I’m 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 world leaders to local activists. 

 

I grew up in the Yukon Territory of northern Canada.  When I was 18, I set off with a backpack to explore the world with very little money and no plan, other than to keep traveling east until I ended up in the west.  That journey around the globe took me through 50 countries over five years and left an imprint that continues to influence me to this day.

 

After returning from my planetary pilgrimage, I earned a bachelor's degree in Arizona before pursuing a career as an environmental journalist.  I moved to Malibu where I worked 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 (with an afterword from David Suzuki), which captured the conference through the voices of youth, business, governments, and civil society. A companion volume, Taking Action: An Environmental Guide for You and Your Community, was later published by the United Nations Environment Programme, translating global commitments into practical action.

 

Since then, writing has remained a constant thread. My books range from sustainability and food systems (The No Mammal Manifesto) to responsible and transformative travel (The Intrepid Traveler, now in its third edition), and digital activism (Taking Action Online for the Environment, Social Justice, and Sustainable Development), which includes a foreword by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. 

I worked with the United Nations for 22 years, mostly based in New York and Geneva with missions to document the impact of our development work in every corner of 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 worked as Regional Representative for Europe for the UN Office for South-South Cooperation. My final UN post, based in New York, was as Senior Advisor for South-South Cooperation with UNDP.  After taking early retirement in 2018, I’ve continued to support UN country offices and partners as a senior consulting advisor, with recent work in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Kuwait, and Guinea-Bissau. 

 

Education has been as global 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 the TRIUM program, jointly delivered by NYU Stern, the London School of Economics, and HEC Paris.

 

My forthcoming 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 the works, weaving together stories from the road less traveled. Look for these in the blog section of this website. This site brings all of that together—my writing, my thinking, and my ongoing exploration of how we live, travel, govern, and respond to a rapidly changing world.