Raised in the Midwest, I’m a longtime Denver journalist, author, college writing instructor, trained naturalist, and passionate conservationist. I’ve written several Falcon guidebooks, including Hiking with Kids Colorado: 52 Great Hikes for Families, Mythbusting the Great Outdoors: What’s True and What’s Not?, and Exploring Colorado with Kids: 71 Field Trips + 142 Nature-Inspired Activities. My newest adult nonfiction title, Trail Therapy: Finding Wholeness in Nature, explores the mental health benefits of moving outdoors, and my debut picture book, Tonight! A Bedtime Book, is all about baby animals and their habitats.

I earned degrees in Creative Writing and Law from DePauw University and the University of Denver, respectively, and I’m currently completing my MFA in Creative Nonfiction through Western Colorado University. After college, and before law school, I had the life-changing experience of serving with AmeriCorps St. Louis. I wasn’t an outdoorsy kid, but a rugged, multi-day AmeriCorps backpacking trip changed that.

I’ve been a freelance writer since 2007. That’s when I moved to Denver and got my first gig with a defunct monthly magazine called Corporate Apparel. (Yes! There was a time when print journalism was so strong you could have an entire magazine devoted solely to the topic of corporate apparel. Times have certainly changed.) If I’m not outside exploring Colorado with my family, or teaching classes at School of Mines, then I’m probably writing for The Denver Post, where I cover travel, nature, and the outdoors. I also enjoy knitting, baking bread, and throwing clay on the pottery wheel at my local rec center.