• Author, Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War (McFarland & Company, 2005). A seven-year project documenting the long-lasting effects of war and genocide on Cambodian society.
Co-author of Pacific Lady: The First Woman to Sail Solo Across the World's Largest Ocean (forthcoming from the University of Nebraska Press, 2008), documenting the feats of Sharon Sites Adams, a five-time world-record holder who was also the first woman to sail solo from the mainland United States to Hawaii.

• Journalist, 1993-present. Correspondent for Gourmet Magazine and contributor to numerous publications in the United States and Asia, including The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, National Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Archaeology, Orion, Fodor’s Travel Guides, Kyoto Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, BBC Wildlife, San Jose Mercury News, South China Morning Post, NurseWeek and The Chattahoochee Review. Collaborating with photojournalist Jerry Redfern to document countries after war and societies under oppression, with particular focus on environment, health, women and children, food and travel. Articles include the aftermath of Asia’s tsunamis, preparations for a Khmer Rouge tribunal, East Timor’s caves and their role in liberation, and human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka.

• Journalism trainer, October – November 2006. Co-trainer for a one-month print journalism course on “The Changing Role of Women in Asia,” organized by the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation (IMMF). The course covered basic journalism skills in reporting, interviewing, writing, editing, ethics and design. Duties entailed lecturing on the nuts and bolts of journalism, leading classroom discussions on reporting and women’s issues, guiding the class through reporting field trips, editing student stories one-on-one, and overseeing the production of an 80-page magazine, the final class project. Sixteen young journalists from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam participated. Their articles focused on Asian women’s issues based on research trips to hilltribe villages, a shelter for trafficked women and girls, a seafood port and migrant workers’ center; as well as private discussions and meetings with renowned female business leaders, politicians and academics in Thailand. The IMMF strives to improve journalism skills and build cultural bridges throughout the region.

• Classroom co-editor, June 2005, 2006. Participated in journalism training courses through the IMMF, with students from around the region. Edited student stories for publications examining migrant labor in Thailand and the future of the Mekong River.

• Teacher, 2000-2001. Umpqua Community College (Roseburg, Oregon). Instructed Southeast Asian cooking classes for adults and journalism courses for kids, which resulted in a class newspaper with each student’s story.

• Weekend edition co-editor/copy editor, 1998-1999. The Cambodia Daily (Phnom Penh). Wrote in-depth stories on the 1998 national elections, political riots, emerging democracy, pollution, Khmer-Vietnamese relations, international border crossings and environmental conservation. Designed, edited and helped launch the paper’s Weekend edition. Copy-edited daily editions of the paper, edited photo stories and managed the paper’s computer system.

• Editorial associate, 1996. Women of Vietnam Review (Hanoi). Helped edit and translate for the English-language magazine. Led workshops in reporting, writing, editing and design. Developed ideas to boost circulation.

• Teacher, 1996. Vietnam Women’s Museum (Hanoi). Taught English to museum guides and translated display descriptions.

• Features editor/reporter, 1994-1995. The News-Record (Gillette, Wyoming). Wrote, edited and designed the Sunday Living section. Covered the county land board, wrote investigative pieces and daily news stories.

• Co-editor/designer, 1994. Native News Honors Project, The University of Montana School of Journalism. Designed photo stories, created maps and helped edit the annual publication, which examines critical issues on Montana’s seven American Indian reservations.

• Fellow, 1993. Poynter Institute for Media Studies (St. Petersburg, Florida). One of 16 journalists chosen nationally for a six-week Newswriting and Editing Fellowship, which focused on writing, editing, ethics and computer-assisted reporting. Published a weekly paper and worked with renowned journalism coaches.

• Reporting intern, 1993. The Albuquerque Tribune. Wrote general-assignment stories under three daily deadlines. Covered the hantavirus outbreak.


Education:

Master of Science, University of Oregon, June 1997. Independent Studies: Individualized Program, self-designed in journalism, anthropology, international studies.

Graduate courses, Vietnam National University, Fall 1996. Vietnamese language, history, culture.

Bachelor of Arts, University of Montana, December 1993. Journalism, cultural anthropology. Graduated in the Honors College.

Special Projects:

• Public presentations. Numerous readings and presentations in the United States and Asia related to Cambodia Now. Invited as a guest speaker to “Our Sustainable Future: What Can the Media Do?” addressing sustainable development, sponsored by Angkatan Zaman Mansang and UNESCO, Kuching, Sarawak, June 2006. Addressed the Center for Southeast Asian Studies during a two-day appearance at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, November 2005. Keynote speaker for The Asian Experience, a University of Idaho conference, April 2001. Talks on Southeast Asia and journalism presented at libraries, writing organizations and community groups in the United States and Asia.

• Volunteerism. Editing and English translation for publications such as Re: War, an international photojournalism project designed by Yumi Goto, and Smile in Despair: Stories from a Cambodian AIDS Ward, by photojournalist Masaru Goto. Consultant to Women of Vietnam Review, 1999-2000.

• Correspondents. Business plan and prototype magazine examining issues from worldwide cultural perspectives. Researched the magazine industry, reported stories, created graphics and designed a 74-page issue on AIDS as the final project for a master’s degree from the University of Oregon.

• Native News Honors Project. Reported on American Indians who drink Lysol, the Northern Cheyenne fight for a high school, alternative education and suicide. Articles appeared in two editions of the annual publication.


Honors:

August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award, for Cambodia Now, 2006

Kay Levin Award in Short Nonfiction, for the essay, “Painting Cambodia for Judy,” 2006

Livingston Awards for Young Journalists finalist, international reporting, 2006

William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition semi-finalist, essay, 2006

Gulf Coast Prize semi-finalist, creative nonfiction, 2006

Pushcart Prize nominee, for the essay, “Painting Cambodia for Judy,” published in Kyoto Journal #61, 2005

AsiaSource Asia Experts, listed in the Asia Society’s online resource guide to Cambodia and Southeast Asia experts

William Faulkner Creative Writing Competition finalist, essay 2003

Lange-Taylor Prize for Documentary Studies finalist, 2003

Council for Wisconsin Writers award in short nonfiction, 2003

Oregon Literary Fellowship to Women Writers, for research related to Cambodia Now, 2000

Who’s Who in America, numerous years and listings

UO Center for Asian and Pacific Studies Award, for work in Vietnam, 1997

Oregon Global Graduates Award, $5,000 for work with Women of Vietnam Review, 1996

Poynter Institute for Media Studies, guest speaker, 1994

Numerous journalism and writing awards from Willamette Writers, Quincy Writers Guild, Writers’ Journal, Wyoming Press Association, William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Society of Professional Journalists and other groups