After graduating from CU in 1993, I went on to earn my MFA in writing from Naropa University. I've worked for ABC-CLIO, a social studies publisher, since 2004. As a media editor for the company's Geography website, I acquired all sorts of fun things from images to maps to video. Today, I'm the editorial manager for a suite of databases that range from Ancient World History to War and Conflict to (of course) Geography. I've had the honor of managing several interns from CU's Geography Department. (I'm still flabbergasted that after completing my own geography internship back in 1992, helping to edit Carron Meaney's Mammals of Colorado, that I would end up in publishing myself--mine wasn't a premeditated path, but a seemingly unrelated series of choices that brought me to where I am today.) My Covid project,
Exploring World History Through Geography: From the Cradle of Civilization to a Globalized World, published in September. With the book, I hope to inspire curiosity in readers with the somewhat unique way geographers view the world.
Thanks to CU, I have my dream job. I absolutely wouldn't have ended up here without my Geography degree. I think the cross-curricular nature of geography prepared me well for not only my job, but also simply in navigating life as an educated, informed, and active citizen. I feel lucky that I'm in a position to use my knowledge and experience to educate others in my writing and in the curriculum that I create. And, of course, I've been thrilled to give back by working with those just beginning their careers in Geography.
My sons are also CU graduates. Although I desperately wanted them to study geography, they ended up on the other side of campus: Grant graduated with a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 2019. My younger son, Joey, earned his BS in Applied Math and Electrical Engineering in 2021 and will graduate with his MS in Electrical Engineering this December.
