About Myself

I cover health issues around California and at the state Capitol. I also file stories regularly for National Public Radio. I've been covering the health beat since 2006 and report on policy and access issues, mental health and how culture and health intersect.

Before joining Capital Public Radio, I started out as a talk show producer in my hometown of Kansas City for NPR affiliate KCUR. I also was a freelance writer and photographer for The Kansas City Star and then worked as a staff writer for an area newspaper. But, I eventually found my way back to radio to be a dedicated health reporter and talk show co-host at KCUR before moving west.

A series I did on a hidden world of illegal prescription drugs sold at swap meets and botanicas won a national Edward R. Murrow Investigative Reporting award as well as an award from the Association of Health Care Journalists. The National Association on Mental Illness and Investigative Reporters and Editors recognized my series on abuse and neglect in Missouri’s mental health system that uncovered patient deaths and money mismanagement.

I've participated in a health reporting fellowship with the Association of Health Care Journalists and now with the USC Annenberg School of Communication.