I am a writer, traveler, and strategic communications advisor whose work and curiosity have taken me to more than 130 countries, from global summits to remote communities. Along the way, I have had the good fortune of meeting and interviewing thousands of fascinating people, from heads of state and business leaders to grassroots activists and ordinary citizens with extraordinary stories.

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I grew up in the Yukon Territory of northern Canada. At the age of eighteen, I set off with a backpack to explore the world with very little money and no fixed plan—other than to keep traveling east until I arrived in the west. That journey around the globe took me through 50 countries over five years and left an imprint that continues to shape my worldview to this day.

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After returning from my planetary pilgrimage, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Arizona before beginning a career in environmental journalism. I later moved to Malibu, where I served as Editor-in-Chief of Earth News in Los Angeles. I covered the landmark 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro—a defining moment for global environmental governance. That experience led to my first book, The Earth Summit: A Planetary Reckoning, featuring an afterword by David Suzuki. A companion volume, Taking Action: An Environmental Guide for You and Your Community, was later published by United Nations Environment Programme.

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Writing has remained a constant thread throughout my life. My books range from sustainability and food systems (The No Mammal Manifesto), to responsible and transformative travel (The Intrepid Traveler: The ultimate guide to responsible, ecological, and personal-growth travel and tourism, now in its third edition), to digital activism (Taking Action Online for the Environment, Social Justice, and Sustainable Development), which includes a foreword by former New Zealand Prime Minister and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.

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I worked with the United Nations for 22 years, largely based in New York City and Geneva, with assignments documenting development efforts across the globe—from Madagascar and Ethiopia to Bolivia and Cambodia. I led communications for the United Nations Capital Development Fund, served as UNDP’s Regional Communications Advisor for Europe, coordinated the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty, and later became Regional Representative for Europe for the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. My final UN post, based in New York, was as Senior Advisor for South-South Cooperation with United Nations Development Programme. After taking early retirement in 2018, I have continued supporting UN country offices and international partners as a senior consulting advisor, with recent work in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Kuwait, and Guinea-Bissau.

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My education has been as international as my career: a BA in International Affairs from Northern Arizona University, an MA in Communication and Technology from the University of Alberta, and an MBA from TRIUM Global Executive MBA, delivered jointly by New York University Stern School of Business, London School of Economics, and HEC Paris.

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My most recent book, The Beaver and the Bald Eagle: Reflections Across the World’s Longest Undefended Border, explores the contrasts between Canada and the United States through history, culture, policy, and lived experience. Another travel collection is also in development, weaving together stories from the road less traveled (some of these stories are offered in my travel blog).

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This website brings together my writing, reflections, and ongoing exploration of how we live, travel, govern, and respond to a rapidly changing world.