What I’ve been up to

the tldr;

I am an editorial consultant and content strategist

I founded Apparata Media, an editorial studio that specializes in creating and curating narratives at the intersection of health and technology.

We help build brands and media companies, develop positioning and purpose, and bridge the gap between intention and production. If you want to build something together, get in touch.

I was a managing editor at CNN Business

2020 - 2023

I ran the technology and transportation digital teams at CNN Business. Throughout my time at CNN, I also worked with the media and consumer & retail teams.

I launched Misinformation Watch, a company-wide initiative to track reporting and news on misinformation, and, in particular, that promoted on social media platforms, leading up to and in the months following the 2020 election.

I was the editorial lead of CNN’s coverage of the Facebook Papers, a tranche of internal Facebook documents obtained by CNN as part of a consortium of news outlets.

I was an editor on the coverage of the Twitter whistleblower disclosures, obtained exclusively by CNN and the Washington Post.

I was the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo

2017 - 2020

I ran a publication of roughly 40 journalists across five desks: consumer tech; science; tech policy and news; Earther, a climate-focused vertical; and io9, a genre entertainment vertical.

I was the editorial director for Gizmodo’s first-ever investigative podcast, “The Gateway,” a six-part series on an online spiritual moment. “The Deep End,” a docuseries on Hulu’s Freeform, is based on “The Gateway.”

Launched Earther, Gizmodo Media Group’s climate- and environment-focused vertical.

Built Gizmodo’s video team from scratch.

Gizmodo won a National Press Foundation Award for Best Use of Technology in Journalism for “The House that Spied on Me.”

I pitched and executed lots of “built-if-sold” editorial and video packages for sponsors.

I was the editorial director of the news startup Vocativ

2015 - 2017

I managed a team of roughly 20 journalists and analysts across technology, transportation, and sports.

I oversaw all non-linear elements of our Showtime docuseries “Dark Net,” including cutdowns for digital video distribution; a microsite with feature stories and visuals to support each episode.

I made “Death Day,” an experiential, “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style video game that took readers through a speculative future based on current research. We paired it with a live event.

I was a deputy editor at Refinery29

2012 - 2015

I was the founding editor of Refinery29’s health vertical and its technology vertical — I built both from the ground up, crafting the editorial missions and hiring all staff.

Health vertical (launched January 2014) was finalist for Digiday "Best New Vertical of 2014" award and we won "Publisher of the Year 2014" for the health column The Anti-Diet Project.

I was a freelance writer and editor

I wrote for lots of places, including Popular Science, OMNI Reboot, V MAN, Salon, Alternet, Black Book, Under the Radar, The Fix, Buzzfeed's FWD, and lots more.

I wrote “Future Sex,” a weekly column for Vice’s tech and science publication, Motherboard. I also contributed news and feature stories to the site.

I was a senior editor at Nerve Media.

While I’ve been a journalist and editorial leader for over a decade, I’ve done many other things that have impacted how I think about the world.

I worked in a chemistry lab and was a research assistant. (I’m a co-author of a peer-reviewed journal article in “Laparoscopic Surgery,” which you’ve no doubt read.) I tutored children. I worked as a server and a barista, so I know how to tip. I was an intern at one of the only abortion clinics in the state of Georgia, so I know what’s at stake.