Where are you based? 

I'm based in Washington, D.C., and around the world, ha. I also spent a lot of time at Lake Tahoe, Santa Fe, and in south Texas. 

My husband and I are pondering relocating to Santa Fe. I've loved DC, but we've been here forever, and a change sounds good lately. I don't love military parades and the politics is starting to weigh me down.

What topics and places do you cover?

Cultural travel, historic travel, design- or shopping-related stories, and consumer news. I also work as a content director at Consumers' Checkbook, a non-profit website and magazine, where I cover how to avoid scams in travel and get good deals. 

Previously I was a fashion editor at the Washington Post and a travel editor at National Geographic, so those two interests led me to launch a Substack newsletter last year, The Souvenirist. It explores the intersection of travel, design, and what we shop for and bring home from our trips (think local crafts, antique markets, and indie boutiques, not stuff from shopping malls!). I'm also working on a book on the history of souvenirs, and want to lead small group tours to design-focused destinations in the future.

I'm also one of the founders of The Travel Book Club, which is the newsletter/online home of a book club founded by my friend (and former Nat Geo Travel boss) Amy Alipio focusing on novels and nonfiction with a strong sense of place. We read books by the likes of Christopher Bollen and Rachel Kushner, then have the writers at our online meetings. It's such a blast, and I get to hang with my Nat Geo girl gang

What outlets do you usually pitch (and write for)?

The Washington Post, Bethesda Magazine, Arlington Magazine, Triple AAA, and National Geographic. After leaving Nat Geo last year, I'm trying to figure out the freelance landscape, which is pretty brutal! I think personalized niche publications (like newsletters) may be the wave of the future, which is why I launched The Souvenirist.

Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?

I'm in-house at Consumers' Checkbook and freelance elsewhere.

What is your approach to press trips?

I do them on a case-by-case basis for freelance stories or if I plan to write about something in my newsletter or my eventual book.

What are your professional pet peeves?

As an editor, writers who don't get good, strong quotes and good sources.

As a writer, sources won't talk to me or return my calls/emails/texts. I'm just trying to create good stories, and these are mostly non-controversial topics.

In your past professional life, you were …

For a minute, I thought this was a fantasy question, and I was going to say, fashion designer or interior designer!  

But I was a fashion and home design editor at the Washington Post for nearly a decade, where I got to go to Fashion Week, run photo shoots, and just generally have an insanely good time being madly creative. I interviewed folks like Tory Burch and Diane von Furstenberg, which was so interesting. Fashion is an art form, and it was a blast to be immersed in that world.

Where would you like to return to?

So many places! Cape Town? Japan? 

But I have a real love for Morocco due to its crafts scene and lifestyle (Delicious tagines! Gorgeous riad interiors! Kind people!). I'm also a huge fan of Mexico, and there are so many regions I haven't yet visited. It has some of the best food in the world, a vibrant crafts scene, and so many kind people.

What's on your bucket list?

India, and I'm going for three weeks this fall. Can't wait! Rajasthan, Kerala, the Taj. Please send tips! I'm also pretty keen to see the Silk Road and the Caucuses. 

Where do you travel for fun?

DC is close to New York City, so I am often up there seeing Broadway shows, art exhibits, or shopping a bit. I'm also a huge fan of upstate New York, the Hudson Valley, and the Catskills. And I also find myself in love with Scandinavia—Copenhagen, Oslo, Aarhus. 

Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …

I was in Mongolia a few summers ago, and it's a terrific country full of stark mountains, interesting people, and lots of goats. The airlines, though, are not so reliable. I ended up in an SUV riding across the Gobi Desert with another travel writer for eight hours, trying to get back to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, to make a flight. We saw herds of camels and yurts dotted across the plains. The landscape finally gave way to New Zealand-like green mountains near Ulaanbaatar. It was otherworldly, and not a place many people see. 

And then, the next day, of course, my flight was canceled!

What advice would you give your younger professional self?

I think to be more confident and to switch jobs more frequently. To take edits as advice and help, not personal criticism? I also might warn her that journalism wasn't going to be as good a career bet as it seemed in the 1990s…

What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?

I think travel opens up the world for so many people, me included. I feel lucky that it's been a big part of my journalism journey.

And I think the travel journalism world is changing…I can't say for sure what direction it'll go given AI, so many layoffs, etc., but I'm interested to see what happens.

How best should people contact you?

Through my TravMedia profile here.