I grew up in the rural green belt of London, England where I fell in love with literature and literary history. During my undergraduate degree at the University of Kent in Canterbury, and namely an exchange year abroad at UCLA, that love for literature transitioned into a passion for journalism and California sunshine. I moved to Los Angeles in 2007 to pursue an MA degree in journalism at USC and continue a freelance career in multimedia storytelling. And I have never looked back.
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My experience includes local, national and international reporting for news outlets such as the LA Weekly, Southern California Public Radio and the New Zealand Herald Tribune. My fascination with hyper-local journalism spawned a thesis about the future of the industry (titled, Can Grassroots Journalism Help Underserved Communities?) and, in 2008, led me to help found a hyper-local website covering South Los Angeles. I was managing editor until early 2011, when Patch became my next adventure.
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Now I live in Concord with my husband, reading, writing, exploring the Bay Area and continuing to drink my tea with milk.
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Beliefs:
1. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. - Plato.
2. Never discuss religion or politics at the dinner table.
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Politics: I am a registered Democrat with an open mind to all opinions and factual arguments. I believe that the mind should be a thoroughfare for all thoughts and not a select party.
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Religion: Non-denominational Christian, with an almost pantheistic love for the outdoors and a strong appreciation for being still (Psalm 46:10.)
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Local Hot-Button Issues: Social justice issues that affect quality of life or access to opportunities, including education, immigration, health care and social welfare.
In Tuesday's meeting, the city council will consider moving Berkeley's bank account from Wells Fargo to a community bank instead. What do you think of the idea? Take the poll.
A brutal shooting last Thursday left the community mourning — and seeking answers.
Updated: Kenneth Warren, 32, suffered multiple gunshot wounds around 6:50 p.m. Thursday outside his uncle's barbershop on Shattuck Avenue and Emerson Street in Berkeley.
Here are a number of ways you can make the most of Berkeley Patch as a community resource, whether you're a Berkeley resident, organization or business.
Where did this strange concoction come from in Berkeley? Leave your guess in the comments. Hint: this place recently flipped its menu to Mexican.
Updated: Kenneth Warren, 35, suffered multiple gunshot wounds around 6:50 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, outside his uncle's barbershop on Shattuck Avenue and Emerson Street in Berkeley.
PIO Sgt. Mary C. Kusmiss explains the stranger side of being a police officer in Berkeley, including the mystery of shoes hanging from telephone wires and the oddest calls for service.
Share your date ideas, including restaurant picks, theater choices and make-out spots — or perhaps a creative twist on the traditional.
A cooking fire caused the blaze Wednesday night, resulting in damage to Great China's building and contents. There were no injuries.
The City of Berkeley will investigate not extending a contract with Wells Fargo Bank and instead investing the city's account holdings into a community bank or credit union.
Police arrested Tyrone Anthony Terrell of Berkeley and Tyler Frank Jamison, both 18, on suspicion of shooting two men at Sacramento and Woolsey streets in December.
Berkeley doctors have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from drug companies in the past few years. Here's a tool to find out how much your doctor is taking and why.
WATCH LIVE: Watch President Obama's 2012 State of the Union live online here. What would you ask the president?
A group of California residents, including Cynthia Larson of Berkeley, is concerned that "smart" meters pose a threat to public health due to electromagnetic radiation. What do you think?
Foxtails Brigade combines the elegance of classical guitar with the whimsy of the violin for an uplifting musical experience.
Four members of this eclectic Afro-funk-jazz band are graduates from Berkeley High's jazz program. Berkeley Patch's high school reporter Shaun Leong had a blast at a recent show.
Sites in Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland were among the competitors for a new campus consolidating Berkeley Lab's biosciences programs.
Mailing a letter just got more expensive, due to a USPS price increase on stamps and certain services to offset financial woes. Do you still use the post office? Take the poll.
This vacant former gift shop on University Avenue would be perfect for a... what? Share your ideas in the comments.
Berkeley’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.9 percent in December — the lowest rate the city has seen since February, 2009. Meanwhile, the East Bay lost 4,000 jobs.
