Raised in the Midwest, I’m a longtime Denver journalist, children’s book author, and trained naturalist. 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. I’m currently working on a fourth adult nonfiction title that’s all about the mental health benefits of walking outdoors. My debut picture book, Tonight! A Bedtime Book, is about baby animals and their habitats and a kiddo who’d rather stay up and play.

I earned degrees in creative writing and law from DePauw University and the University of Denver. After college, and before law school, I had the life-changing experience of serving with AmeriCorps St. Louis. I wasn’t an outdoorsy kid, and it was on a rugged, days-long AmeriCorps backpacking trip that I discovered my affinity for the outdoors.

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!)

When I’m not writing about the outdoors, I’m usually on an adventure with my family of five and our nutty doodle, Rocky. My home base is in the foothills of Colorado.