Promoting Social Policy Change Through Writing, Advocacy and Speaking
My work is grounded in lived experience and shaped by years of writing, advocacy, and public engagement focused on poverty and social policy. Through narrative advocacy, I translate personal history and professional insight into writing and public engagement that deepen understanding of poverty, safety net programs, and their impact on individuals and families.
My Story
Years ago, I plummeted from a comfortable middle-class life into deep poverty. For my children’s safety and my own, I left a relationship marked by domestic violence, with no idea what would come next. We were briefly homeless, moving from one survival challenge to another.
The only place I could eventually afford to live was a tiny, dilapidated apartment in a drug and crime-infested neighborhood. I was determined that would not become our permanent reality, and with resilience and resolve, began the difficult task of rebuilding our lives.
Personal Growth: Lessons Learned
Resilience and Adaptability. Our new housing situation was only better than being on the streets. I accepted the grungy place because I knew I couldn’t begin reshaping our future without first adapting to the present. The unit’s paltry conditions became a powerful motivator, pushing me to find a way out as soon as I could.
Education as a Turning Point. To move beyond my earlier work as a radio announcer—an industry marked by constant instability—I decided to pursue higher education. Despite the daily struggles of providing for our basic needs, I enrolled in a community college associate degree program. Juggling the coursework, parenting, and household responsibilities was tough, but after the first semester, my momentum picked up and academic success followed.
After earning an associate degree in Broadcast Journalism/Television Production, I went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in Communications/Print Journalism. In later years, I earned two master’s degrees, in Human Resources Management and Management, further strengthening the foundation for my writing, advocacy, and professional work.
Realization of Potential: A Breakthrough Solution
Communication Skills. Studying television production and broadcast journalism from 1984 to 1986, I benefited from the guidance of a mentoring instructor. His watchful eye led me to recognize a talent I might otherwise have overlooked: my ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
A series of firsthand learning opportunities occurred as a result of my dedicated studies. Internships at a television station tested my skills in writing news scripts, while another stint at a city lifestyle magazine stirred my interest in crafting and editing articles for print.
In 1986, a campus publication featured an article on my journalistic pursuits as a student at Florida Community College at Jacksonville, marking my first experience being written about as a working journalist.
The true turning point came with an unexpected opportunity to contribute to a brand-new national newspaper. Apprehensive but determined, I accepted the assignment. That first published piece, in USA Today, marked not only my formal entry into journalism, but also my soon-to-follow exit from poverty.
Writing, Advocacy and Speaking: Experience Remains the Best Teacher
Writing. Following my first piece in USA Today, I went on to write for a weekly business journal and later served as a business staff reporter for a daily newspaper. As a freelancer, I have written feature stories and individual profiles, and more recently, personal essays, opinion editorials, and Letters to the Editor in both print and online outlets. To date, I’ve had more than 200 articles published..
Advocacy. In 2016, while working on my book, I was invited to join RESULTS, an international organization dedicated to ending poverty. As a member of its Experts on Poverty cohort, I learned to advocate through direct engagement with members of Congress, strategic media writing, and the use of data to support policy change.
That same year, I self-published A Day at the Fare: One Woman’s Welfare Passage, which chronicles my three-year experience navigating poverty and the social safety net. The book remains available through Amazon and other outlets.
What Readers of This Website Can Expect
As you explore this website, you’ll find commentary that reflects the intersection of my lived experience, writing practice, and advocacy work.
My writing focuses on the realities of poverty and social policy, including the importance of preserving and strengthening anti-poverty programs, the relationship between education and economic stability, and the challenges faced by women—particularly issues of pay equity and caregiving responsibility.
These issues are central to my advocacy because poverty is not abstract. According to U.S. Census data, 21 percent of U.S. children live primarily with a single mother. The policies we debate have direct consequences for families navigating daily survival.
Across the site, my work brings advocacy and writing together to examine these issues through lived experience, analysis, and narrative clarity.