Biographical Information
I have been writing professionally for more than 30 years, working as a development writer for nonprofit organizations and as a journalist in print and broadcasting. As a development writer, I’ve written grants for groups as diverse as the University of San Diego School of Law Legal Clinics, Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties, and Women’s Empowerment International. I also create case statements, press releases, newsletters, and donor-directed mail pieces for fundraising projects.
As an award-winning columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune, I wrote extensively about the people, politics, education, and communities of San Diego County, developing local and regional contacts and resources. Prior to becoming a columnist, I was the newspaper’s county government beat reporter, and specialized in reporting on social service issues. My freelance work has appeared in publications as varied as The Los Angeles Times and Quilting Today magazine. I began as a radio reporter, so writing quickly and accurately has been a hallmark of my style from my earliest professional days. My volunteer work includes serving as a board and committee member for several organizations, including: the COMPASS Family Center at USD; where I was the co-creator of the new name and brand for the former Center for Families of Children with Special Needs; Casa de Amparo, the shelter for abused and neglected children in San Diego’s North County; and Women’s Empowerment International, which grants microfinance loans to women in Mexico, Honduras, and to refugee women in the City Heights area of San Diego. I teach Grant Writing for Fund Raising at UC San Diego Extension and am a member of the national and San Diego chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. I began life in New York, traveled to the Midwest to get my degree in Journalism from Marquette University, and kept on heading west to California. When I’m not writing and teaching, I’m hiking, quilting, reading nonfiction, and spending quality time at the beach with my family, including my husband and two grown sons.
