would visit these days. The thought of visiting California’s infamous wine country may feel doubly daunting, as the Golden State recently became the first in the nation to log more than 600,000 cases of Covid-19. That said, in Sonoma County’s vast hills there are myriad ways to smartly — and safely — enjoy the fruit of the vine.
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Guerilla Theater

Che Guevara, the ultimate socialist poster boy, may have been executed by the Bolivian Army in 1967, but his image and legend have never been more ubiquitous. Red Che T-shirts are an old cliché on the street; early next year, Steven Soderbergh will unveil his latest feature film, "Guerrilla," starring Benicio Del Toro as a late-career Guevara; and, of course, Gael Garcia Bernal opened eyes in '04 as a young Che in "The Motorcycle Diaries." That film had a Tony-nominated screenplay by playwright Jose Rivera and now the dramatist is having a second go at the subject. His "School of the Americas" opens July 6 the Public Theater and centers on the last two days in the life of the revolutionary (portrayed by Nuyorican actor John Ortiz).