I grew up in Ottawa County, Michigan and studied at The New School. I received my M.A. in Journalism from the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.
In 2011 I received the Overseas Press Club Foundation Award, and the Harper's Magazine Scholarship in memory of the investigative muckraker I.F. Stone. I also received the Council for Contemporary Families 2011 Award for Emerging Journalists, for my work documenting the rising number of homeless New York City students. In 2012 I received the Soros Justice fellowship with my reporting partner Lisa Riordan Seville.
I've worked as a print and multimedia reporter both in the United States and Africa. My work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Nation, the Mail & Guardian, City Limits, The New York Post, New York Press, The Crime Report, and on NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, Salon.com and NBCNews.com, among others. I'm currently based in New York City as an independent reporter and investigative journalist, with a focus on criminal justice and human rights issues.
